Two Years Today!

Congratulations -  what a awesome post

Happy "surgiversary"!  as you point out, it is not so much the mere passage of time that we celebrate, but the continued life changes.

Lora

I do know your story. It's one of perseverance.
Happy 2nd to you!
Deb T.

Thank you for sharing.

I think sometimes it is easy to think of teh successful ones (yeah, you) as being individuals who don't really understand what it means to struggle. But often those of us who are successful have had the toughest journey of all.

I used to be in awe of the "cool kids" who had succeeded and who were still hanging around, but I felt in some ways that they were this elite group of people who had it easy.

I might be one of the "cool kids" now (and so are you!) but I think that I see how this isn't some club of people lording it over the newbies, but instead are simply those who know that part of their own needs, they stick around because helping others helps them too.

I admire your tenacity. I don't think I'd ever have another WLS. That takes real strength of character to try again, to search inside for the cause of failure, and seek out solutions that will work within your personal framework of strength and weakness.

I love how people are talking about how persistent I am, about how I didn't give up.  You didn't see me 2 years ago.  I had totally given up.  I, too, would never have gotten a revision to lose weight.  I honestly had lost all faith, not that WLS worked but that I had the capacity of making it work.  I felt I was such a die hard compulsive overeater that I was beyond any hope and my fate was just to become heavier and heavier.  And I could accept that.  What I couldn't accept was that in my selfish quest to become thin I had  thrown away my health.  I felt that I had sold my soul to the devil and lost my health in the bargain.  Two years ago I was so fatigued that I could not function.  I could barely leave my house.  I went days without showering, without changing my clothes, without brushing my teeth.  I didn't have the energy.  I left my house only to buy groceries or do what was absolutely necessary.  That wasn't the worse part.  The worse part was that I wasn't able to spend time with my grand children.  I had been baby sitting my grand daughter, Kaci, and I had to stop because I didn't have the energy.  My 85 year old ex mother in law had to do it because I was too tired.  And the worse was that I couldn't take care of my teen age daughter.  She became a recluse like me, never leaving the house either.  I home schooled her and the two of us hid out in the house doing nothing but eating together.  She was my eating buddy.  The guilt I felt was incredible.  That was the only reason I kept going to the doctor's and trying to get better.  That was the reason I went to my surgeon and begged him to reverse my surgery so that I wouldn't malabsorb any more and I could get my health back and I would no longer have accidents so I didn't have to worry about going out in public and I didn't have to be embarrassed to use the bathroom in public or at people houses because of the odor.  I was not at all concerned about losing the weight.  I learned that there were worse things in the world then being obese and I was living it.  In fact, my surgeon warned me several times that I might not lose weight.  I don't know if he warned me that because I had already failed one surgery miserably or what but I didn't care.  I just wanted my life back and today I feel I got it.  And more importantly my daughter has her life back, too.  She got her GED and is now going to community college studying to be a legal assistant.  She has friends and a social life.  She has other eating buddies because I am no longer her eating buddy.
So no, I didn't really try again.  I actually was trying to not try again.  If it wasn't for the side effects and poor quality of life I had I never would have the revision and I never would advice anyone else to have one either just for weight loss unless they knew why it didn't work out the first time and had taken the steps to correct the issues.  WLS is not for sissies and revisions can be particularly risky.  It's not like going back on Jenny Craig after you've gained your weight back.

YEAH for you and taking control of your life!  You look great!