Newbie to VSG, just starting my journey

[SarahSleeve 170]

Good morning all. I've been reading up on VSG for several years now but was never to the point where I was really truly ready to make the life-altering changes required. In that time, I've lost and gained 40lbs twice. I've been put on hypertension meds, and my knees creak when I walk. I've been miserable about my weight for as long as I can remember but wasn't ready to never eat a full meal again, or chug a glass of Water when I was parched. But something finally clicked when I was planning a family vacation (which should be the most exciting thing ever) and was focused on "will I fit on the plane? How about the rides? Will I run out of energy halfway through? Will my knees give out?" etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Not the stuff I want to be focusing on!! So, now I'm ready and I'm signed up for three different information seminars at three local hospitals over the next two months. I'm hopeful to get sleeved around Sept/Oct depending on insurance and doctor requirements. That would be the best timing for me. Unless for some reason they could get me in before the first week or so of June (which I know isn't likely) so I'd be on my way to recovery by the time school is out for my kids. Summer is a bad time for me to be on my butt, with 2 very active boys running around.

If anyone has any tips/suggestions for someone at the beginning of the journey, please share. I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this and other forum soaking up the experiences and knowledge. A little about me - 36 year old mom of 2, married, current BMI 43 . Been struggling with my weight since I was 10. Tried alllllll the things - Weight Watchers, FitnessPal, very low calorie diets (which work, until you eat normally again), etc. The weight always comes back. I'm sure most people here know exactly where I am and how I feel. I do have someone close to me that had the surgery 5 years ago and has been talking me through the overall process but I'm big on getting as much information as possible.

Thank you for your support

Oh, and if anyone has used Harvard Pilgrim insurance and has any info related to that I'd love to hear it


CJ

Edited March 31, 2016 by CJ'sready

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Welcome! It sounds like you are making this decision for all the right reasons. As you correctly guessed, many of us have been in your shoes. I even credit not fitting in amusement park rides as the "straw that broke the camel's back" for me.

The long-term lifestyle changes are well worth the sacrifice. And honestly, at 19 months post-op, it really doesn't feel like much of a sacrifice at all now. I can gulp Water, for the record. Water consumption was really only an issue for me in the early days post-op when my stomach and esophagus were still swollen. I have no issues getting my water in now or even just a couple months post-op. And as for not eating a "full meal", I do eat full meals, they are just much smaller now. I choose not to eat a lot of the "fillers" that are often included in meals like Pasta, rice, bread, rolls, etc. But I technically could eat a few bites of those if I so chose. I just prefer not to waste the space. I really *can* eat everything I ate pre-op, I just make very different choices now than I did before. Which I guess is the whole point, because I clearly didn't make good choices before!

Feel free to post any specific questions/concerns you have and I am sure you will get a lot of answers and support. This is an awesome community full of people at all different stages of this journey.

[ridgerunner 115]

It's uncanny how both of you could have been speaking directly to me. I am just starting my journey (pre-ops in April) and have been gleening sooo much info and inspiration from everyone that posts here. I am so grateful to you all for sharing.

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

[JamieLogical 8,684]

It's uncanny how both of you could have been speaking directly to me. I am just starting my journey (pre-ops in April) and have been gleening sooo much info and inspiration from everyone that posts here. I am so grateful to you all for sharing.

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

Well then, "welcome" to you too! Glad you are getting so much out of the site already. It was a HUGE help to me as I began looking into WLS and helped get me through my pre and post-op trials and tribulations. Now I like to "pay it forward" as much as possible.

[ridgerunner 115]

I am grateful as I am sure many many others are also. Hopefully I will be of help to others later as I get further and have more first hand knowledge.

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

[SarahSleeve 170]

Thank you for the replies! I know I have a very long journey ahead of me but just knowing that I'm 100% ready and there are others I can turn to when I have questions makes me feel like I really can succeed! Here's to being healthier and happier by this time next year

[SarahSleeve 170]

****I will likely be adding random posts to this thread to keep myself motivated and on target as I get this process rolling. No worries if no one reads/responds, but I need to put it somewhere and it needs to be more public than a journal for me to feel that it's real.****

I've been on this site all weekend. Reading about people's journeys, looking at the before/after threads (which are incredibly motivating and wonderful), looking for any negatives people have had. I can honestly say I am truly ready for this. In the past I'd read a few negatives and be like "nope, not going to risk it!" and move on to my yo-yo cycle of diet and weight loss/gain. This time, I am thinking "worth the risk".

I am too young for this to be my life. Being too tired to go for a long walk/bike ride with my kids and when I do, feeling it for DAYS afterwards. Having knees that creak when I go up stairs. Being winded after a walk to the mailbox!! I'm just now starting to realize just how unhealthy I am. Being that I didn't have any major medical issues before I was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year (besides hypothyroidism, but that's not going away regardless of my weight), I never really though I was "that big" or unhealthy in general. I'm now beginning to accept just how large I truly am. You'd think the little number 20 on my pants would be enough to tell me that, but I guess I just saw what I wanted.

I've read that people my size can hope/expect to lose up to 100lbs the 12 to 18 months if I'm careful and stick to the rules. Last time I was that weight was high school, and that was only because I'd basically starved myself for several months before a school Disney trip. I looked good! I still thought I was fat. Hindsight, I know. I'd LOVE to be that weight again. I've been 220+ since before i got married back in 2002. This is not who I want to be. This is not me.

I'm ready to make a life-altering change now.

Edited April 3, 2016 by CJ'sready

[JamieLogical 8,684]

There's no reason you can't lose 100 pounds with the sleeve as long as you stick to the plan. It sounds like you are ready to do that!

[SarahSleeve 170]

Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 5 using the BariatricPal App

[SarahSleeve 170]

I've been poring over the before/after threads and the success stories and keep breaking down in tears. I *so* want to be a success story some day, so bad that it hurts. It also scares me though. Not the actual surgery, but the changes that will come in my life after. If I have the surgery in early Fall I could feasibly be up to 100lbs lighter by this time next year (I have 125 to lose to get to the middle of "normal" for my height). That's terrifying. I've never really been a normal weight, not since I was 5 years old. I was bullied (majorly) as a fat kid, ignored as a fat teen and adult except for my close groups of friends. Always been insecure and hiding myself from others. I learned to survive in my own head, ignoring the haters and loving myself regardless. I am incredibly lucky to have found love in high school and am still married to him now (together going on 20 years). How will my relationship change? I've never been thin with him, not really. Maybe a few times when I starved myself for a trip/event I got down to a size 12. But otherwise - I was even 225lbs at my wedding (size 16 dress). And now I'm a size 20, have been for years. He's always been a healthy weight. He has NEVER complained about my weight, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a more agile, active wife/mother of his kids. Who wouldn't?

I've been fat so long that I don't know myself any other way. How do I do this and not lose who I am?

Just rambling. First info seminar on Friday. It's starting!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@SarahSleeve You adapt. It is a lot of change, that is for sure. But we, as humans, are incredibly adaptable. You live from one day to the next and small changes add up over time. I can completely understand that you are worried about losing who you are. It's something to be mindful of for sure. But it doesn't have to happen. There was another thread very recently about whether or not weight loss changed people. And the overwhelming majority of people who posted said they felt more confidence and were more active, but the core of who they are had not changed.

[Momwith3minions 52]

Great advice Jamie!!!

Sarah, thank you for starting this thread. Welcome. I was sleeved yesterday morning. I did it for a lot of the reasons you listed. I'm almost 30. I have three kids. My family are huge Disney nuts. I was tired of looking at the family pictures with me missing because I was so embarrassed. I learned a lot from my NUT meetings. I also committed myself to the pre-op diet. The lifestyle change started before surgery for me. It's people like Jamie that are so encouraging to me. I am looking forward to living life!

[SarahSleeve 170]

And the overwhelming majority of people who posted said they felt more confidence and were more active, but the core of who they are had not changed.

Thank you for this. This is exactly what I hope for myself.

Great advice Jamie!!!

Sarah, thank you for starting this thread. Welcome. I was sleeved yesterday morning. I did it for a lot of the reasons you listed. I'm almost 30. I have three kids. My family are huge Disney nuts. I was tired of looking at the family pictures with me missing because I was so embarrassed. I learned a lot from my NUT meetings. I also committed myself to the pre-op diet. The lifestyle change started before surgery for me. It's people like Jamie that are so encouraging to me. I am looking forward to living life!

Congratulations on your surgery, I hope recovery is kind to you

Up until now I've avoided being in pictures, too. I have so many awkward pictures of me trying to hide behind people. I don't know why I try, a person my size doesn't hide from anyone, ha! I'm taking my kids to Disney in a few weeks (their first time!) and we bought the photopass so I'm preparing myself to be in as many photos as possible and to just smile and enjoy myself without worrying about how I look. My kids will see my happiness, not my stomach. One of the things that's making me OK with that is knowing that next time we go on vacation, I will be many pounds lighter and much healthier Kinda like a chance to get some "before" pics to compare to later. I know I'll have a blast regardless of my weight, but it does always sit there in my mind no matter what I'm doing.

Heading off to my first info seminar in a couple hours. I'm excited to find out what the process will be and when they think I might be able to get on the table

[SarahSleeve 170]

Step #1 complete! I've registered with the program and completed my introductory seminar. They said their average pre-op time is between 6-7 months, sometimes as short as 4 depending on what the surgeon and insurance require. So that should line up for late Sept, early Oct which is what I was thinking. Would I like an earlier date? Heck yes. Do I know I need to give myself the full 6-7 months to truly absorb the changes that are about to happen? Absolutely. This time next year I could be 6 months post-sleeve and in a completely different place when Summer comes around. I can't even imagine! More energy, better sleep (Hoping my snoring subsides - it usually does when I lose some weight so fingers crossed!), more beach days with my kids enjoying the sun and sand instead of hiding in my house. MORE MORE MORE!!

Up Next - meeting with the PCP to get the referral in place, get labs organized, and see if she'll go off my own spreadsheets detailing my weight loss attempts over the past 5 years. I will also be required to lose up to 10lbs (the surgeon will let me know once all my papers are in) and complete three more informational seminars along with the labs/paperwork.

I could actually be losing serious weight already by my November birthday!! And up to 3 months out by Christmas!! I am so excited and ready.

Oh, and I had to giggle at myself when I walked into the meeting today. I looked around and saw the 25+ other prospective patients and finally felt like I wasn't alone. I was like "these are my people". I mean, I knew everyone attending would be overweight, but I didn't feel like I was being stared at or judged. Is this what "normal" people feel like every day???? I cannot wait for this to be my life!

Edited April 9, 2016 by SarahSleeve

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Sounds like everything is going well so far. It's a long road ahead, but you are off to a great start and already have a great attitude.