Bypassjourney

I did it! I broke through that ONE-derland door!! And it was on my two month surgiversary this past Friday. I had not been under 200 since the end of 2006. I have lost a total of 40.5 lbs. (that includes 10 lbs on pre-op) and feel amazing. I can't say enough great things about the sleeve and my new way of life. What a blessing!
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1)

I did it! I broke through that ONE-derland door!! And it was on my two month surgiversary this past Friday. I had not been under 200 since the end of 2006. I have lost a total of 40.5 lbs. (that includes 10 lbs on pre-op) and feel amazing. I can't say enough great things about the sleeve and my new way of life. What a blessing!
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1)

I did it! I broke through that ONE-derland door!! And it was on my two month surgiversary this past Friday. I had not been under 200 since the end of 2006. I have lost a total of 40.5 lbs. (that includes 10 lbs on pre-op) and feel amazing. I can't say enough great things about the sleeve and my new way of life. What a blessing!
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1)

Friends-
Today, I Celebrate one of my biggest moments of bravery. I Celebrate agreeing to be wheeled into surgery despite a healthy dose of fear of both complications and the unknown. I had no idea how I'd cope in life without the crutch of food and failure. I wasn't excited about surgery and possibilities. I was simply scared and resolved. Now, I live a life I truly wasn't sure I'd ever get to enjoy. Life is good. So good.
I have been incredibly blessed on this journey. My approval process was relatively painless. It only involved four months of supervised diet. I didn't even have to do a liquid diet leading up to surgery. My only real complication was a very minor infection on one of my incisions. A round of antibiotics and I was fine.
My biggest memories of life following surgery were trying to figure out how to live without food as a focus and exhaustion. I wasn't hungry but still felt a need to eat but couldn't. I worked hard in therapy to be ready for this yet I wasn't. On top of that, I remember being absolutely exhausted until week 5. My other biggest memory is when I lost about 50 lbs. and realized that I no longer hurt. I had been overweight so long that I simply accepted pain as a part of life. To wake up one day and comprehend than general life no longer hurt left me giddy.
Since surgery, I have dropped 112 pounds, 12 inches (literally a foot!) off my waist, and 6 dress sizes (from 24/26 to 12/14). I have found a passion for running that culminated in running a half-marathon in January. I found the confidence to apply for a dream job that came with a crazy raise and got the job! I've found pride in myself and my appearance. I've become more than what I eat and how I look.
I haven't been the most well-behaved sleever. I feel I should share that in the interest of honesty. When I got the crazy, awesome promotion I started making some poor choices. I have yet to gain weight but I am in the world's longest stall due to poor food choices and a lack of focus on diet. I haven't lost a pound since December. I recognize that I haven't lost the last thirty pounds because of my less than ideal food choices but I am okay with this for now. I know that I will soon be ready to lose the last thirty and I will focus and finish what I started. My goal is to be at or under 175 by 18 months. I feel this is very doable. However, I recognize that this is my journey and I will finish it when it is right for me. Right now, I am enjoying the ride and life in general.
I would like to take a moment to thank all of you for your constant support, opinions and advice. I've found this forum and the people it consists of a lifeline on more than one occasion. Bless you all!
Of course, a surgiversary post isn't complete without photos!


PS- I swear I am not a big drinker... it just happens that pics normally occur when I'm drinking.

So happy for you! It is such a wonderful feeling to discover new little NSV's along the way. Have a great time in SA!

I have been having so many thoughts about this very subject this week. My co-worker and I are the only other woman that work in our office.Yesterday she went on about how a friend of hers was going on and on to her about how fat she used to be and how good she looks now. And the fat weight she says she weighed is 50 pounds less than what I weigh now. It was like she was doing it trying to make me feel bad about my weight and putting a dig into me that I am fatter than her "fat" weight.
My sister and I are very close. We are about the same size and have always dieted together. She has had more success than me in the past. I was a little jealous of her but at the same time happy for her and it motivated me to try harder. But now that I am havnig surgery, she has hardly mentioned it at all. I know she is envious and I am trying to be respectful of that and not talk too much to her about it. I have also been praying that I wont ever get to a point after losing weight that I look down on other people for their weight or that I wont get an uppity attitude just because I am smaller. I feel that God has me on this particular journey for a reason and He will use my experience to fulfill His purpose in my life.

Yes I would do it again. I am 11 days out and starting to feel better physically. I already see a change in my attitude because I know this time that every pound that I lose will not come back again like every other diet I tried. I am still on liquids so that has been challenging. But I am not hungry so that helps.
Everything that has been described on this board from the good to the bad and ugly gave me an idea of exactly what to expect. They were right on target with every bit of it. Now I am excited to get down the road and start experiencing some of the other positive aspects of this surgery...like skinny clothes!

I am currently on Day 13 of the pre-op diet with surgery coming on Monday. I too have had a couple of times where I have messed up during this time. But that doesn't mean I am not in the right mindset to have a successful weight loss after surgery. It means I am human and I made lots of "mess ups" during my life and that is what got me to this point right now to have surgery. If I was a stronger person, I could have succeeded on diets long before now and not be where I am at this point.
Hang in there and do the best you can. You did the right thing by posting about this. We have such a great support system here.

I have three answers to this question; (1) anything from a trendy store in the mall (2) my daughter's jeans :-) (3) I will never wear them in public but I want to just be able to prance around the house in my size 8 "rockies" that I have had in the attic since 1993 waiting for me to get back to that size.

I'm ready! I have to leave at 6 a.m. to be at the hospital at 8 a.m. I have the house cleaned, laundry done, Vitamins, Soups, sugar free popsicles, proten shots, Protein Drinks, gatorade, etc. and pain meds :-) and ready to get this show on the road.
I will talk to you again in a couple of days on the loser's bench!! Woohoo!!!!!

I'm ready! I have to leave at 6 a.m. to be at the hospital at 8 a.m. I have the house cleaned, laundry done, Vitamins, Soups, sugar free popsicles, proten shots, Protein Drinks, gatorade, etc. and pain meds :-) and ready to get this show on the road.
I will talk to you again in a couple of days on the loser's bench!! Woohoo!!!!!

I'm on Monday!

I'm on Monday!

I am on day 12. Two more days to go! I have eaten cheese a few times. I hope I haven't messed it up too bad by doing that. This is so incredibly hard! I have a lot to do this weekend to get ready for the big day. So hopefully I can keep my mind occupied and the time goes by fast.

Reading this board with everyone describing their feelings as we wait for our surgery dates is so comforting because it makes me feel like I'm not alone. I am on day six of the liquid diet eight more to go. It is So hard! I have ate a few bites of cheese the last two days. Other than that, I have stuck to it. I am down 6.6 lbs. so that is encouraging too.
I hope everyone that has already been sleeved are continuing to improve and feel better. Those of us still waiting, we can do this!!

I understand what you are dealing with because I dealt with the exact same thing in the past. Nothing hurts more than hearing your husband saying demeaning things to you about your weight. I was not overweight until after I had my daughter. Looking back, the more he said about my weight, the more I found comfort in food and before I knew it I had gained 60 lbs. I finally got to a place where I was dieting and working out with a trainer and got the self esteem back and got a divorce. But it took me 12 years to get to that place. A few years later I met a guy that seemed to love me and accept me exactly as I was. It didn't take long to figure out I was in the same situation again and refused to go down that path. The marriage lasted less than two years. I have been divorced now for over a year. I am finally starting to find the true me again and I am doing this WLS for nobody else but ME.
I hope you can remind yourself that you do indeed to be treated with respect and although he has gotten by with it in the past, stand strong and tell him you are no longer willing to be disrespected in that way. Also, remind yourself that your weight is not the cause of his bad moods.Work on you FOR you and nobody else.
We are here for you at any time.

Thanks everyone for your information about Dr. Kim and his staff. I finished everything last week so I am just waiting on the insurance approval. I wish he would go ahead and schedule the surgery with the anticipated insurance approval. But I know it will get here soon enough. Thanks for everyone's open and honest information about the pain and all. I think it is going to be much better going into it knowing all the good AND the bad.
What I think I have liked most so far about Dr. Kim is that they are a center of excellence and seem to handle alot of the things in their office that other people on these boards have had to do themselves. That is a great help!

I have three answers to this question; (1) anything from a trendy store in the mall (2) my daughter's jeans :-) (3) I will never wear them in public but I want to just be able to prance around the house in my size 8 "rockies" that I have had in the attic since 1993 waiting for me to get back to that size.

I understand what you are dealing with because I dealt with the exact same thing in the past. Nothing hurts more than hearing your husband saying demeaning things to you about your weight. I was not overweight until after I had my daughter. Looking back, the more he said about my weight, the more I found comfort in food and before I knew it I had gained 60 lbs. I finally got to a place where I was dieting and working out with a trainer and got the self esteem back and got a divorce. But it took me 12 years to get to that place. A few years later I met a guy that seemed to love me and accept me exactly as I was. It didn't take long to figure out I was in the same situation again and refused to go down that path. The marriage lasted less than two years. I have been divorced now for over a year. I am finally starting to find the true me again and I am doing this WLS for nobody else but ME.
I hope you can remind yourself that you do indeed to be treated with respect and although he has gotten by with it in the past, stand strong and tell him you are no longer willing to be disrespected in that way. Also, remind yourself that your weight is not the cause of his bad moods.Work on you FOR you and nobody else.
We are here for you at any time.

From my previous diet attempts in the past on a liquid diet, I managed to last two weeks and lost 15 lbs. I start my liquids on Monday and I am hoping for that type of success during this two weeks. My surgery is on the 30th.
I know the liquid stage is going to be so difficult. I am going to carry around one of my worst "before" pictures and any time I start getting discouraged, I am going to pull out that picture and hope it gives me motivation to keep going towards my goal.

I have three answers to this question; (1) anything from a trendy store in the mall (2) my daughter's jeans :-) (3) I will never wear them in public but I want to just be able to prance around the house in my size 8 "rockies" that I have had in the attic since 1993 waiting for me to get back to that size.

From my previous diet attempts in the past on a liquid diet, I managed to last two weeks and lost 15 lbs. I start my liquids on Monday and I am hoping for that type of success during this two weeks. My surgery is on the 30th.
I know the liquid stage is going to be so difficult. I am going to carry around one of my worst "before" pictures and any time I start getting discouraged, I am going to pull out that picture and hope it gives me motivation to keep going towards my goal.

I understand what you are dealing with because I dealt with the exact same thing in the past. Nothing hurts more than hearing your husband saying demeaning things to you about your weight. I was not overweight until after I had my daughter. Looking back, the more he said about my weight, the more I found comfort in food and before I knew it I had gained 60 lbs. I finally got to a place where I was dieting and working out with a trainer and got the self esteem back and got a divorce. But it took me 12 years to get to that place. A few years later I met a guy that seemed to love me and accept me exactly as I was. It didn't take long to figure out I was in the same situation again and refused to go down that path. The marriage lasted less than two years. I have been divorced now for over a year. I am finally starting to find the true me again and I am doing this WLS for nobody else but ME.
I hope you can remind yourself that you do indeed to be treated with respect and although he has gotten by with it in the past, stand strong and tell him you are no longer willing to be disrespected in that way. Also, remind yourself that your weight is not the cause of his bad moods.Work on you FOR you and nobody else.
We are here for you at any time.

I'm approved!! Surgery date is scheduled for 1/30!
I am so relieved and so excited and so nervous and so....many emotions right now. I am so ready for this journey!

Although my insurance coordinator at the doctor's office turned in the paperwork last week on the 22nd, which was my last required visit also, with the holidays I expected there to be some delay. I called my insurance company today just to verify they had received everything and they confirmed they had. You may want to call your insurance company to verify they have everything so there isn't any more of a delay in case the doctor's office hasn't sent everything. Also, the insurance company may be able to give you a better idea of the timeline of their approval process. Mine told me they have a 15 day approval process so if all goes as planned, you and I will be getting sleeved about the same time.
Keep in touch and let me know how it goes. I am praying for quick approvals and surgery dates for both of us!