Pardon my bluntness...

[sramos89 260]

At two weeks post op, I called the doc's office and told them I was tolerating everything well and starving and got the green light to move foward on the post op diet a little faster.

I think the post op diet keeps us safe and protects our new sleeve, some people have a very hard time even holding down the Soup and applesauce- they need to progress slow. We are all different. If you are rocking your sleeve- call your doctor.

Sometimes it is just hard to reach our doctors and so we rely on eachother for help and since we are not doctors we offer judgements instead. I don't like to judge others, I don't know their journey but I am really not going to cast judgement on someone who is on a journey that I haven't even started yet!

[Savedbyamazinggrace 66]

Speak out in love . You will find that you earn the respect of the person you want to reach . People of low self esteem like to find fault with others and point it out. Love yourself more.

[TXBell 9]

Maybe its because you have only been here a couple of weeks' date=' but your post ( in my opinion) is insensitive and judgemental... People who need this surgery are not typically good at staying on diets, or are yo yo dieters who sometimes fail when it comes to always doing the right thing. I am a professional dieter, but after my surgeon had me on Liquid Protein skakes for FIVE weeks, even commercials for McDonalds looked like gourmet cuisine...

I think some come here to vent, some come to be talked out of a temptation because this? ...Is a SUPPORT group...

To say that people are "lacking in common sense" because they may need help to stay on track is just ... mean.

I hope if you have a rough day and are tempted, that you get the support you need and are not belittled.[/quote']

Well said!

[The redhead 9]

Goodness, people certainly are taking this personally.

Contrary to what someone inferred, I'm not trying to belittle anyone. I'm genuinely flabbergasted by the behavior I've seen and trying to comprehend why it happens so often. It's probably the engineer in me, always trying to solve problems. I understand the temptations people have, I have them myself. I was stuck at a stoplight in front of a KFC today and my mouth was watering because I smelled the Colonel's secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices. I swear, that chicken smelled like the most delicious thing on the planet. My pre-op diet is kicking my ass and I know for sure the post-op diet will be even worse as my surgeon has an extremely conservative post-op regimen.

Cravings themselves are not the issue. I'm not criticizing anyone for having cravings or temptations, that would be incredibly hypocritical. I completely sympathize with folks who start threads looking for help because they're craving something. That's not what this is about. What I'm having difficulty understanding is this; why do people seek approval from what are basically complete strangers to violate their doctor's directives, when they know it's not in their best interest? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Quite frankly, I'm shocked that people are getting out the torches and pitchforks over this. Perhaps instead of lashing out at me because I touched a nerve, we should figure out why this happens so often and see what can be done about it? That would be support, wouldn't it?

I am disappointed by the fact that you would post something that starts with you having to say excuse you for you blunteness and be surprised by reaction. Of course its a little startling, but not as surprising as it is to be someone who has HAD the surgery and realize that no amount of planning could prepare you for the overnight change in everything bad you have trained and marinated yourself in. NO ONE is allowed the surgery without proving that you have not been able to do this alone for YEARS. The idea that after weeks of not chewing and eating something we are addicted to equally as much as the full feeling or feeding our emotions is less than surprising, it is the pure reason in many ways forums like this exist. the only thing that sucks more than being unhealthy and overweight is the 6 total weeks of Clear Liquids i am required preand post op. I pray that you mental will power is stronger than mine and keeps you from looking at the calendar and counting down the days or from wondering how did I get here or how could I let it get this bad or when can I just have mashed up squash. I am not offended by you post....not the first one that was you being honest and a little insensitive, the second one though.... I hope your surgery and recovery are great and that your diet goes by quickly.

[lotti 154]

If you do not follow drs instructions problems might happen period.

[kyllfalcon 768]

Maybe it is frustrating, but keep in mind that some of us are self pay and may not have had the support as some others have had such as counseling or support from a nut. So although these questions may sound stupid or common knowledge to those who were thoroughly educated about it, some have not. Just a thought...

Somewhat off track... but I was self-pay and was thoroughly educated and had to do everything the insured had to do, including all the medical tests and psych exam, except the lengthy supervised diet.

[delta_girl 931]

Somewhat off track... but I was self-pay and was thoroughly educated and had to do everything the insured had to do, including all the medical tests and psych exam, except the lengthy supervised diet.

Same here. I was totally self pay and had to do all of that as well. It may have been because I had my surgery done at a Bariatric Center of Excellence, which may have specific requirements of patients to maintain that designation.

[kyllfalcon 768]

Perhaps one should educate themselves and build a support system before kicking out all that money and expecting to sit back not participate in their own recovery and expect the inches and pounds to fall off.

I try not to jump in on such remarks, but really? This has nothing to do with self-pay!! Regardless of whether one is self-pay or covered by insurance, they need education, a support system and to particpate in their own recovery...

[lotti 154]

You are forgiven

[sramos89 260]

This surgery was on our stomaches and not our brains. We are the same people pre and post op, so why would we not have the same issues with food? People don't understand that the sleeve is just a tool in our battle with the disease of obesity. I don't care if I wake up one day weighing 100 lbs, I am going to fight obesity the rest of my life- that is my bodies and my personalities disposition. No one should ever belittle anyone one this forum for these awful choices we make with food if we didn't make awful choices with food we wouldn't be here. You think undergoing a life changing surgical procedure would be a "wake up" call? The pain of being obese is far worse than this surgery. And the cost? I have spent far more in my lifetime on fly by night diets than this surgery. Anyone who believes this surgery is the be all, end all does not get obesity an has no right to offer advice in this forum. We are addicts, you do not get to be 100 lbs over your ideal body weight on accident.

[.......... 129]

.. to much of an opinion and burns are just as ingnorant......

Edited January 26, 2013 by JKG

[Butterthebean 8,146]

This surgery was on our stomaches and not our brains. We are the same people pre and post op' date=' so why would we not have the same issues with food? People don't understand that the sleeve is just a tool in our battle with the disease of obesity. I don't care if I wake up one day weighing 100 lbs, I am going to fight obesity the rest of my life- that is my bodies and my personalities disposition. No one should ever belittle anyone one this forum for these awful choices we make with food if we didn't make awful choices with food we wouldn't be here. You think undergoing a life changing surgical procedure would be a "wake up" call? The pain of being obese is far worse than this surgery. And the cost? I have spent far more in my lifetime on fly by night diets than this surgery. Anyone who believes this surgery is the be all, end all does not get obesity an has no right to offer advice in this forum. We are addicts, you do not get to be 100 lbs over your ideal body weight on accident.[/quote']

Yes, but the best thing to do is to start working on these issues before surgery. They may not all be sorted out come surgery day, but at least begin to do the work. Some people do no work, just have surgery, then come here bitching because they aren't losing the weight and the surgery was a scam or the surgeon didn't remove enough stomach and yadda yadda yadda.

[Southern Gal 20]

Maybe its because you have only been here a couple of weeks' date=' but your post ( in my opinion) is insensitive and judgemental... People who need this surgery are not typically good at staying on diets, or are yo yo dieters who sometimes fail when it comes to always doing the right thing. I am a professional dieter, but after my surgeon had me on liquid Protein skakes for FIVE weeks, even commercials for McDonalds looked like gourmet cuisine...

I think some come here to vent, some come to be talked out of a temptation because this? ...Is a SUPPORT group...

To say that people are "lacking in common sense" because they may need help to stay on track is just ... mean.

I hope if you have a rough day and are tempted, that you get the support you need and are not belittled.[/quote']

Well stated!

[.......... 129]

.

[rdoactv 218]

I find it ironic that there's this thread right here wondering why people do these things' date=' followed by a bunch of "you don't know or understand" and "you're not being supportive!" posts...and just a few threads down on this board are a bunch of people reaming out another person for wanting to start solids before their surgeon allows it.

Look, being a food addict doesn't give you a free pass to do stupid things. And yes, it's not nice or PC to say it, but it's absolutely a stupid thing to trust a surgeon to slice your body open and remove most of an organ, and then to decide on your own to just eat what you want despite the fact that he/she gave you a diet specifically geared to prevent life threatening complications.

YOU CAN DIE FROM A LEAK. Do you know why the complication rate is low with the sleeve? Partly because our surgeons give us post op diets to follow to prevent complications!

I'm sorry, but if you are not in a place where you can mentally withstand three weeks of a liquid diet and would rather risk your life eating Cookies and hamburgers during that phase, you should probably get some counseling prior to surgery. I am not being cruel, I am saying this as nicely as I know how to say it. There is no shame in needing support. However, it would be a real shame for someone to risk their life and undergo serious pain and follow on surgeries because they were not prepared to exercise willpower long enough to heal.

We all have food addictions and bad habits - every one of us. Some people cope better than others, certainly. But nobody here has an easy relationship with food or we'd have skipped the organ removal!

And I don't care what anyone says - being supportive means being HONEST. Sure, there are nice ways to do this and blunt and harsh ways. In my opinion, the OP was not harsh or rude in any way. Certainly she said nothing out of line.

If you come here and ask the advice of total strangers on the internet, do not expect that everyone is going to give you a rainbow sparkles hug when you're doing dumb things. Sometimes we need a wake up call and gently saying, "Gosh, I don't know that eating a cheeseburger is a good idea a week post op" probably isn't as effective as saying, "Do you have a death wish?!"

People with addictions love to blame their addictions for their own choices and weakness but the reality is that every one of us can change. We have to choose to do it. Do not say "I can't stop eating" because YES YOU CAN. It's just harder to stop, that's all.

Good luck, folks. And to anyone I offend now or later on VST, I'm sure I meant it in the nicest way possible.

~Cheri[/quote']

Clk...I always love your excellent advice, opinions and honesty. : ) If I ever come on here looking for the green light to eat something I shouldn't, or the ok to return to past bad habits, I would hope someone would give me a stern "speech" and remind me why I needed this surgery and how miserable I am preop to boot me back onto the right path.