Anyone Wish They Had Not Done Their Gastric Sleeve Surgery?

[lsereno 2,525]

I'm 7 weeks out. So far, I don't have buyer's remorse, but of course I have had a few bad days. My biggest fear is gaining the weight back in years 2 and beyond. Now that would give me buyer's remorse! If could truly control what I eat I would have never needed the sleeve in the first place, so as time goes by, I am afraid I may make bad choices that let weight creep back.

I don't miss eating much. For the most part, I am not hungry and find it a major hassle to eat the required amounts. I think part of that is because I am VERY compliant with my Dr's recommendations: low cal Protein first at every meal. I am much happier since my six-week post op when I was cleared for all foods. Unlike many, I have found beef very easy to tolerate.

Lynda

[anonynurse 13]

I am 20 days postop and to be very honest, I am not having fun so far. I have a lot more pain than most here have reported and I am needing a 2-4 hour nap every day. I don't have enough energy to shop with my mom and definitely am not ready to go back to work yet. I am mourning being able to eat and feeling pretty rebellious about Protein shakes, which I am sick of. My initial loss has slowed down and I am starting to fear I am failing or going to fail to lose the rest of my weight.

I have a great relationship with my surgeon and am optimistic that once I get better about getting in my Protein that I will have more energy. And I believe that the pain WILL eventually pass and I will be able to get back to my life. Just taking it one day at a time right now and not dwelling too much on having had the surgery. This is how my life and food relationship is going to be. Building onward and upward.

[luvbugz 0]

I had surgery 5 days ago. And today is my birthday. You bet I was super sad to not be able to Celebrate with food...not to mention not being able to join in the 4th of July barbeque festivities. To be honest, i was certainly feeling major regret. But, everyday does get better. And, unfortunately, I personally feel like no matter how many people warn you about how the first few days are hard, it will still be just as hard for you. It is hard at the beginning.

But I also feel like almost anything that is hard is worthwhile. This is an amazing tool to get your life back. I cannot find anyone who looked back long after surgery and regrets being healthy and happy with themselves.

Even though I can't Celebrate with food now, I will be able to eat regular food eventually. I am glad you are on this site. There is so much support and people with answers.

I hope I can be the same for you.

You will be great.

[purple tulip 2]

I have had a very similar experience and I totally agree with you

I regretted the hell out of having mutilated my body several times since having surgery almost 12 weeks ago. It wasn't because of physical discomfort - most all surgeries bring some level of pain during the recovery period which eventually passes. My regret was not being able to eat all the yummy foods that I have always enjoyed which, in turn, brings me pleasure. The worst was immediately after surgery when I was on clears and then full liquids. I had to face the fact that although I had denied it, I was indeed a food addict, or at the very least, a sugar/carb addict.

I allowed myself a brief mourning period and then got over the sadness I felt over never again being able to enjoy the buffet at Golden Corral or my favorite Chinese place. After all, it's just food. How stupid is it that I would sacrifice my health and improved physical appearance over some stupid fried rice that would only bring momentary pleasure to my taste buds? Personally, being down 73lbs from my highest weight ever FAR outweighs my being able to eat at a buffet. It's. Just. Food.

I can still eat most of the foods I enjoyed before surgery, just not in the same quantities. Instead of 2 cups of fried rice I eat 1/2 cup. I can eat 2 crab wontons instead of 10. And I can eat 4 or 5 french fries instead of an entire super-sized order. Every now & then, my head wants more even though my stomach says I'm done. My inner 3 year old self wants to stomp and cry and do a 'take back' on the surgery so I can eat more. Fortunately, my sleeve keeps me in check until I regain my senses and put my big girl panties back on.

I have lunch with friends often, starting when I was just a week out and had to bring a bowl of broth with me to the restaurant. Yeah, I felt like an oddball then but now I just eat like a skinny person! I wouldn't give up my sleeve for all the tea in China 'cause I would have never been able to control my appetite enough to keep the weight off without it.

[aoa 4]

I do not regret having my Sleeve.

[Coookies 13]

I think all of us have wished at one time or another that we hadn't done it, BUT, I also think that all of us have also wished that we could have done this 10 years ago.. It's not a cake walk, it's hard.. you will regret it at times and you will love it most of the time!! (plus with all of the hormones swishing around in your body for several months after the surgery, you will have all of these feelings plus more... think: PMS on crack!! LOL) ... . BUT in the end you will love it... and love yourself for doing it!

[Coookies 13]

I feel you-- I could hardly make it to the afternoon.. for the first 2 months i would get home from teaching and crawl into bed for a minimum of 2 hours.....now I am almost 3 months out, and it is better, but i still need to nap sometimes....

I am 20 days postop and to be very honest, I am not having fun so far. I have a lot more pain than most here have reported and I am needing a 2-4 hour nap every day. I don't have enough energy to shop with my mom and definitely am not ready to go back to work yet. I am mourning being able to eat and feeling pretty rebellious about Protein shakes, which I am sick of. My initial loss has slowed down and I am starting to fear I am failing or going to fail to lose the rest of my weight.

I have a great relationship with my surgeon and am optimistic that once I get better about getting in my Protein that I will have more energy. And I believe that the pain WILL eventually pass and I will be able to get back to my life. Just taking it one day at a time right now and not dwelling too much on having had the surgery. This is how my life and food relationship is going to be. Building onward and upward.

[ahoy 3]

Thanks, Meg... my stomach is one issue I have. I have terrible IBS and have already made dramatic dietary changes, but it's related to fibromyalgia, so there's only so much I can do, really. It's scary, because maybe VSG makes my stomach better... maybe it makes it worse. Same goes with the fibro. There's really no way to know, and it's such a HUGE risk since you can't "undo" it.

Karelia, just for the record, I have long had… uh, very "powerful"… digestive problems if I ate low carb, and also have fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue. 6 weeks post-op, I no longer have the digestive issues AND my CFS/FM is much improved. (Not gone. But I don't get exhausted for days after exercising, and I rarely have to take pain killers.)

I've only lost 28lbs, which is not quite even where I was before I got sick, but it made a remarkable difference already.

I think the chances are good that it will make you BETTER.

[Pebbles 0]

I regretted the hell out of having mutilated my body several times since having surgery almost 12 weeks ago. It wasn't because of physical discomfort - most all surgeries bring some level of pain during the recovery period which eventually passes. My regret was not being able to eat all the yummy foods that I have always enjoyed which, in turn, brings me pleasure. The worst was immediately after surgery when I was on clears and then full liquids. I had to face the fact that although I had denied it, I was indeed a food addict, or at the very least, a sugar/carb addict.

I allowed myself a brief mourning period and then got over the sadness I felt over never again being able to enjoy the buffet at Golden Corral or my favorite Chinese place. After all, it's just food. How stupid is it that I would sacrifice my health and improved physical appearance over some stupid fried rice that would only bring momentary pleasure to my taste buds? Personally, being down 73lbs from my highest weight ever FAR outweighs my being able to eat at a buffet. It's. Just. Food.

I can still eat most of the foods I enjoyed before surgery, just not in the same quantities. Instead of 2 cups of fried rice I eat 1/2 cup. I can eat 2 crab wontons instead of 10. And I can eat 4 or 5 french fries instead of an entire super-sized order. Every now & then, my head wants more even though my stomach says I'm done. My inner 3 year old self wants to stomp and cry and do a 'take back' on the surgery so I can eat more. Fortunately, my sleeve keeps me in check until I regain my senses and put my big girl panties back on.

I have lunch with friends often, starting when I was just a week out and had to bring a bowl of broth with me to the restaurant. Yeah, I felt like an oddball then but now I just eat like a skinny person! I wouldn't give up my sleeve for all the tea in China 'cause I would have never been able to control my appetite enough to keep the weight off without it.

I'm not sleeved yet, but I love your post! I know a few people who have had the sleeve surgery, and they've said the same thing you have. They mourn the loss of being able to eat as before, but love the results of the surgery.

I'm addicted to food. I have an unhealthy, completely dysfunctional relationship with food, and it's so embarrassing. I'm out of control and I've lost myself. I know I'm going to be cranky and hard to live with in the beginning because I can't eat, but I'm determined to push through. I just can't live like this anymore. I'm one of those people who needs to be forced to move away from the table and find something else to use to cope with stress. I hope it becomes excercise.

[juliarh 35]

Hi I'm 10 months out -- the first 6 weeks were hell for me. I don't know that I regretted it, but I definitely was not recovering as fast as others. I think I went into detail about it sometime afterwards in a post if you want to search my user name. But I do not regret it at all -- I've lost nearly 135 pounds and am active and healthier than I have been in decades. Nope, I can't eat what I used to eat, but that's what I signed up for. I don't regret not being able to eat the same amounts, but right now, 10 months out, I can eat pretty much anything, but just not quantities. Now, I choose not to eat certain foods, but that's okay too. I wouldn't change this for the world and just wish I had done it sooner.

[Rainydayz 27]

I'm 7 days out today. Yesterday morning I was curled up in my bed crying my eyes out asking myself what had I done to myself. For the first 6 days I was miserable with acid pain. My dr. did not give me a PPI when I left the hospital and I'm one of the ones that really, really need one. I started one on day 5.

My stitches were healing fine, hardly any pain at all. The gas was painful but tolerable and it got less every day so I was not too worried about the gas. But every single time I swallowed, even my own spit, I got rewarded with a chest-wide inferno that almost brought tears to my eyes (and eventually did.)

So, yes, I regretted the hell out of doing it. That was one day after starting the PPI and the pain was still there so I thought it would be there forever. I was so scared about getting dehydrated that I forced myself to drink to the Water and the Protein shakes. But I regretted it.

After my good cry, I got up and saw that I was still alive and no matter what I had to carry on. So I got on with my day. That afternoon the pain got less. Today is day 3 on the PPI (Prilosec) and the pain is still there somewhat, but not nearly as bad. So I'm hopeful today. I'm hopeful that the pain will all go away soon and I'll be able to get on with learning how to eat again and will love my sleeve like so many other people.

So the answer is, yes I did regret it yesterday. But today, not so much. I hope that helps.

[Lakelady 2]

I had trouble with acid for the first month and then NEVER after that! Just so you know that the PPI could be temporary.

[thinoneday 445]

I regretted the hell out of having mutilated my body several times since having surgery almost 12 weeks ago. It wasn't because of physical discomfort - most all surgeries bring some level of pain during the recovery period which eventually passes. My regret was not being able to eat all the yummy foods that I have always enjoyed which, in turn, brings me pleasure. The worst was immediately after surgery when I was on clears and then full liquids. I had to face the fact that although I had denied it, I was indeed a food addict, or at the very least, a sugar/carb addict.

I allowed myself a brief mourning period and then got over the sadness I felt over never again being able to enjoy the buffet at Golden Corral or my favorite Chinese place. After all, it's just food. How stupid is it that I would sacrifice my health and improved physical appearance over some stupid fried rice that would only bring momentary pleasure to my taste buds? Personally, being down 73lbs from my highest weight ever FAR outweighs my being able to eat at a buffet. It's. Just. Food.

I can still eat most of the foods I enjoyed before surgery, just not in the same quantities. Instead of 2 cups of fried rice I eat 1/2 cup. I can eat 2 crab wontons instead of 10. And I can eat 4 or 5 french fries instead of an entire super-sized order. Every now & then, my head wants more even though my stomach says I'm done. My inner 3 year old self wants to stomp and cry and do a 'take back' on the surgery so I can eat more. Fortunately, my sleeve keeps me in check until I regain my senses and put my big girl panties back on.

I have lunch with friends often, starting when I was just a week out and had to bring a bowl of broth with me to the restaurant. Yeah, I felt like an oddball then but now I just eat like a skinny person! I wouldn't give up my sleeve for all the tea in China 'cause I would have never been able to control my appetite enough to keep the weight off without it.

I'm sorry but i had to laugh at your quote "never again being able to enjoy the buffet at Golden Corral or my favorite Chinese place". . that was really priceless cause that was my exact same thing too. . . but you know what? My hubbie loves Golden Corral and chinese, we still go and yup I spend $11.00 on a piece of chicken leg and a small bowl of clam chowder. . . at the chinese we do take out and it will last me for days on end! By the time i'm done all that chinese food, I don't care to see chinese again for months. . i do lunch with friends and when i order my food, I automatically ask for a take out box and carry it home for another time. . . usually works very well. . . it's amazing how we adjust after a while. . . in the beginning it's pure hell and i totally sympathize with Tamz cause i was like that too at her time out, but it does get better and you feel so light and great when you order/eat such a small amount and everyone else around you is pigging out. . . good luck to all. . . TOGETHER we'll get there

[thinoneday 445]

I'm not sleeved yet, but I love your post! I know a few people who have had the sleeve surgery, and they've said the same thing you have. They mourn the loss of being able to eat as before, but love the results of the surgery.

I'm addicted to food. I have an unhealthy, completely dysfunctional relationship with food, and it's so embarrassing. I'm out of control and I've lost myself. I know I'm going to be cranky and hard to live with in the beginning because I can't eat, but I'm determined to push through. I just can't live like this anymore. I'm one of those people who needs to be forced to move away from the table and find something else to use to cope with stress. I hope it becomes excercise.

hi there, hey you might not be cranky and miserable at all after surgery. . . i thought i would have been miserable and cranky but surprisingly i was not, my hubbie even told me that i was so much easier to live with after surgery. . . go figure and here i thought i was easy to get along with ! hahahahaha. . . so it really depends, the outcome may surprise you!

[Tamz 8]

I'm sorry but i had to laugh at your quote "never again being able to enjoy the buffet at Golden Corral or my favorite Chinese place". . that was really priceless cause that was my exact same thing too. . . but you know what? My hubbie loves Golden Corral and chinese, we still go and yup I spend $11.00 on a piece of chicken leg and a small bowl of clam chowder. . . at the chinese we do take out and it will last me for days on end! By the time i'm done all that chinese food, I don't care to see chinese again for months. . i do lunch with friends and when i order my food, I automatically ask for a take out box and carry it home for another time. . . usually works very well. . . it's amazing how we adjust after a while. . . in the beginning it's pure hell and i totally sympathize with Tamz cause i was like that too at her time out, but it does get better and you feel so light and great when you order/eat such a small amount and everyone else around you is pigging out. . . good luck to all. . . TOGETHER we'll get there

Thank you for your understanding. I know I seem negative more often than positive but today is JUST my 30 day mark. I think Im even more blah now than I was in the beginning.. bc in the beginning I really didnt wanna eat, I had hardly no appetite and was just ehh towards the idea of foods. However, now I am on full liquids/soft foods and I actually have an appetite.. so it really gets to me when everyone is going out to eat and I say no thanks. I know it sounds like Im a huge fat pig.. but its the truth. That is what I was used to, as I think many of us were. We were used to always saying "YES" to going out to eat, to ordering an appetizer AND an entree, and even dessert. Those days are no more.. and thought it seems silly... its hard to get over that lifestyle, even though i know my stomach can no longer tolerate it. I am looking forward to July 14.. because thats when i can start solid foods. I think at that point.. i wont be so blah, because thought I will have restriction as far as quantity and fat/fried/carby foods.. I wont be AS restricted as i am now. Long story short... I know in the long run this was the best choice, as I am not stupid.. but right now Im in that crappy stage. I thought this site was about being supportive.. even when we are going thru a day, or a week or a full month of blah! .. but apparently you dont get that from every person on here. Thank you for being understanding