It's true that not many longterm postop people post. I rarely do but like to come around sometimes.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat, because it was the best decision I made for myself then. For reasons I didn't know until later.
The biggest challenge was the mental work after the surgery. There is a REASON for being morbidly obese. The reason doesn't disappear when you have surgery. THAT is the hardest work I found. That and self-denial, self-discipline. But the pouch MAKES you have to learn these.
It's not for everyone, and it's the area of WHY you overeat or are obese that I first bring up with people who ask me about it. Because that's the part people aren't ready for. You can't be prepared for it, it's just one of the realities each of us deal with. Some better than others.
I had no ill side effects or complications. And honestly it took me four years after I lost it to finally realize THIS IS ME. That was a strange thing to suddenly realize one day: that the body I now inhabit is my body forever, without the old familiar fear of gaining weight and being obese again. I DID gain 10 lbs, but the pouch helped me take it off quickly and I'm maintaining again. That experience was good, because it showed me that I DO have self-control now. I couldn't find that before surgery.
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October, 2002 - Dr. Alan Newhoff, Arizona - My Hero!
5'8" - 300/130/145
(Highest/Current/Goal)
Highest Size: 26/28
Current Size: 6/8
Last edited by Phoenixfire; 03-09-2008 at 11:38 PM.
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