Hey everyone!

Today I had my first meeting with my doctor and solidified my decision/began the process. I have my first meeting with a dietitian next Wednesday. And tomorrow I find out if I have a 3 month or 6 month waiting period before surgery.

I am so excited and nervous and have so many questions so I'm glad I found this forum.

How much weight did people lose prior to surgery? What has been the biggest change in your led that you didn't expect? That hardest part of having surgery? Did you tell your friends and coworkers ahead of time? Ahh I know it's a lot but my head is swimming!! I hope to connect with you all soon!!

Gabrielle

I will see my pcp tomorrow in the am and then at 6pm I will be attending a seminar. I really hope it goes well! I am ready but after reading some of these insurance horror stories I am a little scared.

I am pre - op also. Today I had my 5th nutritional visit. Only one more and I should find out my surgery day. Should be in mid September. So far i have lost 12 lbs. 3 more lbs to hit my goal before surgery. I chose not to tell anyone but my husband and kids and a couple of close friends. I have received lots of negativity, and I sure don't need that with all the emotions that are going on. I am so glad you joined us. Everyone here is so helpful and nice. Good luck with everything.

Hey everyone! Today I had my first meeting with my doctor and solidified my decision/began the process. I have my first meeting with a dietitian next Wednesday. And tomorrow I find out if I have a 3 month or 6 month waiting period before surgery. I am so excited and nervous and have so many questions so I'm glad I found this forum. How much weight did people lose prior to surgery? What has been the biggest change in your led that you didn't expect? That hardest part of having surgery? Did you tell your friends and coworkers ahead of time? Ahh I know it's a lot but my head is swimming!! I hope to connect with you all soon!! Gabrielle

Good luck with your new journey. I lost 20 pounds pre op. I did it by giving up breakfast and having protein shakes. As far as telling people. Most people don't know. I don't share with anyone how much I weighed or how much I lost. No ones business. I don't want people to say, Arlene , you didn't look that big or you want to lose how much more. My youngest son is pissed I won't tell any if this. Do what is comfortable for you

Thanks for the welcome and yes so far I've only told my best friend and she was very negative and I just told her all I needed was a listening ear! So now I won't be discussing this with anyone else but my husband!!

I've lost 24lbs since my last visit with the surgeon which was about 2 and a half months ago. I'm on my preop diet now, day 3 out of 21(3weeks). I'm hoping to drop a few more pounds before I get my band on the 29th. I'm currently 205lbs, my surgeon wants me to be 202lbs by surgery date, so I'm confident that I'll get there and then some

I've only told people close to me, my family, boyfriend and closest friend. No one else needs to know really.

I am halfway through my 6 month supervised diet. I have had all but two pre-op tests. Initially I did not tell anyone and had felt I needed to keep it that way, but with so much time off for appointments, I felt like I had to say something to my supervisor. I told two friends at work who I swore to secrecy. I was afraid to tell my adult daughter and her husband as they are usually negative about that kind of thing. I was so surprised when they offered total support and encouragement. My daughter even called the next day to tell me that she would be there to support me in any way she could. I feel that the people who need to know are actually supportive (one of my friends is supporting me so she can have all the clothes that do not fit anymore )

I had a lap-band in 2003. I went to Mexico and didn't tell anyone (except family and some close friends). Well, a couple of my friends told their husbands and we all know husbands can't keep secrets....(sorry guys) But most people still don't know. I decided this time I am going to be open about it. It is who I am and I am ready to tell my friends or anyone that if they don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it - and then I am ready to move on without them!

PS - I will still keep my lap band my little secret. It's embarrassing for me to tell people now something I did 10+ years ago, and now am doing another surgery.

Good luck to you!

Lisa i feel the same about keeping the band a little secret since now I'll be getting a bypass. When I say I've been banded people look at me like what happened you're huge? :-/ anyway such is life looking forward to getting bypassed don't know when though.

Much luck to all

I didn't lose any pre-surgery. I was borderline BMI being accepted and couldn't drop more than about 4 pounds or I wouldn't qualify.

Before surgery, I told a couple of people, all who were very supportive. Only told 2 people at work because they are candy pushers and I didn't want to come back from surgery with a big box of chocolates on my desk! They were both understanding and I'm happy I told them. They have been supportive after surgery, too -- asking me how things are going and agreeing to slap my hand if I unconciously reach for the candy bowls on their desks.

Since surgery, I tell most people who ask -- if they are people I have relationships with. I haven't had anything more negative than "you're not big enough to need that surgery" and I just say "insurance approved it so I must have been big enough".

Regarding biggest change in life? Obviously the first 4 weeks were a huge change going through the progressive diet. liquids, purees, soft... now I'm on 'regular' food and I'm still surprised that I have NO feelings of hunger at all and I only have to eat a VERY small amount of food and I'm full. It's nice not to be driven by cravings. I have to watch the "walk-by-and-grab-a-bite-of-something-laying-around" urge but it's not hard when you don't really feel hungry. Haven't wanted or missed any bread or carbs and Diet Coke doesn't even appeal for some reason and I was a MAJOR addict right up until surgery.

Best wishes -- hang out on the boards and you'll find more information than you can ever process!

Ai first I wasn't going to tell anyone but family and a couple close friends at work,but I ended up letting evertone know and have not heard one negative comment. Everyone has cheered me on and celebrated the little victories like eating a scrambled egg the other day. Heaven after 4 weeks of liquids. I did lose 13 pounds before surgery since that was what my doctor required and have lost 18 pounds since my surgery. I am 2 weeks out and post op has been pretty much what I expected with a couple of small speed bumps. Good luck on your journey, you will not be sorry.

I am 14 months post-op. I lost 20 pounds pre-op and 85 pounds post-op. I drank Coke all my life. When I went to my bariatric surgery consultation they told me that I had to give up caffeine and carbonated beverages. That translated to no more Cokes. I went cold turkey at that point. Prior, I use to drink about 6 diet cokes a day. I went through withdrawal pains for about a week. I lost 20 pounds solely on giving up cokes. The hardest part of the WLS process is the complexity of the regiment after surgery. But after 7 months I reached my happy state where everything clicked and I have been in a happy state ever since. Prior to surgery, it is very important to get your daily exercise (walking). It will help you recover quickly after the operation. I told everyone about my surgery. The majority of people were either supportive or curious. But I think I am the exception to the rule since many people try to keep the surgery a secret.

Thanks for the welcome and yes so far I've only told my best friend and she was very negative and I just told her all I needed was a listening ear! So now I won't be discussing this with anyone else but my husband!!

Don't give up on your best friend too quickly!... she is probably afraid for you and doesn't know about all the advances in bariatric surgery. Most people don't. Could she go to a hospital seminar with you?

Congrats to you all for making the choice to be healthy, this is an exciting time and the time will fly faster than you think, take this opportunity to learn everything you can and began making changes, trust me the surgery is so worth the wait. In regards to some of the questions pose there are more accepted insurance approvals then denials, the entire process from start to end you will learn alot about yourself, friends and so called friends and even family members. I am 7 weeks post opt and I am loving life. Good luck to you all.

I have told everybody that I am having surgery. I have found most people are supportive. I had a couple people say why can't you just excercise. And I have told them if that was all it took I would have lost the weight 7 years ago. I have also used my personal life as a way to educate people about wls. People are usually scared of what they don't understand so take the opportunity to explain it to them!!

@@Ginger Snaps,

I didn't lose any pre-surgery. I was borderline BMI being accepted and couldn't drop more than about 4 pounds or I wouldn't qualify.

That sounds A LOT like me. I'm borderline and afraid to lose any, but at the same time I feel like my PCP will not be cooperative with me if I don't at least attempt to lose some. I have hypertension, cholesterol, elevated A1C, and my BMI is hovering around 40, but I'm still afraid of being denied.