3 months post op

It's been a little over 3 months since my surgery. I can honestly say, this is NOT what I expected. I understand that everyone is different to a certain extent and results may vary. But, from all those I've talked to, and all the reading I've done, all the websites I've perused, there seem to not be any people like me.

What's so different? Everything. The amount of food I can comfortably eat is far more than most others who have had a VSG. I have experienced none of the dreaded side effects. I can eat what ever I want with no adverse effects. And the weight loss, while quite rapid in the first 4 weeks has, for all intents and purposes, stopped. I seem to lose inches, but the scale, it doesn't move.

Now I realize that much of this is my own fault. The last couple months have been chaotic. My son was born 2 months early and he spent the first 5 weeks of life in the NICU. That really throws a wrench in the diet plans. I live with someone who, even after having surgery herself, is a constant saboteur. I know I have very little willpower when confronted with foods I enjoy. Especially junk food and sugary food. Also a lover of fast food and eating out, she is, to say the least, a poor influence on my diet choices. So, I could certainly improve what I'm eating. But then that's been true for most of my life.

While my diet is still a constant struggle and my weight loss has stalled, other things are notably changed. On October 18, the day my son was borne, I completely forgot to take all of my medications. Today is December 18th and I still have yet to take any of those medications. My blood pressure is normal. I haven't had a single anxiety attack. My depression is..........gone. Or at least at such a low level that it's unnoticeable. Mostly. I have issues with getting overly emotional when confronted with sappy television commercials, puppies, babies. If I'm not careful the occasional television commercial will leave me crying like a hormonal teenage girl. So there is that. But then, my sex drive came back so I guess it's a fare trade.

I still have a long long way to go, but it sure seems easier now. My surgeon wants me to drop another 40 pounds in the next 3 months. That's going to be interesting. Especially with Christmas coming soon. Although, Thanksgiving was very different for me this year. I have always had a need to eat as much as possible when at a large dinner. Don't ask me why, it would take a book to explain the psychology behind it and I barely understand it myself. Just know that, in the past, when sitting at a table full of food my subconscious goal was to consume as much of it as I possible could. And I always did. This year, at Thanksgiving dinner, I didn't have that urge. The desire to stuff myself to the point of vomiting didn't show up. I ate, I made decent choices, and when I was satisfied, I stopped.

I can eat far more than most other people who have had the same surgery, but nothing like I could before surgery. I think I eat what a normal person would eat on an average day now, instead of what 4 normal people would eat. I actually get full now, before eating 4k calories as a sitting. I'm no longer hungry all the time. I eat, I stay full for several hours.

It is very true what they say about surgery. It's a tool, not a cure. It's up to me to use that tool to it's utmost potential.