New here, Lightweight, Surgery on Tuesday !!!

Hello All,

I am scheduled for surgery on Tuesday and I am excited and nervous.  I am so so glad that I found this forum. I have had so many people in my life, both friends and family have continuously told me how I don't need this surgery and that I am going to get too thin and am have been so fearful of that.  I find myself trying to convince people that I have actually decided on the surgery for health reasons and they still don't seem convinced and try to tell me that I should back out of the decision.  As lightweights has any one else ever experienced this ??? Also how do you put a picture in for the avatar?

Welcome aboard!  

I think all of us have had people tell us we're too small to have WLS but yet we're too big for other things and have serious health issues...{sigh}  I didn't tell any of my friends because I didn't want their negative input. You don't have to justify your decision to anybody--this is between you and your surgeon. Hang tough.

I think there's a help feature on the bar at the top that may help. Some of our more tech-savvy folks will chime in to help. 

Good to have you here.

--gina
 

As Gina said, surgery certainly wasn't an easy decision for most of us but one we came to after years of nothing else working.  Yeah, 100 lbs isn't so much, until you carry it around for 20 yrs.  Stick to your guns and know for yourself what is right for you.  to he&$ with the rest of them.

From what I have figured out.  yOu have to put the picture on your OH pages, then do the avatar.  Sometimes you have to shrink them.  If it is too big, google shrink photo or avatar and there will be some sites that do that.

I figured out how to do the avatar thanks!!! You guys have made me so much better.  I haven't really told anybody except my immediate family who will be helping me after my hospital stay.  But I was so discouraged when so many people were just asking why I was doing it and What for?  I guess I wasn't expecting that from close friends and my roommates.  I am so glad I found this forum.  I was worried that I would have a ton of questions and have to try and get in touch with my nutritionist or doctor to get them answered.  This is awesome! I am getting so excited Im only two days away and I go on the clear liquid diet tomorrow.  

Hi TiffLori86, I'm new here too, but its a great place.  I'm getting sleeved on March 13th, wish mine surgery was so soon.  I'm a low BMI too, and have made the choice to not tell anyone because I don't want to here everyone's harsh remarks.  No, my BMI is not 40, but its 30 and if I could have fixed it by now I would have.  I'm sure all of us would like to have a 20 BMI, but thats just not the hand that we were delt.  Good for you for being proactive and taking control of your situation.  Keep us posted on how you are doing.   Good luck Tuesday!

Texasgirl73

This is what I tell people:

I'm not having surgery to lose weight as I know I can do that without surgery. I'm having it to keep the weight off as that is something I have never been successful at. 

Since they've all seen me go up and down and back up again, that resonates with them.

As for losing too much weight, this is a common fear but it's because people tend to think of the surgery as magic and they don't understand how it works. They see people losing 200 pounds and they figure you wave the magic wand and you lose 200 pounds. Even if you only need to lose 100.

But we all know it doesn't work like that.

If you hang out around OH or other boards long enough, you see way more people who don't get to goal and struggle with regain than you see people who can't keep weight on. I think I know 3-5 people online and no one in real life who had to get revisions or reversals because they lost too much weight and couldn't keep weight on and this includes 1 who clearly has an eating disorder. OTOH, I've seen hundreds ***** about needing to lose 10-20 pounds and another hundred or so who need to lose significantly more.

Now, this is out of thousands so it's not like everyone who gets WLS doesn't lose all their weight and/or struggles with regain. But you can see which is more likely...

The surgery gives us hunger control so we can survive on the lower calorie demands that our yo-yo dieting has given us without feeling deprived and starving. But we can control our weight by how calorie dense our food is, how much we graze, how many carbs we allow into our diet, and what sorts of foods we eat.

Heck, there are two months of the year where I'm exercising 15-20 hours a week and I have to eat 3000 calories on some days. If I, a 5'1" woman with a very tight sleeve, can eat 3000 calories a day, then there really isn't a reason for the average person to lose too much weight.

And you can see how easy it would be to not lose enough given how much it's possible to eat if you really want to ...

Thank you so much this makes so much more sense. You are so right!  I try not to listen to the people who think they know what they are talking about and telling me that this isn't a wise choice but I think with the nervousness and emotions that I am feeling about the surgery it was hard not to hear them.  That is why I stopped saying anything to people.  I think that because so many people think that this surgery is like magic and you walk in and walk out a new person without any work or preparation where they get this idea that it is detrimental to a lighweight.  I know that it doesn't work like that I think that because I have struggled with my weight for so long and have never been under a size 14 that I have no clue what my body looks and feels like with less weight and would hear all of the other foolishness that people were feeding me about how I look fine and I don't need it and that I am already losing weight. But your points make so much sense and I so appreciate your input and advice

Hi and welcome to the LW Board.

I told everyone about my surgery and some were supportive and others wanted to tell me all the horror stories they had ever heard.  I just ignored most of them.  All have come around after seeing my results.

Good luck and can't wait to watch your progress.

Linda