Weight Loss Surgery is NOT the Easy Way Out!

 

I’m only just shy of three months post-op and I’m already sick of hearing/reading how weight loss surgery (including gastric sleeve surgery) is the “easy way out”. Easy my ass!!!

For two weeks prior to surgery I was on a liquid only diet – and only specific liquids. I was allowed 4-6 protein shakes (from a surgeon approved list), V-8 (spicy or regular), bone broth, and sugar free jello. FOURTEEN DAYS of only these items after eating a smorgasbord of foods for years before that.

I was allowed the same list for two weeks post-op, but also needed to increase my water intake so I was drinking at least 48 ounces of water. How many of those people who claim this surgery is the easy way out could last a week on a liquid-only diet, let alone 4-5 weeks of a liquid diet??

At three weeks post-op I was finally allowed to eat soft foods, but my body was still only accepting small amounts at a time. Can we all say, “yummy MUSH!!”

Now, here I am, 11 weeks post-op and food isn’t what I’m obsessing over anymore. I’ve upgraded to worrying about so many more things…

• Am I drinking enough water?
• Does my new stomach not like this or that?
• Why am I losing so slowly?
• Am I one of the minority of surgical patients who this surgery doesn’t work for?
• Is my body absorbing all of my meds correctly?
• Am I doing this right?
• What the heck caused this bout of dumping syndrome? (Yes, folks, it is exactly what it sounds like it is.)
• How are others losing so much faster than me?
• Crap! We’re going out of town, where and what am I going to eat?
• Did I get enough protein today?
• Did I grab my snacks? Lord knows I’m going to need my snacks!
• Am I hungry, or is my body just making noises?
• Am I full… I think I’m full… is that a full cue? Crap! I didn’t eat enough, I’m hungry.
• I just ate 30 minutes ago, why am I hungry already???
• Ummm… I haven’t eaten yet today and I’m still not hungry, I should eat something. But maybe if I wait a little bit longer my body will send off a hunger cue. Yeah, but I need to eat… even though nothing sounds good and I’m not hungry. Okay, I’ll eat a small snack…. (30 minutes later) OMG I’m STARVING!!!

And those were just this week’s concerns and inner monologues

Beyond all of that, I suffered from pretty intense abdominal pain for two weeks after surgery, which finally subsided, but as a person who suffers from chronic pain, I’m struggling to find the right treatment for my every day pain now that I can no longer take NSAIDs.

Add in that annoying little monster, Anxiety. Boy is that definitely much higher post-op than it was beforehand. Not unmanageable, but definitely a little more challenging. I just get overwhelmed and overstimulated much easier than before surgery, which is a weird little nugget.

Some will argue that I did this to myself, that I knew the risks and what I would have to give up, or that none of this is a big deal. I will argue with any and every person who tries to tell me any of this. I wouldn’t change a thing! Even with everything listed above.

But, this is reality and reality is, nothing about this surgery has been easy. I put on a happy face and push through it all, but it is not easy. It reminds me a lot of how I felt when I was pregnant with my first, after 7 years of infertility and a miscarriage. I worried over every twinge, twitch, or noise my body made. I worried about the things that could possibly happen, as well as the things that actually were happening. I almost forgot to take a minute to enjoy the whole experience of being pregnant.

So, while I vehemently disagree with anyone who claims that weight loss surgery is the easy way out, I will agree that I need to take a step back from it all and realize how blessed I am that I was able to go this route, to have the surgery and a pretty uneventful recovery, and to be on “the other side” of it all… losing weight – albeit slowly – and getting healthier by the day.

It really is incredibly easy… to get lost in the difficulties of this surgery and not truly enjoy the process of getting healthier and gaining more time on this earth!