Lisa R.
5 Years Post-Op
Jul 27, 2008
I haven't logged on in several years, the site has really changed. It's going to take me a while to learn how to find my way around again but i wanted to let anyone who's interested know how my life has changed since WLS. This make take several entries, but I really want to share my experiences.
WSL is undoubtably the best thing that I have ever done in my life; however, my success hasn't been anything like what I see in most of the profiles. Let me make it clear this has nothing to do with the surgery, it is after all a tool, and ultimately I am in control of how I use it. In the first year after my surgery I lost 95 pounds and plateaued. I probably would have been able to continue to lose but my life became very complicated during that time and I eventually started gaining. My lowest weight since surgery has been 225, at one point I was back up to almost 260. I am about 240 now and have stayed there for quite some time.
I guess you're wondering why this happened. There were a lot of contributing factors, but I guess the cold hard truth is that while the surgery changed my anatomy it didn't change the way I think or deal with stress. Now when I say stress I'm not talking about minor stuff, but the knock you off your feet kind of events that change your life forwever.
I was 42 when I had my RNY surgery. I had never been married, never had children and had been working really hard for several years to learn to love myself. Of course, losing 95 pounds did a lot for my self esteem and I felt better physically than I had in years. When I met the man who later became my husband in February of 2004 I was ecstatic. We soon realized that we wanted to create a life together and started looking for a home. We purchased a house in May so I quit my job and moved to an area where the only person I knew was my fiance'.
I guess I should point out that some of the stress I was dealing with was good stress. Things were going well but Tom was a big eater with an even bigger sweet tooth. I had gone a whole year without sugar, never dumped and only threw up once from my WLS. It was easy to stay away from it when I didn't ever buy and didn't have to deal with the temptation. My biggest problem has always been sugar. That's why I wanted the surgery so that I knew I would get sick if I ate it.
Once we moved into together it became more difficult. Tom was constantly bringing sweets into the house and encouraging me to try them, saying that a little bit wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, he was right, I didn't get sick. Of course gradually I would try a little more and as it turns out, sugar doesn't phase me. I can eat all I want and never get sick. I would caution those of you that are considering WLS or are recently post-op. Do Not Try It!!!!!!! I wish I never had. I was perfectly happy without it.
I think I would have still been all right if Tom hadn't gotten sick. He was hospitalized in early July for unexplained blood loss, fatigue and difficulty breathing. Finally in August we found out he had colon cancer. Until then I had been blessed to never have to deal with the Big C, but it seems to be following me around now. Tom and I got married 3 days before his surgery. After the surgery the surgeon called me on the phone and told me that while the surgery went well, the cancer had spread to his liver and he wouldn't survive. That's exactly how he said it and then left it to me to tell my husband's parents that their son had terminal cancer.
Tom spent the next 40 days in the hospital. He was able to come home for 4 and 1/2 weeks then back to the hospital for 5 days before he died. I became a bride and a widow in less than 3 months. I was the only one Tom would let care for him (he was bed ridden the whole time) so I couldn't even tell you if I ate or not most days and didn't eat or sleep much for the next several months after he passed. It took over a year for me to allow myself to grieve so naturally I started eating to squash everything I was feeling.
Tom has been gone almost 4 years now and I've finally started living again but it has been very difficult. I've lost 2 jobs and been unemployed for over a year (I have fibromyalgia). I had to sell our house, but I do have another home now and a new boyfriend, so things aren't all bad. Rather than let all of these events get me down I have tried to roll with the punches and acknowledge that God has a plan for each of this and that all these things are part of His plan for my life. I'll admit there are days that I try to figure out how, but I know that somehow it is.
While it might sound to some like my surgery wasn't a success, I don't feel that way. Yes, technically I'm still obese and I would like to lose at least another 50 pounds but I am happier and more self confident than I have ever been in my life. I wear shorts, tank tops, and even bathing suits in public without being self-conscious. I know that if I cut the sugar out of my diet I can still lose weight quickly. As a matter of fact, last summer I did just that and had friends asking me if I had been to the doctor because something must be wrong for me to lose weight so quickly. I do have some physical problems, but I am active and I try to watch what I eat. I'm not skinny by any means but I have kept off 80 pounds for over 5 years and to me that is wonderful.
I guess I wanted to share this so that others will realize that WLS changes us physically, but it doesn't make life perfect. We still have to live with pain and disappointment and we need to learn to do so without turning to our old friend food for comfort. I'm still working on that, but I know that I have the tools I need and that one of these days I'll start losing again. If you've gotten this far, thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope it helps. If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them. Good luck to you all.
WSL is undoubtably the best thing that I have ever done in my life; however, my success hasn't been anything like what I see in most of the profiles. Let me make it clear this has nothing to do with the surgery, it is after all a tool, and ultimately I am in control of how I use it. In the first year after my surgery I lost 95 pounds and plateaued. I probably would have been able to continue to lose but my life became very complicated during that time and I eventually started gaining. My lowest weight since surgery has been 225, at one point I was back up to almost 260. I am about 240 now and have stayed there for quite some time.
I guess you're wondering why this happened. There were a lot of contributing factors, but I guess the cold hard truth is that while the surgery changed my anatomy it didn't change the way I think or deal with stress. Now when I say stress I'm not talking about minor stuff, but the knock you off your feet kind of events that change your life forwever.
I was 42 when I had my RNY surgery. I had never been married, never had children and had been working really hard for several years to learn to love myself. Of course, losing 95 pounds did a lot for my self esteem and I felt better physically than I had in years. When I met the man who later became my husband in February of 2004 I was ecstatic. We soon realized that we wanted to create a life together and started looking for a home. We purchased a house in May so I quit my job and moved to an area where the only person I knew was my fiance'.
I guess I should point out that some of the stress I was dealing with was good stress. Things were going well but Tom was a big eater with an even bigger sweet tooth. I had gone a whole year without sugar, never dumped and only threw up once from my WLS. It was easy to stay away from it when I didn't ever buy and didn't have to deal with the temptation. My biggest problem has always been sugar. That's why I wanted the surgery so that I knew I would get sick if I ate it.
Once we moved into together it became more difficult. Tom was constantly bringing sweets into the house and encouraging me to try them, saying that a little bit wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, he was right, I didn't get sick. Of course gradually I would try a little more and as it turns out, sugar doesn't phase me. I can eat all I want and never get sick. I would caution those of you that are considering WLS or are recently post-op. Do Not Try It!!!!!!! I wish I never had. I was perfectly happy without it.
I think I would have still been all right if Tom hadn't gotten sick. He was hospitalized in early July for unexplained blood loss, fatigue and difficulty breathing. Finally in August we found out he had colon cancer. Until then I had been blessed to never have to deal with the Big C, but it seems to be following me around now. Tom and I got married 3 days before his surgery. After the surgery the surgeon called me on the phone and told me that while the surgery went well, the cancer had spread to his liver and he wouldn't survive. That's exactly how he said it and then left it to me to tell my husband's parents that their son had terminal cancer.
Tom spent the next 40 days in the hospital. He was able to come home for 4 and 1/2 weeks then back to the hospital for 5 days before he died. I became a bride and a widow in less than 3 months. I was the only one Tom would let care for him (he was bed ridden the whole time) so I couldn't even tell you if I ate or not most days and didn't eat or sleep much for the next several months after he passed. It took over a year for me to allow myself to grieve so naturally I started eating to squash everything I was feeling.
Tom has been gone almost 4 years now and I've finally started living again but it has been very difficult. I've lost 2 jobs and been unemployed for over a year (I have fibromyalgia). I had to sell our house, but I do have another home now and a new boyfriend, so things aren't all bad. Rather than let all of these events get me down I have tried to roll with the punches and acknowledge that God has a plan for each of this and that all these things are part of His plan for my life. I'll admit there are days that I try to figure out how, but I know that somehow it is.
While it might sound to some like my surgery wasn't a success, I don't feel that way. Yes, technically I'm still obese and I would like to lose at least another 50 pounds but I am happier and more self confident than I have ever been in my life. I wear shorts, tank tops, and even bathing suits in public without being self-conscious. I know that if I cut the sugar out of my diet I can still lose weight quickly. As a matter of fact, last summer I did just that and had friends asking me if I had been to the doctor because something must be wrong for me to lose weight so quickly. I do have some physical problems, but I am active and I try to watch what I eat. I'm not skinny by any means but I have kept off 80 pounds for over 5 years and to me that is wonderful.
I guess I wanted to share this so that others will realize that WLS changes us physically, but it doesn't make life perfect. We still have to live with pain and disappointment and we need to learn to do so without turning to our old friend food for comfort. I'm still working on that, but I know that I have the tools I need and that one of these days I'll start losing again. If you've gotten this far, thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope it helps. If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them. Good luck to you all.
