Regret

[KatrinaGrace 56]

How can you want something so much, and then turn around and regret it so quickly? I cannot believe I signed the rest of my life up for this. I feel like a complete dumb ass for not realizing beforehand that this surgery is just another diet... a lifelong one at that. I suppose because the only two people I know that had WLS had gastric bypass, and they eat whatever they want, don't exercise, and still lost all their weight. I didn't want to give up carbs. How did I not know before I got myself into this jam that you have to give up carbs forever?? I haven't been fat my whole life. I just gained all this weight this year. 62 lbs in 10 months after acquiring a seizure disorder in early February and being pretty much bedridden since then. In January I was a size 8 and happy. I panicked after gaining so much, threw thousands of dollars at a surgeon, and jumped on the surgery bandwagon. What the hell was I thinking??? No diabetes. No high blood pressure. No ill health at all due to my weight. I did it out of vanity, and I friggen want to bang my head against the wall for being so stupid. I bet some potato chips would make me feel better.

**I was crying my eyes out when I started typing this. Now that I've vented, I'm feeling much better. Guess I just needed to host a pity party for one. Please don't bash me too hard. I know I've made some stupid judgment calls.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

[SuperDave 1,115]

So, make the most of the situation. Use the surgery to your advantage to lose the weight you want to lose. Then, slowly reintroduce other things back into your diet until you back to what you consider a normal lifestyle. A lot of people who have had this surgery still eat carbs, or whatever else they want. It's not the end of the world.

[Elode 8,093]

@@KatrinaGrace My goodness! Calm down Dear! Nobody says "you can NEVER have carbs again" there's really nothing you can never have again. Banging your head and eating potato chips won't help in any situation. You didn't say when you had surgery?! November? I'm going to assume you are having a freak out moment because A: you aren't feeling good. B: maybe you haven't graduated to "real" food yet. C: wonderful delightful explosion of hormones? D: you were misinformed about your new way of eating? Or E: all of the above. The first few weeks are taxing to say the least. You are not doing yourself any favors By getting all worked up this early in the game. A lot , and I mean I've seen a lot of people with regret early out and then turn around and say how grateful they are Later. It's ok to vent, cry, scream, whatever get it out and let it go! You are going to be ok and I'm going to check back with you after some healing time has passed. Now I'm gonna need you to just Breathe!

Edited November 22, 2014 by Elode

[Forsythia 882]

I eat carbs. The whole reason I chose the sleeve was so that I could eat what I wanted, just in smaller amounts, because I had no will to control myself. Sleeve gives me the control I didn't have before. So I can have a couple of potato chips, not the whole damn bag.

Once you get past the liquid and the puree stages and get back to normal foods you can phase in bread or rice. You just have to feel things out to be successful. There are people who low carb because it works for them, and there are people who just eat smaller portions of the stuff they like, and they lose weight too. I'm in the latter group. I've lost 96 lbs since surgery and twelve more from my all time high.

I don't consider eating small portions a diet. I consider it an adjustment. Because portion size needed adjusting.

[Miss Mac 6,262]

Your surgery is already a done deal, so just take a deep breath and roll with it. You will be down that first thirty pounds in no time and feel much better. I applaude you for getting the surgery before your life gets out of hand. There are many of us oldsters on here who have tried every diet there is and yo-yo'd many times, only to gain a few more pounds each time.

I am so glad that you did not wait until you had knee and hip replacements, or a stroke, or a heart attack. My mother died not much older than I am now, of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. She was 5'2' and weighed over 320 poundss.

My oldest brother died of a heart attack at the age of 47. He was 6'2" but weighed over 420 pounds and left behind a widow and a daughter and three adopted children, all under the age of ten. His funeral was delayed a week because there was no casket available that was big enough to hold him. I was rapidly falling into their path.

Thank goodness you got your surgery and have a great headstart in not only getting the weight off, but keeping it off. You weren't foolish - you were very brave to take control over your future now. You may not feel very well for the first six weeks or so, but once you get solid food in your system, you will feel much better.

At ten months out, I eat what I want. It's just that what I want has changed. My body and internal systems thank me for the Protein and veggies, I am allowed one serving of fruit per day, and my eating plan has one piece of toast a day (I used to eat 6 with butter and jam, with a full breakfast!). A potato shows up once a week. Your life will be not be devoid of carbs. You will learn how to tweak in a few here and there. I wish you good luck and good health.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

How can you want something so much, and then turn around and regret it so quickly? I cannot believe I signed the rest of my life up for this. I feel like a complete dumb ass for not realizing beforehand that this surgery is just another diet... a lifelong one at that. I suppose because the only two people I know that had WLS had gastric bypass, and they eat whatever they want, don't exercise, and still lost all their weight. I didn't want to give up carbs. How did I not know before I got myself into this jam that you have to give up carbs forever?? I haven't been fat my whole life. I just gained all this weight this year. 62 lbs in 10 months after acquiring a seizure disorder in early February and being pretty much bedridden since then. In January I was a size 8 and happy. I panicked after gaining so much, threw thousands of dollars at a surgeon, and jumped on the surgery bandwagon. What the hell was I thinking??? No diabetes. No high blood pressure. No ill health at all due to my weight. I did it out of vanity, and I friggen want to bang my head against the wall for being so stupid. I bet some potato chips would make me feel better.

**I was crying my eyes out when I started typing this. Now that I've vented, I'm feeling much better. Guess I just needed to host a pity party for one. Please don't bash me too hard. I know I've made some stupid judgment calls.

I read all your posts here and I must say, I'm positively floored. From your history, it does sound like you did this on an absolute whim, with little to no research, and that both saddens and angers me at the same time.

You said in another post that you made the phone call to the surgeon on 10/20 and had the procedure on 11/4. Because you were self pay, you didn't have a psych evaluation and no preop nutritional counseling. You also stated you have no history of weight struggles having just gained this excess weight over the last ten months, making this decision purely out of vanity. Very impulsive of you, but EXTREMELY irresponsible on the part of your surgeon.

What I want to say? Suck it up, Buttercup. You chose to "jump on the surgery bandwagon" (how utterly offensive), you are going to have to live with it. I am shocked that any reputable surgeon would perform such invasive surgery on someone who was clueless to the repercussions. I am also completely appalled that you went into this so blindly. It seems as if you thought this was the easy way out and that you could just lay around and lose the weight and are now pissed that it doesn't work that way. But I won't say that...

What I WILL say. You are hangry right now. Your hormones are wonky and your body is healing from major surgery. You are emotional and that's normal. I suggest you go ahead and do all the research you should have done preop. You can't undo the surgery so you might as well make the best of it. If you follow a good nutritional plan, you will lose the pounds and get back to a healthy weight. Eventually you will be able to eat anything you want, just not as much of it. And who knows! You may be one of the "lucky" ones who regains a larger capacity.

I sincerely hope that this surgery gives you the results you want. I also hope you consider talking to a counselor about why you would make such a major decision -- a permanent decision -- so impulsively. I'm sure your diagnosis of a seizure disorder has thrown you for a loop mentally and that's adding to your stress. I wish you well.

[BitterSweet* 835]

If nothing else, your honesty in this moment is admirable. My concern for you above what has already been said is, your ability to adhere to the post-op nutritional plan.

Even with your lack of preparation it seems you've been lucky enough to have no complications. Others plan for a year or more, do everything right, and end up being in the unfortunate 1-2% with horrible, life-threatening complications. Be grateful about being complication free, and follow the guidelines to stay that way. I don't think there's an adult in this world who hasn't made a choice they regret. This is a doozy, but since there's no time machine capable of going back in time to undo this, make the best of it. Good luck to you.