I requested bariatric surgery because I'm tired of struggling with everyday life. I want to regain my mobility and endurance. Looking for an online support group with folks who have already completed the surgery. I'd like to ask questions about recovery and life after surgery. I'm approved but Its recommended that I attend a couple of support groups to discuss with folks their experiences.
On my way
- Thread starter Healthy1
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dianeseattle
Member
Welcome to the best WLS group on the Internet! You can get ahead of the game by using the Search feature, or just scrolling through the pages and pages and pages of posts and choosing based on subject line. Many of us arrived here after having terrifying health exams, or suffering crises of health. I've been here for many, many years and the words of wisdom that have passed through while I read just astonished me.
If you have the surgery, you'll get out of it what you put into it. I, for instance, lost 115 pounds and during that time, started hiking in the North Cascade Mountains. I had NO idea I was an outdoor person, but now, I crave it. I'm happiest when I'm a mile high in a mountain meadow, eating wild blueberries right off the bushes.
Not everyone is as fanatical as me, though. For many of us, it's just such a relief to be able to move without pain and not needing to stuff our faces for most of our waking hours. WLS works, but it's not a magic cure. It's a tool you use but with skill and discipline. That's how you stop "struggling with everyday life." But it's not immediate and there is post-op pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and discomfort along the road.
If you have the surgery, you'll get out of it what you put into it. I, for instance, lost 115 pounds and during that time, started hiking in the North Cascade Mountains. I had NO idea I was an outdoor person, but now, I crave it. I'm happiest when I'm a mile high in a mountain meadow, eating wild blueberries right off the bushes.
Not everyone is as fanatical as me, though. For many of us, it's just such a relief to be able to move without pain and not needing to stuff our faces for most of our waking hours. WLS works, but it's not a magic cure. It's a tool you use but with skill and discipline. That's how you stop "struggling with everyday life." But it's not immediate and there is post-op pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and discomfort along the road.
Thank you @dianeseattle. I had a thyroidectomy last year and have since gained 60 pounds. I have always been heavy, but I'm at my heaviest. I can't move around like I use to and having very young grandchildren make it even more difficult to be physically present. over the past month I have lost ~20 lbs (this weight loss was not required for surgery, but I'm doing all I can) my knees hurt, my back hurt and my body is... simply put "angry". I've been reading what folks have to say and it's been enlightening to say the least. I'm trying to find an online support group of folks who have already completed the surgery because I think this perspective would likely be the most useful for me. Thank you for taking out time to share your journey and for the heads up on what to expect post-op. I figured there would be pain, and some discomforts along the way, but constipation, diarrhea, would have never crossed my mind. Thanks again for sharing.
dianeseattle
Member
You're so welcome. I had Graves Disease about 40 years ago and didn't know it, since the symptoms don't announce themselves as "hyperthyroidism." My eyes bugged out like Marty Feldman (who also had Graves),
I had a rash halfway up my shins, I felt hot, then cold, I quaked like an aspen tree, I took several naps a day, and I gained weight like crazy. I didn't even leave the house to be with friends and family because I was kind of famous for my dynamite figure, and now I was a fat pig who sweated constantly. I had 19 doctor appointments in one month because each doc referred me to another, then another... Weirdly enough, at the beginning, a doctor did test my thyroid by feel and took blood, but back then there was only one place on the west coast that could definitively test blood for Graves and while I was waiting, I took a bunch of other tests that were negative for thyroid problems. I actually ended up obsessing about what the first doctor, my ophthalmologist, said to me: "If you hadn't told me you tested negative for hyperthyroidism, I'd swear you had Graves Disease."
There was only one non-technical book about thyroid disease in the public library, written by Dr. .Joel Hamburger. Honest. That's his name. When I leafed through it, suddenly I saw a photo of "MY EYES" staring back out of the book at me!
So I went to my internist and said, Please test me for Graves Disease. I'm sure that's what's wrong with me.
I didn't want my thyroid gland removed, so it was irradiated. It took several days for the damage to stop it from working, and then before I knew it, I was no longer burning calories because I was HYPOthyroid.
Thank God for WLS. I struggled with obesity for the next 20 years. I'm so grateful to the doctor who suggested I should have it & wrote the letter to the federal government agency asking for it to be approved, which apparently was required back then.
I understand your "angry body" and congrats on your weight loss so far. It sounds like you're willing to do the work it takes to lose the excess weight. I predict you WILL succeed, and as to constipation/nausea etc., just start taking fiber laxative every day, stirring it into one of the 8 glasses of water you should be drinking. If you want to skip out on the water, don't. Do an internet search for why drinking water helps weight come off so well. But honest, don't skip the fiber lax. It also contributes to lowering cholesterol.
There are four main procedures used for gastric bypass, and they've all been discussed here. I'm sure other members will chime in soon.
I had a rash halfway up my shins, I felt hot, then cold, I quaked like an aspen tree, I took several naps a day, and I gained weight like crazy. I didn't even leave the house to be with friends and family because I was kind of famous for my dynamite figure, and now I was a fat pig who sweated constantly. I had 19 doctor appointments in one month because each doc referred me to another, then another... Weirdly enough, at the beginning, a doctor did test my thyroid by feel and took blood, but back then there was only one place on the west coast that could definitively test blood for Graves and while I was waiting, I took a bunch of other tests that were negative for thyroid problems. I actually ended up obsessing about what the first doctor, my ophthalmologist, said to me: "If you hadn't told me you tested negative for hyperthyroidism, I'd swear you had Graves Disease."
There was only one non-technical book about thyroid disease in the public library, written by Dr. .Joel Hamburger. Honest. That's his name. When I leafed through it, suddenly I saw a photo of "MY EYES" staring back out of the book at me!
So I went to my internist and said, Please test me for Graves Disease. I'm sure that's what's wrong with me.
I didn't want my thyroid gland removed, so it was irradiated. It took several days for the damage to stop it from working, and then before I knew it, I was no longer burning calories because I was HYPOthyroid.
Thank God for WLS. I struggled with obesity for the next 20 years. I'm so grateful to the doctor who suggested I should have it & wrote the letter to the federal government agency asking for it to be approved, which apparently was required back then.
I understand your "angry body" and congrats on your weight loss so far. It sounds like you're willing to do the work it takes to lose the excess weight. I predict you WILL succeed, and as to constipation/nausea etc., just start taking fiber laxative every day, stirring it into one of the 8 glasses of water you should be drinking. If you want to skip out on the water, don't. Do an internet search for why drinking water helps weight come off so well. But honest, don't skip the fiber lax. It also contributes to lowering cholesterol.
There are four main procedures used for gastric bypass, and they've all been discussed here. I'm sure other members will chime in soon.
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HA! similar story. I didn't present has having hyperthyroidism but I did. My TSH labs were abnormal for years, and I figured all the money that I was paying for healthcare wasn't really giving me care. So I left Kaiser Permanente and got a new health plan and within months everything that ailed me was no longer ignored. I had graves disease, TED, and emphysema. I had been complaining about a variety of symptoms for years and no actions were taken. When I left and got a new health plan, it was worth every penny. I no longer have graves disease. I was growing something on my thyroid and it wasn't definitely cancer, but they could not completely rule it out, so out came the thyroid. before that I got on medication for my breathing and I was able to walk more that a half a block at a time. I became more active because I was able to breath, but because i had gained so much weight not being able to breath and then from not having the energy to move because of the thyroid problems, I just kept growing bigger and bigger. I think going through menopause during this time may have added to the weight gain. Either way, I'm glad I made those changes with my healthcare and I'm glad there are resources available to help me with a head start, or a reset. I'm excited about getting my life back and being physically present with my family the way I use to be. Many thanks for taking more time to share.
dianeseattle
Member
Not a problem. This particular topic, thyroid disease, really resonates with me because when I was growing up, overweight people would claim to have thyroid problems to explain the tonnage. They were almost always lying. But that was a long time ago. I'll be 72 in a few days so when I was coming up, people were really unscientific about illness and disease, and often, children were labeled with mythical diseases and had to grow up under a stigma with no defense, no popular books or magazines or famous celebrities suffering from something exotic.
I want to say, also, I wish I hadn't had my thyroid gland irradiated. In subsequent years I learned that even Graves Disease can be a temporary condition and if not temporary, our ability to titrate thyroid hormone is quite sophisticated. The thyroid gland has a lot of purposes, right from its name's meaning, which is "shield." The hormone is used by a number of organs, though it is mainly used to regulate one's metabolism.
So just as an add-on to my long story and your current fight, I'd like to suggest to our members here NOT to go nuclear with your first approach. It can't be undone and you may have collateral damage by destroying its functionality. Yes, its most important function may be regulating metabolism & thus preventing obesity, but you can have thyroid disease and still manage to overeat, because obesity is caused by a number of diseases, the most pervasive of which is emotional.
I want to say, also, I wish I hadn't had my thyroid gland irradiated. In subsequent years I learned that even Graves Disease can be a temporary condition and if not temporary, our ability to titrate thyroid hormone is quite sophisticated. The thyroid gland has a lot of purposes, right from its name's meaning, which is "shield." The hormone is used by a number of organs, though it is mainly used to regulate one's metabolism.
So just as an add-on to my long story and your current fight, I'd like to suggest to our members here NOT to go nuclear with your first approach. It can't be undone and you may have collateral damage by destroying its functionality. Yes, its most important function may be regulating metabolism & thus preventing obesity, but you can have thyroid disease and still manage to overeat, because obesity is caused by a number of diseases, the most pervasive of which is emotional.
missyinacage
Member
My experience has been nothing but positive. I recovered really quickly and I still feel amazing, 3 years out. As in, at 53, I just went hiking and rock climbing in AZ where it was 105 out and I felt great. I no longer have diabetes, or any of the other metabolic syndrome issues caused by obesity.
The only negative things I have experienced are it can be difficult for me to digest meat that isn't slow cooked or braised to be soft-ish. I can digest it but if I want to eat steak, I'm only getting about 3 bites before I'm full. Otherwise, I can eat anything and in larger amounts than I had expected. And so, at this point, I have to work to maintain my weight. So, I still measure and track my intake several days a week. Because they weren't lying .. Nothing tastes as good as (almost) skinny feels. I am not skinny but I feel better than I have in decades. And will never willing give up this feeling.
The only negative things I have experienced are it can be difficult for me to digest meat that isn't slow cooked or braised to be soft-ish. I can digest it but if I want to eat steak, I'm only getting about 3 bites before I'm full. Otherwise, I can eat anything and in larger amounts than I had expected. And so, at this point, I have to work to maintain my weight. So, I still measure and track my intake several days a week. Because they weren't lying .. Nothing tastes as good as (almost) skinny feels. I am not skinny but I feel better than I have in decades. And will never willing give up this feeling.