Postponing the surgery

You are on the fence

Should you do it or not? It would be great to be slimmer, healthier, being able to do so many things that right now are impossible due to the pesky weight. But you are not sure. You have a family reunion coming, and then your birthday, so you will eat cake and go out, drink, and have a feast, then it is your loved ones’ birthday, and then the holiday… you won’t spoil all this because of some silly recovery and diets. So you are postponing the surgery again and again.

And it goes on like this forever. You always find some reason why not now. In the future, you will do it. Some day. You are busy now, you don’t have time, you don’t feel like it. And what is more, you are not that big anyway, so things are under control. If you wanted, you could lose it by yourself easily, so why bother?

Your health

And one day it happens. They diagnose you with something that is medium stupid, but still manageable with medication, so you start taking pills for this. And six months later it is a new thing with another medication. All is chronic, and all is medium bad, but you still have hope that it is reversible. And before you know it, you are buying yourself a large pill organizer because the pills started to multiply. Every time you go to the doctor, you come back with something new. Stupid!

Your life

And before you know it, it is hard to tie your shoes, you are like a diver every time you try to put on sneakers. Deep breath and down. You are all sweaty, your face all red and you have to do it several times to do it. The last thing that is missing to complete the disaster is the rip on your trousers and your butt poking out. Pure humiliation.

It is not so much fun to go out anymore. You are scared about chairs, especially the plastic ones, they are too fragile for you. You hardly fit in the booth in the restaurant, so you start making excuses so that you don’t have to go and face the problem. It is not only your health that is crumbling, so is your social life. Keep going and you will be house-ridden and later bedridden. You know what I am talking about. (My 600-pound life – scary show)

And the very last thing that was looming over your head was diabetes. Your levels are not pre-diabetic anymore. No, you are doomed. It is direct insulin and all the “great” things that will come with time. You won’t escape.

Horror story on the way

This all sounds like a nightmare. And it really is. What if you had done something about your weight when things were still relatively manageable? Ok, out of hands, but still there were things to do that would have been “easy” compared to where you are now. Yes, you would have the surgery, and you would have gone through the recovery and the diets, but the result would have been much better, the recovery easier and all over it would have been a piece of cake.

Now, when your health is ruined, you have a pill organizer full of beautiful Smarties of different colors and flavors, you are pinching yourself insulin, and your knees, hips, and back hurt to the point that you are not able to get out of bed without painkillers… the whole process will be way more difficult and why not to say that, even more dangerous. Your body is slowly giving up.

Save your life!

You got to the point when it is now or never. You do it and you will be able to save yourself, or not and the end is nigh. You are fighting for your dear life. I know you don’t want to hear that. But I think somebody must say it. And aloud. You fucked things up badly.

So… now you will have to find a surgeon who will be willing to work with you. Your BMI is really high, and you have so many comorbidities that it makes a whole list, so the surgery is a very delicate thing. Still, it is doable.

Sometimes later becomes never

If you are postponing the surgery for any reason, don’t do it. Yes, some of the reasons are very objective, it is not an excuse. But a birthday party doesn’t belong in this category. You will have to work on yourself a lot. And the earlier you start, the better it will be for you. And also easier.

https://bariradka.com/en/2024/08/24/is-bariatric-surgery-for-me/

I have seen people who were told that they have to lose 100 pounds or the surgery is not on the table. How disheartening, right? Some of them can’t be operated on because of their comorbidities. They might have a stroke, they are in a wheelchair, so exercising is not possible, and they might get crushed by the weight, so they can’t get anesthesia. It is too late for them.

Do it now!

This is all really depressive. You don’t want to get there. Act before it is too late. The earlier you start, the faster you will have the surgery and the easier it will be. In the operating theatre, the recovery, the diet, and the exercising. And you also won’t have so much loose skin. So you will potentially save yourself from more surgeries. Something must be done, but this sounds like a reasonable compromise.

My story

I remember how angry and offended I felt when one of my doctors told me that I would have to do something about my weight or I would end up badly. I knew I was overweight, but I never thought it was that level of bad. Actually, I was second-degree obese. So nothing small or light. It was bad. No doubt about it. But still, I was deeply offended by the words of the doctor. From today’s perspective, I can only thank him. He saved my life.

My recovery was not completely easy. It was sometimes a pretty bumpy road. But still. I am grateful for the second chance I was given. I don’t take any more medications I used to take for years. My heart is completely healthy, there is no fat around it anymore. I can do things I could only dream of.

Some days are a walk through a rose garden, and some are landing without wheels. I still have days when I struggle with food. Well, at least I can drink without major problems – liquid, no alcohol, I have no idea what you were thinking 😀

I take my vitamins and supplements, I have my planning days, I prepare my meals in the containers in the fridge and I do the exercise. Ok, I am not a sports person, but I have to admit that I feel better when I do my Pilates sessions.

So… it is bargaining every morning but I learned to drink my coffee, put on my gym clothes, and take out the mat. The rest is automatic. Good for me.

I was also postponing the surgery a little. First, I had to digest the words of the doctor, then I was investigating like crazy, I was freaking out and investigating some more. Then I talked to the doctors, I did all the procedures and the exams, I worked a lot on my food demons, I was adjusting things, I was working on my habits, my routines. And it worked. I had quite a reasonable schedule before the surgery, so it was relatively easy to keep going after when things got hard.

Regret?

I see often in Facebook people asking if somebody regrets their surgery. All over, NEVER. It is pretty clear to me that it was the best thing I could have done and the results are amazing. I am healthy. The smaller clothes are a nice perk. I won’t lie.

Obviously, when things are hard, at the beginning after the surgery, everybody has second thoughts. Asking themselves: what have I done to myself? This is nothing like the doctors told me. It is horrible. But once you start seeing results, once you see the weight moving, when they start taking you off the medication, you feel like a KingKong on cocaine 😀

Don’t put the surgery off too long. Yes, you must be prepared. But sometimes you just have to jump and see what happens.