Any Regrets? - ThinnerTimes

Shauna · 08-03-2006, 06:41 PM

Hi, I'm seven days post-op and losing weight, but I think that I regret having the surgery (it started yesterday). I'm not sure… Maybe it's the thought of being a 60 year old lady, possibly under-nutritioned because I eat so little, or that it will take seemingly forever to eat a normal, healthy portion of food. Then I also wonder how will I feel and how will my heath be with this surgery 30 years from now?

Bringing it closer to an imaginable reality… What about when I'm 30, which is only a couple of years away? Do you ever feel normal? And I do not mean 'normal' as in eating like an obese person but as any other healthy person who hasn't had surgery.

Maybe I am emotional right now? (But I have been pain pill free since last night – so it's not the meds!) Before I had surgery, I said that I would rather regret having the surgery than not having the surgery. In truth, I had no idea how I would feel post –op and think that I would rather always wonder 'what if' since hind sight is 20/20. I should have listened to myself in the holding room and as I moved onto the operating table when I thought that I didn't want to go through with the procedure, but I thought that I would feel differently afterwards.

After reading someone else's post about their doctor having the ability to reverse their surgery, I seriously think that one day, after I have reached my goals and have an established healthy lifestyle, that I would want my surgery reversed. Maybe I am scared of the long termed unknown, or the fat girl inside is still talking to me? Hopefully I'll feel so different in the near future and will be more knowledgeable on the long term effects of the surgery. I thought that I knew 'it all' pre-op but have found that I don't know as much as I wished that I had known.

Gina in NY · 08-03-2006, 07:18 PM

Sweety, you are just finishing the hardest week and yes, everyone says it gets easier. I will admit, at 6 weeks, I don't "eat" normally, but I feel normal as ever. I can pick up my kids, do laundry etc. In fact, I feel better! I started yoga and can do positions I could never do 50 pounds ago! I weigh less than my husband, I enjoy my treadmill and eliptical machine and I feel so proud of all my hard work.

You will too.

How did you think you'd feel after major abdominal surgery? I thought I'd feel like I was hit by a truck, kept my expectations low. If thats about where you are, you're running about normal!

You are being hit by the reality of what is difficult, but you aren't really able to feel the joy yet. It will come!

Hopefully some long timers, will reply and you'll see. They feel WAY better than "normal". You're in for great days - and many more of them then you would have had otherwise.

Here's a cyber hug - and a cyber hand to hold. You will feel better soon! The hormones do crazy things, and anesthesia does send you for a loop even more than a week later.

You sisters are here for you. Are you in pain? Are you having trouble with the post-op diet? Let us know exactly what is bothering you and we'll try to help.

Cinerbelle · 08-03-2006, 07:38 PM

Shauna,

You are totally normal!! I think we all felt like you right after surgery. I was MISERABLE!! Head hunger killed me...I drove by an In & Out on the way home from the hospital and literally wanted to cry.

I am 5 months out today and I can tell you that I have felt normal for a few months now. I go out to dinner with the family, I just have learned to share since I have wasted so much money on a plate of food that I eat a tiny bit of. My eyes are WAYYYYYY bigger then my pouch.

You will be feeling better soon....I promise!

Dyann · 08-03-2006, 07:56 PM

I felt like a fish out of water for the first two weeks post op. All I wanted to do was to be able to gulp a big glass of ice water. By two weeks it was so much better and by the time I started real food, I felt totally normal. Everyone is different, but realize this will not be the focus of your every waking moment as time goes on. Remember that as time goes on, you will eat more like a normal person. I am 7 months out and I am surprised sometimes at how much I can eat. Then my pouch reminds me to stop. Use this time to retrain your thoughts about food and it will become so much easier. We are here!!!

CHRISTY · 08-03-2006, 08:00 PM

Thanks for your post Shauna! I had my surgery on Monday and can relate to some of your feelings. I think mostly it's the unknown that bothers me, but all I have to relate to is a fat way of thinking. And according to that, the things that used to bring me intense pleasure (ie_ food) have totally left me. I find myself wandering if I will be successfull with this since I am already thinking about food so much of the time. Maybe we are just in that post-surgery haze and we will be thinking more clearly in a few more days.
I'll be thinking of ya and praying too!
Christy

goblin · 08-03-2006, 08:22 PM

You've made the biggest decision of your life and have gone through a MAJOR surgery. THe anesthestic alone could have you down.

However, let me tell you this. I had terrible complications after my surgery. For about two months, I had to push away thoughts of regret and remorse. Then my sister said to me, "THere will come a day when you'll be so happy you did this." I didn't believe it, but she was right. I feel more normal than I did before. I have energy and stamina and I am not ruled by food anymore. I feel so free. Hang in there. It's early yet and things WILL get not just better, but great.

Lisa A.

exit88 · 08-03-2006, 08:26 PM

I think the key to the post-surgery period is to try to relax and to take things as they come. I can guarantee you that over the next few months you will have a variety of new experiences and feelings.

Everyone is different and in a sense there is no such thing as "normal." According to your post you are a 27 year old obese woman who just had gastric bypass surgery. I am sure there are many other things about you not mentioned in the post. This is your reality. The only thing anyone can do is work on improving their future, the past is the past.

Personally I have no regrets at all. The surgery has led me to lose more weight with more ease than I could have imagined prior to the surgery. If anything I wish I had the surgery earlier.

coptergirl · 08-03-2006, 08:26 PM

Buyers remorse is totally normal, sweetie!! Hang in there - hell week is almost over, and I promise you that it gets so much better - I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

jackson · 08-03-2006, 08:33 PM

Hi I am about 5 days PO and I also I had a few feelings of loss after I woke up and a breif oh my what have I done phase.I have a wife that is 5 years out and her mother who is 3years out and they both admit to feeling the same way , but the also both say it was the best thing they have ever done. GBP surgery will change your life and for the better... good luck, god bless and cmon be happy!!

veroniquetalk · 08-03-2006, 09:49 PM

I have not regretted my decision to have the surgery - ever. I have been known to say that I hate it when the surger works like it is supposed to (which is usually when I have gone out for dinner and can't finish a delicious meal).
It is normal to feel some apprehension and fear. Yours is just coming out as doubt about the surgery. Believe me - soon you will be sooo happy you had this surgery that you will wonder why you felt the way you do now.