A few years out... just an update

Mar 06, 2012

I stopped by this site a few days ago just to see what what up.  Used to spend a lot of my days here, especially pre-op and newly post-op. 
I know this site & the stories are invaluable to newbies, or anyone who is nervous about being approved for surgery, the surgery itself, etc.  So I just thought I'd post an update.

I will be 4 years out on April 1, 2012- which seems- almost unreal.  My surgery went VERY well.  I had no complications and no pain in the days immediately following.  When I started to eat solids again, it was a challenge & sometimes painful.  Usually a walk around the house, some warm tea & pineapple enzyme would un-stuck whatever was stuck. 
I was extraordinarily faithful to exercise.  Some people don't want to hear that, but it really is the key that unlocks all the potential you have to be successful on this journey.  Find a work out regimen that suits you. 

I ended up losing about 115 lbs, which made me really very thin.  I didn't look right.  Then I had a bounceback which freaked me out, but was ultimately good.  I am holding steady at a 100lb loss.  Sometimes I gain a few lbs around the holidays, but keeping a food log & getting more exercise takes care of it before it gets to be something that is a problem. 

A few areas that I would caution newbies about.  #1 VITAMINS.  How important these are cannot be over emphasized.  I highly recommend Vitalady's plan for your surgery type (even if you don't purchase from her).  I've sustained running injuries, depression, you name it... all the things they tell you might be related to a vitamin deficiency?  It's true.  You need to spend the $$ on a decent vitamin regime. If you buy in bulk, you can generally save $.  It's so important though, just soooo important.  Don't skimp on vitamins.

Second.  I had transfer addiction in a major way.  I didn't drink for the first few months after surgery, but when I started again, it took me about 4 months before I realized I needed help, and I needed a 12 step program.  People talk about different things as "transfer addictions"- sex, exercise, shopping, etc., but it's not something to joke about.  A true addiction takes over your life and has the potential to wreck your family.  Anyone going in for WLS needs to know, needs to research, needs to be aware that it's real, and it's out there.  If your doctor's office offers any type of education class on transfer addiction, I highly recommend taking it. 

I don't mean to sound all 'gloom and doom", because WLS was by far the best thing I've done for myself.  I take care of myself, my family focuses on nutrition in a way that I could only have dreamed about (no more tubes of cookie dough in front of the TV).  I don't remember what it was like to be the fat girl anymore, and I spent 20 years as that girl. 
It's a good ride.  It did change my life, in some ways I didn't expect, but mostly in ways that make me happy to look in the miror. 

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