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Just got my date - April 10! Now I'm flipping from "Whoo Hoo!" to "Oh...am I really going to do this?" Anyone else feeling nervous?

Those tests are definitely torture. And they can never find a vein in me, so that just adds to the fun. I was pretty much the same amount of FAT with each pregnancy but my first baby was born when I was 27 and my last when I was 36. Unfortunately a 36 year old body doesn't do as well with the stress of pregnancy as the 27 year old body did! So I did have gest. diab, but the finger sticks weren't bad. Maybe watch your cake intake before the next test. I feel bad for you. It's embarassing to vomit in front of a bunch of people! Let us know what you find out.

Oh, that's miserable! I had gestational diabetes with my last baby and I just had to check my blood sugar wtih a finger prick a few times a day. Maybe your OB will let you do checks for a week and see how your numbers are instead of doing that horrible three hour test? If you just barely tested over, your finger pricks will probably be fine and you can have one less thing to worry about!

Sounds like the first week is the worst. I'm not scheduled yet (fingers crossed for soon!) but I love to hear it's easier than c-sections. I've had 4 of those also and they send you home with a newborn. J.Fabulous - I think our pups are related!

Hi Piper, Me, too! Getting chubbier each year health problems getting slightly worse each year tried all the diets with success, then failed with regaining everything plus extra avoiding social events same weight as you, but I'm shorter endoscopy scheduled for Wednesday this week but... do I really want to do this? The thing that has motivated me the most is that although there are complications you read about, I haven't read anything from anyone that they are unhappy a year after surgery! For me, that's amazing. I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago and I'm not sure I'd recommend that surgery to anyone. But this surgery - everyone ends up loving. So I guess it's just time to bite the bullet and know the next 6 months will be difficult but what's the chance we'll be the only two people in the world who regret the surgery a year from now? Hope this helps!

Had my psych consult yesterday. Passed! Whoo hoo! Not too crazy! But, he asked me something interesting and I want to pose it to you. I told him I had been struggling with the decision to have WLS for years and he said that's not unusual. Most people he speaks with have the hardest time with thinking they should be able to do this themselves. Yup, that's me. I still wonder that. So, I ask you, my sleeved family, what happened to make us gain weight back in the past? Boredom? Won't I get bored with a sleeve, too? Eathing unhealthy food? Won't that be possible, although in maybe smaller amounts? What is going to make me stick with this program when I never stuck with the others? I'd love to hear from people who have been successful with their sleeve and know what keeps you on track?

Love this thread! I'm seeing my surgeon on Thursday and I've been trying to eat like I should, managing to lose 10 pound in the past 3 weeks. Then that little voice speaks up and says "Save your $20,000! You're smart! You can do this!" But if I look at my history, I know I can lose it but it always finds me again. I love hearing that other people have the nagging little voice, too. Maybe that voice resides in the part of our stomach that will be removed?!

SO Jealous! Wish I had started this 8 months ago. You look amazing! Congrats.

I'm right beside you on that roller coaster!! I'm hoping to get a date in late March and sometimes I think this is the best idea I've ever had and sometimes I think what the heck and I doing? I think it's the emotional side of our brains that are saying things like "Oh, you'll never eat cake again." and I've found if I can just use some logic on those thoughts, they go away. Like, Sure, you can have a bite of cake. And that's all you'll want. And you'll look awesome eating that bite and walking away instead of shoveling the entire cake down and then being ashamed. I'm 42 and I look back at all the junk I've eaten. Was it worth it? I've spent pretty much 20 years eating whatever was near by and not tied down and it's about time for me to stop that. My kids are younger than yours, but I avoid the camera like crazy. Who wants to face those pictures and the truth? I'm looking forward to pics that I can look at and feel good about. If we don't have some reservations about surgery, I don't think we're being honest with ourselves. I'm sure you'll hear from many more people who are riding our very same roller coaster.

And GB people tend to talk a lot about slime? Hmm.. never looked it up, but pretty sure I don't want that!

Hi Dreamkin, I heard a similar thing at the information night I went to. I walked in the door, knowing I wanted a sleeve and the surgeon talked a lot about GB and the band, and just barely mentioned the sleeve procedure. When I specifically asked about it, he said it was the "new kid on the block and getting a lot of hype." He prefers to do the GB because, in his words, if you have diabetes or if you've ever had acid reflux, the GB fixes those. I'm with you, though, I think the sleeve would fix them, too, and with less complications. Maybe not immediately fixed, but when you lose weight, they should get better, right? I love how the sleeve is kind of a happy medium between the band and GB and I'm still wanting to go that route. Good luck!

Hi All, So I've found a surgeon I like and with the gastric sleeve, he's had no deaths and no complications. None? Well, that's what he tells me. Over the last 12 months, he's done 60 of these surgeries. He does more bands and a lot more bypasses. He's been doing these surgeries for about 5 years, so I'm trying to decide, is 60 surgeries a year enough for him to be good? How many sleeve procedures have your surgeons done? I don't want a newbie! Thanks!

Lots of good points. Thanks for all of the replies! It sounds like 60/year is a reasonable number. I don't want to be the one they "learn" on and I also don't want to be number 784 where we are all lined up and just a number to the surgeon. On a side note, I talked to a surgical center that is popular here (seattle area) and they had done 100's. But, when I googled the surgeon I was scheduled to meet with, he had just gotten off of probation for giving out blank prescriptions to people who wrote them for oxycodone!! Ugh. I guess the lesson here is to choose wisely and that the numbers aren't all you need to know.

I've done years of research and I don't think there is anything else for me to learn. I've attended several informational seminars and decided vertical sleeve is for me. But I just can't pull the trigger. I keep thinking I should just try harder "one mroe time" or feeling embarassed that I'm in this situation and I've been fat forever. What if I'm in the .2% that dies just because I couldn't put the chip bag down? I've got children who depend on me. If something serious happens, well... If I'm here, I'm just unhealthy and fat, but I'm still here. How did you decide the risk was worth the benefits? I just can't seem to get myself to make the commitment.

Thanks for your thougths, ladies. I keep cycling from "I should just have surgery" to "I should just try One More Time." Bedhead - I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one hanging out at weight loss surgery info nights! I feel like a goupie. And the surgery always sounds so good, until they bring up that .2% number. I won't have that risk if I just try One More Time. And although it may be comforting to think we take risks all the time, this is saying I'm willing to be that 1 out of 500 people who have this surgery and die. I'm a real numbers person and a little research shows your chances of dying in a car accident are 1 in 6,700. If that was the risk with WLS, I'd have done it yesterday. Being struck by lightning is 1 in 3,000,000. Everyone would have surgery if that was the risk of death. But 500 people isn't that many to be the chosen 1. Secondchance, if my dr said do it or else, that is an easy choice. Right now, I'm trying to get some local doctors to give me their personal stats: How many gastric sleeve procedures have you done? How many complications? How many deaths? But I'm not having much luck. Most doctors want to quote me national averages or tell me that their hospital is better than average. Did anyone else have a difficult time getting exact numbers from their surgeons? Thanks again everyone, and good luck, Bedhead! I'm jealous you have all decided and I'm hanging out on the fence.

Hi Kathe, Thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad you and your daughter have had such great experiences with your surgeries!