2 weeks till surgery...having second thoughts...please help.

Ok, so I have 2 weeks to go till surgery.  On Saturday I finally dipped below 350.  I was so excited.  When I told hubby, he was happy, but then he mentioned that if I wanted to change my mind and not have surgery and just keep going, that I could.  So now I have all kinds of doubts in my head.  I've lost 49 pounds since October.  Can I do this on my own and keep following what I've been taught???  I just read a story today about a teen that lost almost 200 pounds all on his own.  Am I crazy for having surgery?  Am I being a wimp???  Are all these thoughts normal????  Please help me!!!

What your going through is completely normal. The decision has to be yours. I think because with most surgeries we are told we are having them, with this surgery we can choose to have them. The reason I choose to go ahead was I wanted to keep it off, not lose it and then gain it back. I wanted to be able to have a baby and complete our family( did July 2011). I wanted to go to standium events and not be worried if I would fit in the seat. So although I was doing good before surgery I needed more help then any diet was giving me.

I wish you well and hope you make the right decision for you .

Thank you for your comment to her post....I needed it like you wouldn't believe.

I'm      again

You will have a much better chance at long term success if you have the surgery.  You still have to change your habits like you would on a regular diet...but with the VSG, it will actually work long term.

I started at 347...am at 242 now...so so so happy I had the surgery!

Good Luck!

 

Congratulations on your weight loss!  

I think having the surgery 100% has to be a personal decision.  I knew that I needed help.  I had lost the weight (not all of it, but a lot of it) a few times only to put it back on again.  The surgery for me made the lifestyle change easier.  Even now 8 months later, I don't find myself hungry after eating 1000 calories in a day.  When I was losing previously every day was a struggle.  My body just wanted more food.  

If you think you can do this on your own and want to give it a shot -- go for it.  If you, like most of us, think you need the tool -- go for it!  The choice is yours :)  Either one could be right for you!

As the previous posters have said, surgery will give you better chances at long term success.  I started at 383lbs.  I lost 62lbs in the three months before surgery.  I was surprised that I was able to lose that much "on my own" and for a brief time considered postponing or not having surgery.  But when I really thought about it I decided that the surgery was just going to reinforce all of the great work I had already done to change my lifestyle.  I didn't have surgery to lose weight.  I still have to do that "on my own" but so far (and I'm only 4.5 months out from surgery) my sleeve has been a great help in doing just that every thing.  I'm down to under 248lbs as of this morning.  Knowing how great I feel right now, I NEVER want to go back.  My sleeve is going to help me in my never ending fight to never go back to the old me.

I lost 178 on my own and put it all back on and more. I thought I could do it on my own too but discovered I can't and needed a tool.  I backed out several times before and one time 2 weeks before surgery. I told myself I could do it on my own. From the two weeks before backing out of surgery to over 1 1/2 years later I was at a higher weight.  We are all scared about surgery and that is normal.  I was up at 1am the day of surgery with dry heaves and nerves so bad I almost canceled the taxi that was taking me to the hospital...... But I stuck it out as I knew surgery is what I needed to lose the weight.  Like most people on this site, I have no regrets having surgery.   

I wanted to respond but want to be clear I didn't do so to push you in one direction or another.  The decision is yours and I think you should have as much information as you can to help make that decision.

I went through the same thought process as you.  unlike you I didn't do very well and, honestly, didn't try very had during the 1st 5 months of the program.  However, when I did my pre-op diet which involved shakes, bars and one small meal (3oz meat and vegies) I did so well that I began questioning why I would go through something so drastic as having a portion of my stomach cut out when it seemed obvious that I could do this "on my own" if I put the right effort into it.

After a lot of thinking I cam to a simple conclusion:  I could make temporary changes without surgery but I could not make them permanent.  My whole life I demonstrated that I could "diet" for a given time but I always went back to bad habits.  I never once hit a goal weight.  Sometimes it didn't take more than a few social events which made it hard to diet packed all together to throw me off.  Sometimes it was a stressful situation.  Sometimes it was that it dawned on me that although I had lost a lot of weight I was still fat and still forever away from my goal.  Whatever it was, I never got there.  With the surgery I can and will hit my goal.  Then, if I pay attention to my intake and weight, the battle with food will be gaining and losing the same 5 lbs for the rest of my life.  That battle is more winnable than trying to lose 100+ with my appetite.

I went through some serious second guessing.  Now, 6 weeks out I think this was THE BEST decision of my life.  I am down 58lbs since my pre-op diet started.  I am exercising more.  I don't struggle with being hungry and eating too much.  At times I still struggle with wanting things I shouldn't have but its not like before when my mouth would water and I would get the same feeling of desire I felt when I was quitting smoking. 

I have been lucky though.  I haven't experienced any problems.  I have no problem getting water and protein in.  I have had no nausea and no vomiting.  I am able to eat exactly the amount of food my program calls for at this stage.  I haven't had any bad reaction to any of the foods I have tried.  Frankly, for me the only differences from before surgery is that I am satisfied eating around 800 Cals per day and that I have more energy than I did before surgery.  

Where I am at now, I do not believe I would feel any better about myself if I would have been able to "do it on my own" as compared to getting the help the sleeve provides. Hope that helps.

 awesome

I went thru the same thing when I was pre-op.  I was so determined and I Followed my pre-op diet so well that I lost 50 pounds.  Then I started thinking,  "gee, can I do this on my own?"  I thought that for a few days, and then I had a stressful day - issues with an employee at work, and I remembered how stress can do me in.  I also had 40 years of diets followed by failures.  What would be different this time?   I went ahead and had the surgery and I am so glad that I did.

I lost more weight than I ever imagined.  I am healthy and happy, and have more energy.  The surgery really does change your body so the weight loss is possible.  It isn't easy. It takes discipline and commitment.  But it does make it possible, whereas before surgery, I could lose weight for a while, but it inevitably ended in even more weight gained.

trust me. The surgery is so worth it. If you've been struggling with your weight for years, this can help.  Its the only effective treatment of obesity.

best wishes,

Carol