Over 2 yrs out and...... - ThinnerTimes

MikeHubbard · 01-14-2005, 08:33 PM

I still get sick 2 or 3 times a week, either from eating too fast or too much, I guess I'll never learn or be smart enough to lead a normal life, and sometimes I get really tired of this, even, have regrets at times. Anyone think that this is normal?

Mike[/b]

JohnsWife4Life · 01-16-2005, 10:09 AM

Hi Mike,

I understand the feeling you have shared with us. I am ten months post op today, have lost 116 pounds. I still get nauseated, had some emesis yesterday morning, I don't usually vomit, usually just nauseated for a few minutes, then I am fine. Thanksgiving we went to Hometown, and I felt like I was betraying the WLS buddies here. (That is a different story). I ate a salad. I started with a small helping of lettuce, and by the time I ended it was a good size portion in the center of my plate. I ate my ten dollars worth, or tried to anyway, but I ended up just having to go to the bathroom and lay my head over my lap and let it all die down, I guess it took 45 minutes for the nausea to go away, but I went out and at some more and repeated the process of resting on the way home. The regrets I have are not of the surgery itself, or of the thin me, I regret that I cannot sit down and just eat a meal and enjoy it without wondering if it was gonna go down smooth or not. I have learned at work to be cautious of what I put in my mouth, and at times I regret that I can't afford to taste all the little pot luck dishes that nurses do frequently at work. Those regrets for me are what some might call mourning over the food, but regret? Do I regret that I can make love to my husband anytime I want? Do I regret the thousands of dollars I have saved on food? No I don't. I do regret the amount of food that I have wasted over the last ten months. Do I regret being able to walk and breathe and WORK again? I don't regret that I still have my life, where as before surgery I wouldn't have guessed that I would be alive today, but certainly not much longer than this. I MISS PIGGING OUT! Do I regret that I cannot? Maybe for a fleeting moment, but I do not regret that I don't have to wake up hating myself for doing it, then plunging back into it. No, regret means to wish you had never partaken, sorry to have done so, I cannot regret Life as I know it today. I cannot regret that I weigh 130 pounds instead of 246 pounds, I will swap the fat for the nausea. Maybe your nausea is unbearable, and I hope not for your sake, it would have to be so severe to make me regret the gift of life.

Hugs,

Traci

Woody · 01-16-2005, 10:45 AM

Learning how to eat properly is all a part of the process. If you get sick when you eat too fast or too much, eat less and eat slower.

cedesigns · 01-16-2005, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOHNS_WIFE_4_LIFE

I regret that I cannot sit down and just eat a meal and enjoy it without wondering if it was gonna go down smooth or not.
Traci

About a year ago I was watching a show on weight loss surgery and the talk show hosts were chatting after the segment. One of them said " the sad part is these people will never be able to eat normally again for the rest of their lives". I have to say that comment had more of a negative impact on my decision makeing process than any article or yucky botched surgery show I ever saw. Mostly because I knew the percentages (1%) of surgeries that have complications are very small. What I had to work through in my own mind was what was "normal". Having struggled with eating, and binge eating, and weight gain and weight loss my whole life I had to justify that to him normal eating was probaly "normal". For me normal eating had never been normal. I've always been able to eat way more than I should. And I never had a problem with eating anything. My stomache liked everything! What I have realized is I lacked internal stops on eating. Nothing ever made me stop, now it does. So far I have been pretty lucky about how many times I have been sick, thrown up, or been in pain because I ate too much or too fast. Maybe when I have been a year out and I still have problems I will be a bit more pissed off about it. Right now it feels good to not be hungry all the time, and to have a point in my mind and body that is telling me "stop eating you've had enough".

Carol/ 6 weeks post op / laproscopic GBS

Mr AOR · 01-17-2005, 08:06 PM

Don't you hate the word "normal?" Especially when it comes to food and diet, which is something that *all* of us have had trouble with most if not all of our lives!

I sometimes miss being to eat my money's worth at a buffet, but I catch myself and the logic kicks in and I can't believe that I actually mourn that old life! What good did it do me to be able to knock back two good-sized plates of food in one sitting? It put me in a near-diabetic coma 2 hours late and it took me up to a top weight of 424 pounds!

10 months later after surgery, I'm down 159 lbs to a total of 252. I'm satisfied with less...how is this a bad thing? I still sometimes marvel at the amounts of food I can eat (as opposed to the first 3 months after surgery), and I get worried. Then, sometimes in the same stupid day, I'll mourn not being able to eat more than 6 oz of chicken. Never satisified!

But, more often than not, I'm extremely happy with all that I've been able to accomplish with the aid of Dr Callery, of course!

watergirl · 01-18-2005, 07:06 AM

Congratulations on your successful journey! 10 months and 159! That's huge!

I have no regrets because I can eat less. I do have one regret and that is that I didn't have GBS sooner.

cedesigns · 01-18-2005, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr AOR

I sometimes miss being to eat my money's worth at a buffet, but I catch myself and the logic kicks in and I can't believe that I actually mourn that old life! What good did it do me to be able to knock back two good-sized plates of food in one sitting? It put me in a near-diabetic coma 2 hours late and it took me up to a top weight of 424 pounds!

Last night I was having dinner with my son and his wife and couple interesting things happened. He was talking about a friend of his that he works with who had GBS (one of 3 friends who all had the same surgery) and how he lost all the weight and is now gaining it all back. Buffet's came up in the conversation as they always seemed to see him at a local buffet, piling his plate full and eating as if nothing had changed. I was not sure exactly what to make of that, since their other two friends were doing fine it was just this one guy. I wondered if they were just observing him with a distorted (prejudicial) perspective and it just seemed like this guy was out of control. Or was he really overeating and "blowing it" so to speak. I couldnt even imagine how his little pouch stomache was even allowing him to eat that much?? Many questions........but my reply was that although the surgery does make the stomache smaller, the habit changes still have to come from the mind.........and some people get it, and some people don't.

The other thing was the experience of sitting at the table and taking only what I could eat which amounted to about 6oz's of food. I ate slow, I chewed slow, I enjoyed my food, and I finished at about the same time everyone else did (in fact I came in last) except they had their plates piled with food! In fact they had seconds! It sort of reminded me of when I quit drinking and I sat there and realized how much everyone else drinks. You don't really realize it when you are drinking too, but you sure do when you quit! It took me the same time to eat 6oz's as it took them to eat 32oz's. Wow! Really puts into perspective how much I used to eat, or how much most people do eat! What a difference~

Carol post op 6wks / laproscopic GBS

bridgetgirl · 01-18-2005, 10:00 AM

I truly feel and believe that the amount of food on your plate is a direct coralation to how big you are or want to be... small portions= wanting or being a small person. That just seems simple to me. I went to a buffet on Friday night with my family.. and my plate was "piled high" with food. In all actuality it had about half a plate full of food, which I was able to eat half of. I remember looking at the plate thinking, man what if I can eat all of this? And that scared me... I couldnt do it, but just the thought was alarming. personally at 11 months out, I ussually dont get too sick after eating, unless its high in carbs, fat or sugar... then I feel a little down, but I dont throw up I just breathe deep and relax...... Im glad that I cant eat like I use to in a sitting... I feel different and being different makes you special and unique. I like being special and unique..... i wish you all well!

Esouza · 02-01-2005, 12:05 PM

I understand what you're saying Bridget.

I have the worst time when I'm eating around non-wls people. Not as fas as the type of food I choose but the amount or speed at which I eat. I start talking away and alow the table to set the pace. Things don't turn out to well if I get caught up in it.

lealphachienne · 02-01-2005, 03:43 PM

Sometimes I miss the ability to binge on something that tastes really good. But, it's because I can only eat a little bit that I trully enjoy the taste of food. I have had such a wonderful experience eating so many varieties of food and able to share those experiences with my hubby and friends. Are the non WLS people really enjoying that they can eat so much? In the past 2 1/2 weeks, I've had caribou, elk, buffalo, rabbit, beef, trout, salmon, tuna, lamb, pork, chicken, fine wine, soups, fresh picked salads, etc. I also had a few bites of deep dish apple pie, cheesecake, premium chocolate mousse, fruit cobbler, handmade ice cream, etc. Yep, I choose to feel a bit icky to enjoy a few bites of dessert every once in a while. I'm not afraid to try anything, because even if it's totally horrible, it doesn't matter because I can't eat that much to begin with. It does put some of the the non WLS people off. I've been accused of being too snobby about what I eat. It horrified my father-in-law that I threw away most of the bacon, eggs, hash browns, buttered toast, and orange juice away. It just didn't sink in with him when I specifically said I can only eat one egg, poached, one bite of well toasted bread, and a sip of juice. To me, what's not normal, it seems like others are overeating way too much.....they aren't looking healthy with a big ole pot belly, sallow skin, no muscle tone, and poor posture.