I hate this surgery.

[elektrik_rose 63]

@OnAJourney Buffalo Wild Wings huh? I am now in Week 4 (Soft Food) and loving it. My 2nd week we celebrated my Mom's birthday @ Carolina Kitchen. I had to watch my family eat dinner there, at Christmas, etc. It was hard but as some people here are saying, it gets easier.

[alley-gator 96]

hmmmmm.............

back on topic

alley-gator

how do you feel "mentally" after reading all the great responses???

just as importantly' date=' how are you physically feeling today???

everybody cares about you (and OP in the same situation) thats why you are getting so many responses

hope all the words of wisdom from everyone have helped

your problems/situation will improve, promise!!!

would i lie to you [/quote']

Thanks for checking on me! I feel pretty good, this week has been much easier physically & mentally. And after not losing for 2 weeks, I started losing again. I start school again tomorrow so its good distraction from thinking about food.< /p>

[Mason 122]

Im just wondering if alot of the unhappiness is because they are not fully prepared for all of this before hand.

It's a good question.

In my neck of the woods (Abu Dhabi, UAE), there is virtually no pre- or post-op support. One week before surgery, you show up at the hospital for blood work, a chest X-ray, and an echocardiogram. They want to make sure you're strong enough to survive the surgery. That's it.

I researched this surgery for a solid year-and-a-half before undergoing it. I consulted with three different surgeons, interviewed a half-dozen patients about their personal experiences, and read as many journal articles on the procedure and early recovery process that I could find.

I was well-prepared mentally for the surgery but, as others have already written, no amount of mental understanding can prepare you experientially for what you will encounter. The specific phenomenology of this surgery varies considerably by patient given each person's history, overall physical and mental status, particular issues with food, and—no less so—personality organization.

Writing entirely for myself, I was so fixated on the mechanics of the surgery (particularly how much pain there would be and whether I'd be able to return to work in three weeks) that I really didn't focus on what it would be like, for example, to consume nothing but fluids for two weeks. I mean, by day nine, I felt like I was drowning!

From what I've read on these forums, I do believe a lot of people unfortunately delude themselves into viewing the surgery as a cure for their obesity and, of course, it is not. Now that my staple line is completely healed and all the swelling has subsided, I see how easy it would be to start eating excess calories if I wanted and I'm only 32 days out.

My wife is a Filipino and, just the other night, she made a big pot of a tomato-based dish consisting of ground pork called Giniling (better known by its Spanish name Picadillo in the States). I happen to really like this dish. According to the food database on MyFitnessPal.com, Giniling has 554 calories per cup and, "of course," you can't eat this dish without rice. At that point, as I'm on a 1290 calorie per day program and only had just over 300 calories left, I watched my wife and brother-in-law enjoy big scoops of Giniling poured over large mounds of long-grain rice while I ate my two ounces of deli-sliced turkey breast and one ounce of cheese. (I can cry now just thinking about it!)

I can easily understand how pissed-off patients become when they realize (some much later than others) that the sleeve is not going to do all the work for them. If they don't make the effort to track their food intake on a daily basis and exercise at least three times a week, it's very unlikely that they will reach goal and they should plan on regaining at least some of the weight back.

The bariatric surgeons here don't emphasize the persistence of food cravings, the pesky phenomenon of "head hunger," the fact that they don't remove your taste buds along with your stomach, or that you can still easily go way over your BMR caloric requirements for the day even after having had 75 to 80 percent of your stomach removed! It's simply not in their best interest to stress these facts of life for the typical VSG patient.

Sure, it is truly a lot easier to do the right thing after getting sleeved, but it's certainly not a walk in the park by any means.

[alley-gator 96]

It's a good question.

In my neck of the woods (Abu Dhabi' date=' UAE), there is virtually no pre- or post-op support. One week before surgery, you show up at the hospital for blood work, a chest X-ray, and an echocardiogram. They want to make sure you're strong enough to survive the surgery. That's it.

I researched this surgery for a solid year-and-a-half before undergoing it. I consulted with three different surgeons, interviewed a half-dozen patients about their personal experiences, and read as many journal articles on the procedure and early recovery process that I could find. I was well-prepared mentally for the surgery but, as others have already written, no amount of mental understanding can prepare you experientially for what you will encounter. The specific phenomenology of this surgery varies considerably by patient given each person's history, overall physical and mental status, particular issues with food, and—no less so—personality organization.

Writing entirely for myself, I was so fixated on the mechanics of the surgery (particularly how much pain there would be and whether I'd be able to return to work in three weeks) that I really didn't focus on what it would be like, for example, to consume nothing but fluids for two weeks. I mean, by day 9, I felt like I was drowning!

From what I've read on these forums, I do believe a lot of people unfortunately delude themselves into viewing the surgery as a cure for their obesity and, of course, it is not. Now that my staple line is completely healed and all the swelling has subsided, I see how easy it would be to start eating excess calories if I wanted and I'm only 32 days out.

My wife is a Filipino and, just the other night, she made a big pot of a tomato-based dish consisting of ground pork called Giniling (better known by its Spanish name Picadillo in the States). I happen to really like this dish. According to the food database on MyFitnessPal.com, Giniling has 554 calories per cup and, "of course," you can't eat this dish without rice. At that point, as I'm on a 1290 calorie per day program and only had just over 300 calories left, I watched my wife and brother-in-law enjoy big scoops of Giniling poured over large mounds of long-grain rice while I ate my two ounces of deli-sliced turkey breast and one ounce of cheese. (I can cry now just thinking about it!)

I can easily understand how pissed-off patients become when they realize (some much later than others) that the sleeve is not going to do all the work for them. If they don't make the effort to track their food intake on a daily basis and exercise at least three times a week, it's very unlikely that they will reach goal and it's very likely they will regain at least some of the weight back.

The bariatric surgeons here don't emphasize the persistence of food cravings, the pesky phenomenon of "head hunger," the fact that they don't remove your taste buds along with your stomach, or that you can still easily go way over your BMR caloric requirements for the day even after having had 75 to 80 percent of your stomach removed! It's simply not in their best interest to stress these facts of life for the typical VSG patient.

Sure, it is truly a lot easier to do the right thing after getting sleeved, but it's certainly not a walk in the park by any means.[/quote']

Well put, sir. My initial rant was fighting with head hunger & being miserable with it, for the reasons you outlined above. Thanks for a quality response.

[Holly5.3 423]

Let me put it this way, not that anyone really cares about my input... some days you miss food, some you don't! But I rather cry my way down a size when everyone else can't lose weight eating Buffalo wild wings, pizza, etc.! In time we can eat everything, just an appropriate amount for a normal-sized body! The choice is simple: don't have surgery and gain more weight. Have the surgery. It's hard work, but in a year or two you can eat and be healthy and more attractive too! Food is fuel, not life!

[Vicki3007 11]

In my neck of the woods (Abu Dhabi, UAE), there is virtually no pre- or post-op support.

So glad to see there is someone else on this site also in UAE!

I absolutely agree there is no support available here for WLS patients. Am still struggling with head hunger myself, though I do believe it's getting easier to distract myself when I start thinking about food

[Quickly 45]

Nicely said!!

[Quickly 45]

Head hunger!! I know what you are talking about. I am thinking that is what got me in a bad way!! I think the challenge is adapting to my new lifestyle and take that energy to a different level. What that is... I am figuring out! Life is what we make it, so... I want to be healthy and what I eat is what I am...Lol

[margaret143 0]

^{Any one has done the Gastric Sleeve in Abu Dhabi. Would love to hear recommendations and feedback.}