WRONG. So very wrong. You don't just go about your merry way eating what you want and dropping poundage. There is actually hard work put into this. Examining nutritional values of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth takes time and dedication. Going out to eat at a restaurant that doesn't have a nutritional menu means you have a lot of things to remember and examine the description and try your best to make a good nutritional choices. The one thing people, including those that have the surgery, forget or don't realize is the way this surgery affects the psyche of those who have it.
Many surgeons and insurance companies require a psychological evaluation before you are approved for the surgery. For many, myself included, this evaluation gets you ready for the lifestyle changes one must make. But I don't think that everyone is fully aware of the emotional changes that occurs AFTER the surgery.
Many people are emotional eaters, I've touched on this previously. Studies show that people who have had weight loss surgery face just as many mental health disorders after surgery as before. Sometimes more or they find their problems aren't relieved but rather enhanced. Some of the issues facing a person who has WLS are:
- Low self esteem - losing weight doesn't necessarily help, we have that pesky hanging skin too. Low self esteem does not go away overnight. It takes work.
- Depression - if we weren't depressed before we can go through a mourning period after. We lost our comfort, our friend - food. In some cases we lose actual friends. The ones we celebrated or bemoaned life with using food.
- Suicide - studies have shown a higher incidence of suicide in people who have had weight loss surgery. One study in Utah utilizing 10,000 bariatric surgery patients indicated a 58% increase in suicide vs the same amount of people who did not have bariatric surgery; a rate of 6.8%.
- Anxiety - the stresses of well meaning people critical of one's weight loss journey, the failure to lose weight in the time frame they think they should be. Self imposed anxiety can be multi faceted.
- Sensitivity - fat stores hormones. In women, as we burn fat, these hormones go racing through our bodies. We take things the wrong way, we snap, cry, and throw temper tantrums. We face mood changes similar to PMS or menopause.
- Insomnia - many WLS patients complain of insomnia following their surgery. As a sufferer of insomnia the majority of my life, I can say with 100% accuracy, it sucks.
My main purpose in this is to inform. Be patient with us. Don't become the critic or the expert. If we seem off don't avoid us, ask us what is wrong in a non accusatory caring manner. Don't avoid us. Even though we used to be eating buddies who celebrated life's joys and tears together that doesn't mean that you can't include us now we have had surgery. Not asking us to go out with you like we once did only makes us feel dejected and rejected. Especially when we see you posting your fun adventures with others on Facebook. If we snap, or seem to take something wrong please try to have a thick skin and realize we really are going through a lot.
In some of my online support groups I have noticed people taking things I've said wrong. I have been accused of being "mean" when I was just expressing my opinion or asking a question so I would know how to better give advise to someone. There have been times I have erased and typed responses multiple times. There have also been times that I just left it alone. Some people don't want to be told they need to be accountable for their actions and own that their surgery is a tool, not an end all to their obesity
“The best way out is always through.”
― Robert Frost
I would be remiss if I didn't direct some thought to the overly sensitive persons. Quit wearing your emotions on your sleeve. Don't be so quick to call foul. If something doesn't go your way don't cry about it, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Whining and playing victim is not becoming at all. I realize playing victim is easier than gathering yourself up by your bootstraps and doing what it takes to get past your problem. In gathering yourself you gain more respect in the long run, not only respect from others but the most important respect - self respect. Realize that not everyone is out to get you and that sometimes you have to hear things you may not like but is the truth. Whenever you feel yourself getting mad or feelings hurt step back, take a deep breath and try to look at the issue from a different point of view. Sometimes in doing so do you gain understanding but also a greater sense of accomplishment. I know, I've had to do these things in the past month.
Now I didn't just pull this information out my butt. My information came from not only my personal experiences and observations but also, Psychology Today, New York Times, Journal of Obesity, Obesity Action Coalition and Woman's Exceptional Care, centered on you
Weigh in totals:
50 pounds lost
26.5 total inches lost
Hooray, Connie!
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