Question:
Has anyone ever regretted having WLS?
I am 2 weeks post-op and I find myself questioning if I did the right thing. Why I did it ..... etc. I was so sure and I did the research and waited and played the insurance game but why am I not as happy post as I was pre. will this feeling go away? I hope so, I feel so miserable. — [Anonymous] (posted on December 17, 2001)
December 17, 2001
What exactly are you unhappy about? Not being able to eat very much or not
being able to eat the things you ate before? By the way, what type WLS did
you get?I have never-ever regretted having this operation. Had I known it
was available to me before I would have done it long before now. I had RNY
proximal on 1/8/01 and have lost 98 lbs. I am losing slow & I still
have about 35 more lbs. to go, but I am happy with the operation. Sure, it
seems real slow at first & you may not see a 'skinny' you in the mirror
or a while, but you will start to see the scale move down & your close
get baggy ... THAT should make you happy (I hope). I hope you get happier
with the operation as time passes.
— Betty Todd
December 17, 2001
Well, pooh, reading over my earlier response. Maybe when I lost weight, I
also lost my spelling ability and gramar skills! Well hey, ya just can't
have it all .. hahaha
— Betty Todd
December 17, 2001
I too was unhappy at first, for about 3 weeks, I went through some heavy
mental stuff, but when I lost 25# in a short 4 weeks, I began to feel
differently. I had lost weight before 25# in one month, living on diet
coke and carrots, but the 25# came back. This time, 1 yr later and -97# I
couldn't be happier, I was angry at first because I don't think I read that
most people were surprised how hard it was at first. When I would read it
gets better with time... I would get angrier. Give a little more time,
start going on short walks, even if it is just to walk around Wal-Mart. It
helps to get out every day.
— acluff
December 17, 2001
I am 7 weeks post op. I think that it gets better after the first month. No
matter how much you psyche yourself up prior to surgery, it never prepares
you for the fact that you will never again eat the way you did in the past.
Considering the fact that most of us have had a life long love affair with
food, it is a very painful and emotional experience.
I overcome my feeling of loss over my old eating habits by remembering the
positive stuff:
1)I no longer have to take my diabetes and blood pressure medicines 2)I
have a lot more energy 3)I am starting to look better in clothes and the
mirror.
I think your post is a good warning for all of the preops - think long and
hard about whether you can handle this surgery. Once I had this surgery, I
realized that there must be some people out there who must have regretted
doing this.
— julie S.
December 17, 2001
I kind of regretted it the first 9 weeks. They were the worst. You know,
nothing tastes good... aroma of great foods make you want to vomit,
learning how and what to eat and on and on. The pits. Now I'm over 7 months
post op and wondering what the h### I did the surgery for! I've pretty much
stoped losing right "at" the six month mark and even put on some
pounds!I don't eat enough to keep a bird alive ether. I can't seem to go
under 200. Oh well we all have our problems. I'm assuming the post op blues
hit you. They hit me hard too. But at around 8-9 weeks you will almost
certainly be glad you had the surgery. You are just to newly post op right
now. It WILL get better.
— Danmark
December 17, 2001
What a great question! I am almost 3 weeks post-op, and am still
regretting having my RNY. I know that it will get better, but I am just
having a hard time adjusting to the feeling I have when I
eat/sleep/drink/etc. I know exactly what you are going through, and I hope
that you can see some weightloss that will make it easier! Good Luck!
— Chloe S.
December 17, 2001
I didn't have any regrets or any of the depression, however, there are many
many post-ops who go through what you are experiencing. Your hormones are
out-of-whack right now and can be affecting you in many ways. You are
probably a little tired too, your body is still healing. I know you don't
want to hear this, but try to be patient, things will get better.
— Cheri M.
December 17, 2001
It's very common for people to go through some post-op depresion
after major surgery. Please be patient; physically and emotionally
you have gone through quite an ordeal. I was weepy and lethargic
for weeks and weeks after my surgery. I had no enegry and the best
way to explain it is that I felt like a shell...like the life had been
drained out of me. Even losing weight didn't make me happy in those
early weeks. My surgeon was an angel....so supportive. He told me that
this happened to some people and that I should be patient and wait for it
to pass. He was right. My the three month mark, I was my sassy, brassy
self again! I was also 65 pounds lighter......
— [Anonymous]
December 18, 2001
I am 4 months post-op. I don't regret the results I'm getting from the
surgery (down by 94lbs now) but, I regret that I can't enjoy some of the
foods I used too. Every time I see a commercial for Burger King, I cry and
I truly miss going to the all you can eat chinese place in my town. So in
that way, yes I have regrets. But, I would never trade my current good
health and my continuing weight loss for all the cheeseburgers in the
world.
— Melissa S.
December 18, 2001
I am one week post op from an open SRVG and walked in the door squalling
coming home from the hospital wishing I had not had the surgery done!!! But
it is all emotional. I was missing my comforter "FOOD" and my
seeing my "special place" (my bedroom) for the first time where I
used to eat and graze on junk which is what got me into this mess in the
first place (with my help of course). My Diabetes was out of control and
already my blood glucose levels have dropped way down in just 1 week! I
would have died without this surgery; had tried over and over again to DO
IT ON MY OWN, with NO success. I think these feelings will pass, they are
getting better for me each day. Give it some time....
— esthjb
December 18, 2001
I am 6 days post-op and I know how you feel. I am not going through a
depression or having any real deep regrets. I just keep seeing my family
eating or I see a commercial and think, "What the hell did I do to
myself? If I hadn't done this, I'd be eating a $6 burger right now!"
You know what I do at that point? I make myself a protein drink that fills
me up and that's the end of that. I just keep thinking about the end
result. My doc says that I might lose 130-150 lbs. To me, that's worth
all the $6 burgers in the world. We're newly post-op, it WILL get easier!
I also think of it this way... We've gone through so many diets. When the
diet got hard we usually gave up. This is a diet that you can't give up.
We did this for a reason. You can do it!
— tmrivas
December 18, 2001
Hi there. I am 8 weeks Post-op. For about the first five or six weeks, I
DID regret having the surgery. But I am finally to the point where I can
say it's almost worth it. At my six week weigh in I had lost 59lbs. I was
so happy. I don't regret it because of the pain or hospital stay or
anything, it's all about the food for me. Seeing commercials or watching
other people eat things I used to enjoy. I still have trouble with food and
that's the part that gets me down. Eating something that makes me sick or
uncomfortable, or seeing things I want so bad but can't have yet--it sucks!
But, I am feeling better so I am not going to go into the regretting stage
again. I'm looking to the bright days and the skinny days! I can say this,
it DOES GET BETTER! At two weeks I was definitely regretting it, but now I
don't. Hang in there. And, GOOD LUCK!
— Craig A.
December 18, 2001
I'm 3 weeks post-opp, and I had complications with the surgery. The first
week was hell, but I've been going "day by day" now, each day
better than the last. I miss not eating what the family is eating, but I
will soon be eating most of what they eat too. Regrets.... sometimes, but
I know I will be a healthier version of my old self soon. Hang in there, I
think in a years time we'll both be celebrating! (HUGS)
— txkj
December 18, 2001
Been there! I also questioned at about that same time. I lost 20 pounds
right away and then plateaued for 3 weeks. I thought I was done. I was very
depressed and wondered why I had done this. Once the pounds started to come
back off--and I went on real food--the depression went away and I felt
GREAT! At 2 weeks you are still a newbie. Allow yourself to heal physically
and adjust emotionally before you make any judgements. I'll bet at 6 months
post you look back and smile at this bump in the road!
— ctyst
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