I want to eat it all ! :-o

Hello, I am 3 weeks pre op and I feel like I want to eat everything. I feel like I may not ever get to eat again. I feel like a friend is moving far far away and I want to make the most of it while I can. I know that I will probably be able to eat most of what I want after the surgery, So I don't know why I am freakin out like this. I am drinking more water doing the vitamin thing and walking more. I know I am anxious about the surgery and I am an emotional eater. What am I going to do after the surgery, I have to find another way to cope. Hopfully, I will feel so good, I will be able to pick up old hobbies. We'll see. Thanks for listening. David M.

It's called Last Meal Syndrome, and I think we all went through it. For some, it was just a meal, and for some, it was a month-long binge. You're freaking because it's one thing you can control. People who use food this way, use it as a way of maintaining some balance in a life where they feel out of control - whether you are anorexic or obese, it's still using food. I highly recommend that you get into a support group that deals with emotional eating issues, because you ARE going to go through times when you are stressed, and NOT being able to turn to food is going to stress you out even more. If you are already dealing with this when it happens, you'll be much better prepared to weather that storm. --BT

You may be surprised after surgery. Food won't be the same friend as it was before the DS. I've gone through periods of hating it, resenting it, respecting it, and liking it again. To be honest, I went through the same feelings about food before surgery, too. Heh. Thank goodness I have the people on this board and my hubby and my therapist. Use all the support you can find. You may not need it, but it's good to have it just in case. Try not to stress too much about it. Do your last meals and say your goodbyes if you want to, but like you said - you will be able to eat those same things again. Hang in there! Jeanie

David Welcome to the club. I've been on last meal syndrome since the end of May when I received my surgery date. I am now down here in Brazil waiting for surgery that is scheduled this coming surgery. I am still sucking down every coke (not diet) that I can get my hands on. At the noon buffet today, I was going for every carb I could find --- it's kinda like the never end pit of a stomach. Don't worry about it.......it's a good thing that you recognise this. Good luck in your journey! Nancy

Hi David When I was preop I decided that I was going to be deliberate about the things I would eat. I suppose you can say I had a planned Last Supper that lasted for a month before surgery. Before every meal I reminded myself why I was eating. Suddenly I didn't have to just eat everything in sight and I enjoyed what I ate and it didn't seem as important to dull the fear because I reminded myself of the path I had been led to and how the obstacles had been taken away and reminded myself that "God's will, not mine, would be done." I can also say that I am eating many of the same things that I did that month and the things I don't aren't calling to me anymore. Keep talking (writing) and always be honest about your feelings. Elaine >^..^

David, The 3 months from my date of approval to my date of surgery all I did was eat! LOL Yes, I did gain some major weight in those few short months: close to 20 pounds! Which in the long run, is not helping me get to goal any sooner. I know Dr. Maguire said that any weight you lose pre-surgery will be in addition to what you lose post. (Meaning you won't regain it back like you did with other diets. The surgery kicks in to help you maintain.) I don't feel bad about it at all though. In fact, some of those things that I ate, I can close my eyes and still taste! Yum! As for after surgery, I still love food, and eat it in abundance. But then again, I am SO NOT the poster child for WLS. hehe ;o) Great surgeon by the way. I would put my life on the line for Dr. Maguire (and that's saying a lot, because I LOVE life now!) Best to you, ~AmandaLeigh~

Cheers Dave! In the last 6 months before having surgery, I gained around 35 lbs. I hardly even noticed it, but it was there. I ate everything in sight, TWICE!!! It all came off (thank the swinging chickens) but it was certainly there. Should you do it??? jProbably not. Has others done it??? Most definately. Will your mommy give you a whippen??? Probably should, but not for this!! Go with the flow, try not to bust a gut, (or rip out your pants), and your surgery will take care of the rest! Good Luck!!!! Life is GOOD! kevin

We all did it and we all were worried about being nutsy because of it. I ate like a nut. I remember posting this equation, surgery=stress, stress=eat, eat=stress. The day before my surgery, 2 hours before my bowel prep, I went to Olive Garden and had French Onion Soup, Eggplant Parmesean, chocolate lava cake and 4 mega margaritas. Now, being a little drunk while doing a bowel prep is kinda off the wall. I don't need a shrink to tell me that. But I remember that meal with great fondness because I didn't feel one little bit guilty. And now, 9 months later, it doesn't mean nothin' to nobody. Now I'm gonna be brutally honest. As for the question, what will you do without your emotional crutch of food after surgery? That can be a tough one. I still mourn food. I miss a good pigout. I miss not drinking with my buddies, cause now I get wasted on one drink, and it isn't pretty. But, I really like that I look and feel normal again. It is a tradeoff. We WLS patients are at a higher risk of alchoholism, drug addiction, and other bad behavior because of it. That is why support groups, shrinks, and this board are so important. I'm praying for you, David, that you will feel so good that you will pick up old GOOD hobbies again and that will work for you. Good job with walking, the vitamins and water. Kathy

David, The day before surgery, I went to Applebees with my parents...right before bowel prep. I had chicken quesadillas and a piece of raspberry cheesecake. My mom requested a second fork. I told the waitress 'No Way. This is mine. Get her her own." I am an emotional eater. Or at least I thought I was. I still am not sure. Part of it was bingy type eating that I sometimes wonder if it was not just ghrelin continuing to give me bad messages to overeat. I was really worried about this prior to surgery, thinking I would bust staples or something. So far, things have been wonderful. I have been through stressful times, and am right now too. I have not turned to food once. Food seems to mean something different to me now. It is so much easier than it used to be. I hope this continues, but I recognize that it may not be that way always. For now, I am rarely hungry, and I am going to enjoy it while I got it. If I run into problems, I already have a lot of support in place. This group is a godsend. Michelle

Hello David, It was probably a good thing that my Dr. requires us to loose weight before surgery other wise I would have been doing what you are and probably spent all my surgery $$ on eating before surgery But just yesterday I was telling a new coworker that between God and this surgery all my food issues were gone. I told them that I don't understand what happens but sometime with this surgery our brains just change. I have any food issues. I really don't even think of food anymore. It has been that way from the very beginning. I mean I know I have to eat, I might think, "oh, that sounds good" or I will think, "I would like something sweet" and if I can get whatever it is at that time then good but if not I just go on and eat something else. I usually have to just eat, I don't seem to get hungry very often. Food just does not have a hold on me anymore. I can truely say I have a freedom from food. I know this happens to many others as well. But let me say that I also had done a lot of work on my food issues before and I spent a lot of time praying about this surgery. I also think that the freedom that we don't have to "diet" makes a big difference! I hope since you have gotten so many good responses that you see you are not alone and that we are here for you. Patti