Why does it bother me so much?

I don't usually get into the snarky statements with people who are so cavalier and where you are, think they ahve had it so easy.

I hope you are the exception.  But I come here on rare occasions when I can't stand anymore of what I have to read every single day of my life, and know things that 99% here will never know pre or post op, because nobody will tell.

And everything I said was strait from the mouth of a certified dieticien and nutritionist.

I have no need to speak to strangers, as I am a private person, and use fake names because of how private I am.  But when I hear people coming here because they aren't getting the information they should be getting from the primary source, and I see people asking what they can't either ask, or have answered honestly from their surgeon, and not all surgeons are created equal.

But the greatest irony is that every word I have ever spoken on this board int he way of advice came straid from a medical study.

You will know when it is my opinion because I say so. And you are the one that said I am judgmental.  I was EXACTLY like you, and your statement, was mine to the exact phrase until I realized that things that I thought were about other things were all connected.

And if you read what I did, you hair would stand on end.  Believe it or not, there are people who will generate things that aren't in your interest if it is profitable, adn this is the highest profit surgery and the highest demand specialty training request in the history of medicine.

So, yes, I am a size four.  If I was healthy, I would be a nice size 8.

My once beautiful face is gaunt, my beautiful smile, rotted from no calcium, and my brain that had invented new products, prepared to patent them, and wrote screenplays that granted me an open door to every studio and top production house in LA, and the two companies I started, and prepared for national franchising, one a software based, and the other, using the internet and software designed by me, oh and those licensing fees for the largest automobile association, everything dried up when my brain was destroyed from malnutrition, even while I was eating very healthy.

So call it judgmental, but I think you are using the wrong word.  I would suggest, pragmatic, and LOVE.. I still love you my sister because you are God's creation, and the only reason I am here, when I have things I need to do much more important to my own life, is because I hope to help anyone that might need it at that moment.

Remember, when you snipe or snark, you are answering for YOU.  I direct my post to the person who happens to need it at that moment they are reading it.  So you didn't need it.  YOu have it all under control. Good for you.  Then why raid on someone's parade who might have learned something important?

I see you had your WLS in 2004.  This was published then by AMA for Neurological Assn. because so many people were presenting with neurological problems with a gastric bypass history.  I have these that date back into the early 1980s.

Remember, this is only the neuro part.  Ihave the same kind of documents on a long list of other issues all caused from a broad range of things your doc won't test for unless you demand it!
http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/61/8/1185.pdf

Here is a quote:
A variety of late complications are recognized, gener-
ally, the consequence of nutritional deficiency. Mineral
deficiencies include iron, calcium, phosphate, and mag-
nesium, and vitamin deficiencies include folate and vi-
tamins B 1 , B 12 , D, and E. Iron, folate, and vitamin B 12 de-
ficiencies have been reported to be the most common
nutritional deficiencies observed following gastric by-
pass surgery.
NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS
OF BARIATRIC SURGERY
A broad spectrum of neurological complications has been
reported to occur in association with bariatric surgery,
including the following.
Neurological Complications of Bariatric Surgery
Encephalopathy
Behavioral abnormalities
Seizures
Cranial nerve palsies
Ataxia
Myelopathy
Plexopathies
Peripheral neuropathy
Mononeuropathies
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Meralgia paresthetica
Compartment syndromes
Myopathy
Myotonia
No part of the neuraxis is exempt from these compli-
cations. To date, all studies addressing the neurological
complications occurring in the setting of bariatric sur-
gery have been retrospective in nature.
Did you know this?

I have no idea who you are and I haven't ever written a post to you or about you, so not sure what the purpose of your post to me was ... Your lack of history on this Board gives you little credence in giving advice to either the OP or me!

I too am a medical professional and so while I thank you for your concern over my, and every other person that had WLS in 2004's neurological health, I'll leave you on your mission to try and scare the life out of newbies!



Have a nice day!

I have no idea why it bothers YOU.

I didn't "get" a LOT of things about post-op people when I was pre-op.

My surgeon didn't believe in a pre-op diet... in fact, during my insurance mandated six month supervised diet, I switched surgeons, adn my PCP wasn't even a big advocate of changing lifestyles.

I personally changed my habits because I had to convince MYSELF that I could live the life. If I couldn't do it pre-op, I was convinced I couldn't do it postop either.

I lost 57 pounds pre-op, but that was my journey adn my journey alone. I also remember seven days of hell when I ate only Wendy's Baconaters (as I literally camped in my mother's hospital room while she was dying)... this was AFTER I'd lost the 57 lbs, and BEFORE I even had insurance approval.

Life happens, people deal with their own particular food demons in their own ways. In NO WAY could I have EVER understood how it was to be a postop while I was pre-op. There were behaviors I couldn't fathom pre-op that post-op'ers were indulging in. I was quite judgemental about their behaviors, and was a bit smug and self-righteous about it.

MASSIVE wakeup call when I became a postop... I could see how there are things that one cannot understand about postop life from a preop perspective, and I see even more clearly that there are things about the journey of others that are impossible to fathom. I don't have hunger EVER... and I'm 3.5 years out now. I made it to goal, and have remained within ten pounds of goal since I was 20 months out (currently 7 pounds over goal). There are struggles that some people with my surgery face that I never have faced. I realize that if I can't understand their behavior, it is not a weakness in THEM, but rather a weakness within me to even suppose that I could truly understand their struggles and strengths. I am grateful for my success, and try to be sympathetic to those who have walked the same pathway I've walked but not found the ease that I found. Some people lose their weight and struggle to stay there, and others lose the weight and keep it off with seemingly no effort. Is the one more virtuous than the other? I think not.

(This from a person who drinks five to six protein shakes a day, and eats quiche and 100-calorie snack bars and that's IT.... day after day after day)

 I appreciate ALL the responses.  I don't want to be judgmental and I don't want other peoples choices to bother me so much... it is an issue that I have to deal with because it is all MINE.  I hope I didn't come off too *****y or out of line, I was just trying to be honest about the issue I was having... Thanks again for participating !!!

Why does it bother you?  possibly because you feel that everyone should take the same approach and somehow your approach is better?

As for me the journey we take is unique to each of us, we all have different resons and different approaches and do what works for us.  As for me  I knew I had failed many times previously at losing weight and my health was on a downward spiral.  I knew I would need to eat a protein forward diet and I already ate a fairly healthy diet so it wasn't really a matter of what I ate but rather how much I would eat.   So why didn't I completely change this preop?  Well when your body is telling you that you are hungry natural instinct is to eat so I did.  At the time I didn't know that my body was messed up and I didn't know what the feeling of being full felt like nor did I know the difference between head hunger and physical hunger, so I did what my body told me too and that was eat.

As for living the NEW lifestyle preop well I don't know about you but exercise with and aditional 100+ or even 40+ pounds is not only difficult but painful.  Results take so long to see that rather than workouts becomming motivational they are just one more thing to add to the sense of frustration.  Imagine being in a gym and gassing out after half a mile on a treadmill going 3mph while the person next to you is running 6mph and has been doing so for 40 minutes.  Yes it can have the total opposite effect, well it did on me.

Even after losing lots of weight there are many people on this site that are scared to go to a gym because they feel people will look down on them as if they don't belong there. Some bite the bullet and hit the gym to find out how refreshing a solid workout can be, while others give in to the fear an opt to workout at home.

Again we each do what works for us. What works for you does not work for me.

In addition I know myself I knew that I would never be able to fully comprehend post-op life just by reading about it and talking to people about it.  So I disconnected myself until after my surgery which I am glad I did because in all honesty the way many people live their post-op lives is not the way I live mine.  I don't look down on people or not understand why they don't live the same post-op life I do.  Why they have different goals than I do.  Why they obsess about a number on a scale rather than what they can do this week that they couldn't last week.  Again we all have different motivations and stories to our journey.

Remember this shouldn't be journey about losing weight it is a journey about becomming healthy about changing our post-op lives to one that will bring success.

Since you are working towards implementing a solid post-op life now, I am sure you know one of the keys is exercise so I look forward to seeing you post about your workouts on the exercise and fitness forum.

If you think these are excuses I really don't give a crap.

 Thank you Paul for taking the time to respond.  I understand what you are saying and you are right, there is no "one way" to walk this journey (in your case run).  I do post on the fitness forum, but not as often as you, I hope to one day be as fit as I can and my exercise of choice is Kenpo (boxing). I have that extra 100 pounds to deal with that you talked about, while I am punching the hell out of thin air, but I do it because I NEED too.
Thanks again and thanks for giving a crap enough to respond.  

This has been a very good thread on the realities of WLS and the hard work it takes to manage successfully, and that it doesn't do it for you. WLS is good for getting the weight off in the first place, but then it's diet and exercise plain and simple, plus getting in the supplements. For the rest of one's life. At the cost of drastically rearranging one's innards.

OH has been great for me about teaching me the realities. When I was first post-op and miserable with constant nausea, I read the RNY forum from beginning to end. Very very useful.

Am I grateful for my surgery- oh, yes, I am- at this point. I'm interested to see what my future brings, and I hope I have the same point of view a few years from now.

 I agree Anne,  This turned out to be a helpful thread and A LOT of OH threads have been helpful to me so far.  I appreciate everyone for their input.