No, I'm not gonna blow sunshine up your arse..

I received several responses to my post; Death by Hot Wing. Several people seemed to think that my sole purpose in writing it was to scare people and make people decide against having weight loss surgery. This is certainly not the case. I write this blog as an honest experience of my life post weight loss surgery. I do not shy away from the bad experiences, that wouldn't be fair to the reader.
If you read my post about the hot wings then you will notice that I wrote that I am very grateful that I had my surgery and that I am most grateful that I now have energy and am healthy enough to play with my little girl. My surgeon was exceptional in his honesty and in his follow up care. I now live in Alaska and work in health care and encounter physicians and post ops who have NEVER been educated whatsoever about vitamins, lifestyle changes, etc. It happens, it is scary but it does happen more than you think. The nurse that I mention in that post works with me in a hospital where WLS is preformed and where she is sometimes assigned fresh wls post ops and she is that uneducated about it. My surgeon told us that all of us would test the limits eventually. I sat there in my pre surgical state thinking, "Well I won't! No not me!" And here I am a little over a year and a half later and yes, indeed I have eaten things that I knew I shouldn't. I don't do it regularly or even on purpose (one of my worst dumps was on a protein shake from a gym) but I do. No one is so disciplined or restrictive with their diet that they haven't dumped or had a bad food reaction, at least no one that I have ever encountered that is more than a year post op. I posted this so people can be aware that this surgery does require a lifestyle change. You would be surprised how many people don't realize that. That is why I take the time to post links to my blog posts, to hopefully educate and inspire people to do a little research pre op. It is worth the occasional ridicule if it helps one person. I wish I had the time to reach out to each state individually but unfortunately I do not. This is the simplest way I know for me to reach as many people as possible. I in no way regret my surgery nor my husbands surgery which cured his type 2 diabetes got him off of the tons of meds he was on pre op (his triglycerides were 1300 on meds pre op). But it is not a magic cure all and unfortunately many people don't realize that. I only take the time to do this to encourage and support people to learn more, not just from me but on their own too. It is the readers choice to read my posts or not. to follow the link and read my blogs or not. Even if someone is laughing at my expense..at least it made them think and hopefully will make them realize that this is a serious life altering surgery. If they do that, then I have done what I set out to do. If you have had weight loss surgery and haven't had any problems whatsoever following the lifestyle changes and have never dumped or eaten anything that you shouldn't have (this is also assuming that you are more than a few months post op and past the "honeymoon stage") then you are very lucky for three reasons 1. you were informed and/or researched that this surgery requires a lifestyle change in order to work long term 2. that you took it seriously 3. that you have been successful in making the lifestyle changes. I am happy for you. I just wish the everyone was as dedicated, myself included. We all eventually hear about someones aunt, neighbor, cousin, sisters ex boyfriends teacher, etc who had WLS and gained it all back . I remember when I started to hear that from people, I went out and purchased every book I could on the subject of wls (yes, my reviews of them are on this blog also) and educated myself. I also had, as I mentioned above, a wonderful surgeon. Old habits are hard to break and bad behavior can sneak up on you one lapse at a time, just like weight gain. That is why I write these blogs because I am not perfect and I do lapse and I hope by reading about my mistakes, others won't beat themselves up too much when they lapse themselves and to let them know what can happen when they do so they don't get an ugly or dangerous surprise like I did with the torte. Please keep in mind that every surgeons program is different (if they even have a follow up program) and so are the recommendations. No one and I stand by this statement 100% will be able to live 100% by the plan for the rest of your life. the trick is ;when you fall of the wagon, get back up dust yourself off and get right back on. Don't lay there letting the wagon drag you down the hill behind it! In other words, realize you are not perfect, no one is. Accept your lapse, try to learn from it and get back on track. Sounds easy right, but it can be very hard for some of us. I was the queen of, well I already blew my diet so I might as well eat -----. pre op. This was the biggest lifestyle change for me. Everyone is different (kinda like those post op recommendations) and different people will struggle with different things post op but eventually we will all struggle with something. I hope by posting my struggles and being blunt and honest about them, I help others. I hope my blog gives you some information you might not have found otherwise that helps you on your weigh loss journey. That is the reason I write it, and to post photos on my daughter (can't help it, I love her to bits).
I try to be honest in my post op experience not to scare people away from the surgery but to let people know, as I have said repeatedly, that this surgery requires a lifestyle change.
Say that you are only a few months post op and you are just positive that you will never ever eat something off the plan and therefore will never dump or have a bad reaction. I promise you, and this is not in any way intended to make you feel bad, that at some point you will get sick or have a bad reaction to something you eat post op. Again, no one can live 100% by the plan for the rest of their post op life. If we were that disciplined, most of us wouldn't have needed this surgery in the first place, myself included. I write these posts and open myself up to critics and ridicule hoping that even if only one person reads them that has struggled post op, that is having difficulties living by the plan, they can see that they are not alone. The most important thing I hope that pre ops get from my posts is the fact that this surgery isn't a magic cure, that it requires a lifestyle change. I am not going to write only the positive or disappear from the boards and blogs when things aren't perfect post op. That isn't fair to the people that read them, and very misleading. Not every ones life is all sunshine and roses and neither will every ones post op experience be 100% Rosy either. It is only fair to present the good the bad and the ugly. Again, having said all of that, I am still very glad that I have had my surgery and that my husband had it as well. I am 15 pounds from goal and, NO, I don't live 100% by the plan all of the time. I am very honest about this so hopefully others can learn. It is easy when you are freshly post op and the weight is falling off almost regardless of what you are doing (the honeymoon phase) to be super excited and to think that this surgery is the end all be all. I knew different because I worked in health care and had seen some complications first hand and because I did my research. (not to mention that I had a wonderful surgeon who has a wonderful follow up plan and even helped me to continue to be able to breastfeed post op)
I also had two strictures (one within the first 2 weeks post op)and my husband had one within the first month post op so that reinforced the seriousness of this surgery. Complications are always possible and so is the possibility of failure and regain. To pretend that isn't true is to lie to yourself. I believe it actually helps me to remember on a daily basis that this surgery has given me a tool, if I choose to use it properly, then it can serve me well, if I choose not to, then it will surely fail me. With ever lapse that I have, I remind myself all that I have gone through (including the 6 years I fought to get this surgery approved) and how far I have come and that helps me to get right back on track. That is the most important thing I have learned post op.