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Claire-in-Texas · 07-04-2008, 11:51 AM

Captain, my Captain, my suggestion to you is to totally embrace this process, if you decide that it is the right thing for you.

Look at my age.

This is not about a diet. It's about changing the way you think of food. The wonderful part of it is that you have an opportunity post op for a number of months to think about what caused you to be overweight (while you do not experience hunger), and deal with those issues. It's painful, but it is well worth it.

HUNGER DOES RETURN. It does, it does, it does. However, you will hav a pouch that will tell you when it is full, and if you listen to it, you will be fine. If you take the time to embrace all of the delicious food available to you, there will come a time when you will eat it and enjoy everything again (or almost everything).

As Beth said above, the hunger IS different, BUT that hunger can fool you if you don't work on yourself and your emotions during this process. People can gain weight back. It's a new life, a new way of relating to food.

My story - since we are similar in age - I was in a wheelchair in 2/07, horrific back pain due to degenerative spine disease (spinal stenosis). I started my journey of education at that time. In April I had the surgery. In May I began physical therapy for my back. Now I can walk endlessly, have no back pain, and feel like a kid again.

It was the right thing for me - is it right for you? Only you can decide that. Focusing on the food/hunger issue is not, in my opinion, what should be focused on. It is the entire journey that is the key - and it continues to be a journey, not a destination.

I wish you the very best - for an older person it is nothing short of miraculous. I don't have my life back - I have a new life, a joyful life. I wish you joy.

A book to get: "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies"