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What did you wish you knew before surgery?

Wishing_Well
on 12/6/12 1:26 am - Urbana, OH

RNY on 04/08/13

What do you know NOW as post-op, that you wish you knew as a pre-op?

Would it have changed your decision about having the type of procedure you chose ?

icnside
on 12/6/12 1:28 am - Chesapeake, VA

that I would still be THIS hungry... I would not have changed my decision

poet_kelly
on 12/6/12 1:30 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

I wish I'd known how important doing the emotional work is to this process. No, it wouldn't have changed my decision to have RNY, but it would have allowed me to be a bit better prepared.

Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

Paul C.
on 12/6/12 1:39 am - Cumming, GA

RNY on 07/16/10

That I would pay people to let me run for nothing more than a Tshirt, bananas and free water, and the occasional medal! That I would own a bike worth more than may car. That I am capable of traveling 70.3 miles using locomotion and Smile at the end.

Paul C.
First 5K 9/27/20 46:32 - 11 weeks post op (PR 28:55 8/15/11)
First 10K 7/04/2011 1:03 First 15K 9/18/2011 1:37
First Half Marathon 10/02/2011 2:27:44 (PR 2:24:35)
First Half Ironman 9/30/12 7:32:04

wmamey
on 12/6/12 1:53 am

RNY on 06/18/12

The amount of supplements that I would end up taking. It may have changed my decision. One reason I wanted surgery was to be healthier and avoid taking more medications down the road. I now have to take more pills than I have ever had to. But I do feel amazing now and I love walking and running.

Kelly L.
on 12/6/12 2:01 am - San Jacinto, CA

RNY on 10/28/11

That you really can be too thin! That "dumping" might not be the worst thing that could happen to you ( not to suggest that it's fun for anyone that does). That complications CAN and DO arise even when you think they won't happen to you. And finally.. That I would spend a year feeling like doo doo.

HW 274. CW 129

Lisa T.
on 12/6/12 2:37 am - Indianapolis, IN

RNY on 06/07/12

I agree with Kelly, about realizing how much emotional and mental effort goes into WLS. I believe my BC prepared me very well for the physical and behavioral changes I would need to make but the emotional/mental side of things is almost an afterthought once I completed the initial psyc evaluation.

What I learned at my orientation session that has served me well was the cautionary tale of a woman seeking a revision. She said she went from 400 pounds to 200 pounds and was close to her goal so she could have plastics done. Then she went on a bus trip and did not plan in advance what she should bring with her. She said she ended up eating a doughnut and then had another one. From then on she pretty much ditched the recommended eating regimen and gained back 80 pounds. It caught my attention and made me realize that I can make all the progress in the world during the first 12 months post-op, but if I return to my old habits, I can regain it all over again. Anytime I think about having a "little extra", trying a non-recommended food or skipping my daily exercise, I think of her and how I never want to have to seek a revision for myself.

Height 4'11" HW: 235 SW: 230 GW: 130 RNY 6/7/12