Grumpy Newbie

[cass32117 0]

Hello everyone,

I thought I'd stop by and check this out at the recommendation of my therapist. I am having RNY on 3/21. I have gone through the whole approval process, and so far I'm down 40lbs from diet and exercise.

I call myself a grumpy newbie because that's how I've been feeling a majority of the time since I changed my eating and started exercising. The dietician recommended adding 2 Snacks to my regimen, and that helped with the irritability a bit, but not totally. Also, I am 3 months into this journey, and exercising still sucks, and I feel like I'm not getting any stronger, which is frustrating.

I can't figure out if I'm grumpy because I can't eat like I used to or if the anticipation of surgery is stressing me out or what. I know my emotions will be all over the place immediately after surgery. What I want to know is, is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I'd like to think this grumpiness is just a phase that will abate once I'm recovered from surgery.

Any advice or anecdotes would be appreciated

Thank you!

[James Marusek 5,244]

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 3 1/2 years ago. After surgery, it can take awhile for you to reach a happy state when the problems seem to melt away. It took around 6 months in my case. I recommend you do three things at your stage.
1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success.
2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery.
3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery.

I consider this surgery to be one of the best decisions that I ever made.