http://www.soulcysters.net Gastric Bypass, Lap Band, and other surgical methods for weight loss in cysters. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:20:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.soulcysters.net/images/styles/soul/misc/rss.jpg http://www.soulcysters.net http://www.soulcysters.net/getting-motivation-294683/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:34:48 GMT Hi all!

I'm depressed and have put on about 70 pounds in the last year. How do I get motivated to lose weight? My stretch marks have gotten absolutely hideous on my stomach and they keep popping up everywhere. I'm just too depressed to do anything and I always come up with excuses in my head as to why I shouldn't go for a walk (it's cold today, I'm tired, my MP3 player isn't charged).

I'm so lazy and it just seems like too much work to get up and put my shoes on and go out for a walk. I'm on Effexor XR for depression and anxiety.

I just feel like a failure. In the past, I went on super crazy exercise/dieting binges and lost 30 pounds, but it came back on and I've tried other times to excerise 5 days a week and the weight just won't come off. I feel like if I try again, I'll just be unsuccessful again....

and another issue...I'm super poor so I just buy whats on sale for groceries...so for weeks I'll eat just PB&J or cereal or ramen noodles....so how can I buy healthy food?

It's all so upsetting. Help? I'm open for suggestions!!

Thank you!
Leigh ]]> Leighbie87 http://www.soulcysters.net/getting-motivation-294683/ http://www.soulcysters.net/getting-wls-stomach-problems-feeling-like-odd-one-293291/ Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:45:00 GMT I have some major stomach issues. Lifelong heartburn, reflux/acid reflux, hiatal hernia, ulcers, esophageal erosion and recently discovered that my esophagus doesn't function properly.
I went to a surgeon, he is a stomach surgeon (specifically he's part of the Heart, Lung and Esophageal surgery group) and after testing he told me my options. He could do surgery to simply correct the hernia and try to reenforce the esophagus... or he could repair the hernia and then do a WLS (he said it was almost the same as the typical/normal gastric bypass, but it will be slightly different in that he will still do something different to help prevent food/acid from coming up and me choking all the time). I know the difference in surgeries - repairing things would be a 1 hour procedure, in the hospital for one day, and short recovery. Going for the repair and WLS would mean 3+ days in the hospital, long recovery, and total lifestyle change.

I am 5'0" and 190lbs. My BMI is 37.5 - a BMI of 35 is required for WLS when you have medical issues directly due to being overweight (otherwise a BMI of 40 is required, or the need to lose at least 100lbs). I have to lose... I think 70ish lbs to be at a 'healthy' size. That is not much compared to most of the people I know who have had WLS, including my mom. My mom had a gastric bypass and has lost almost 80lbs in the year since surgery (although her weight loss slowed/stopped, but she has been eating too much)... I think she needs to lose another 50-75lbs to reach her ultimate goal.

I would likely lose weight if I exercised but I have fairly severe chronic fatigue syndrome - I can't even get up to shower daily anymore. I honestly have a pretty good diet - I splurge on junk once in a while, but not all the time. Because I have such a bad stomach/GI, I can't eat much. I thought WLS would not help me but all the Drs say I should drop the weight as any other (successful) patient would. Nothing has helped my fatigue, the problems my weight causes are getting more serious, so I am desperate to get an edge... get something that will help me drop some weight, which will hopefully improve things enough to allow me to live a semi-normal life.

I am worried of all the complications - I have bad luck, and I suck at recovering from surgery. I am worried I won't lose weight even after the surgery. I am worried that I will lose weight, and still be just as sick. So many problems I have, I hear "Well, if you lost some weight... these problems would go away." What if they don't?

Thankfully I should have no problem with the diet change that comes with the surgery. I don't enjoy food. Well, I crave/binge on chocolate things during my period - other than that, I hate food. I have had to live on nothing but cereal for long periods of time. I've had to be on liquid-only diets for weeks - never missed food during those times.

I have all sort of appointments set up now. My Dr. is not a bariatric Dr - he does other surgeries, not just WLS. So the program he has is not the same as other places. Like my mom went to a bariatric center and she had to attend conferences, follow a strict diet for a few months and lose a little weight on her own, and she had to wait awhile for her surgery. I have to see a nutrition councilor/dietician, read a book they gave me, get the OK from my shrink and my hematologist... and I'm good to go. The only bump in the road might be with my hematologist and some of my health issues.

But still... what I wouldn't give for the chance to be back to the weight I was right before I got married when I was 18. Right before I got sick and never recovered... the year that I gained all this weight, and never lost in the 10 years since. I was 115lbs back then... and I still wasn't not skinny. But I was not a blob like I am now. I didn't have problems breathing because my chunk actually pushes my lungs and makes it hard to breath. My back didn't hurt like all hell. I was able to ride a bike, rollerblade, walk for more than 5 minutes at a time. I miss those things. I miss being able to get up and shower daily... such a simple task, but I'm too tired to do it unless I have to go out for a Dr. appointment. I only leave the house for appointments and grocery shopping. I am sick of this life.

I'm ranting, sorry. My mind is just racing and the future is so unsure as of now. Will this be the change in my life that I've been waiting for? Will this be a start to a new, better, happier life for me? ]]> ReneeBeth http://www.soulcysters.net/getting-wls-stomach-problems-feeling-like-odd-one-293291/