K33

I believe my mind is playing the same trick on me too. I am reserving my right to cancel the surgery if I lose substantial weight on my own. Yet, I'm 61 and inactive right now so fat chance (excuse the pun). We were told our stomach would be equivalent to the size of a yellow highlight marker pen. If I can eat nibbles of my favorite foods after the surgery, on the other hand, I ask myself, "Why not then?"

Thanks to all who shared your reasons. I am 8# away from meeting with my case mgr to set a date. Kaiser's (Richmond, CA) process is just whizzing by so quickly! I have not told anyone yet that I will be doing the surgery maybe because I want to see how much I can lose on the pre op food plan. Yet, I'm feeling happy and hopeful which I have not felt in a long time. this could be an answer to a prayer of mine where I told Spirit I would be happy if I could lose just 55 # to weigh 180 on my 5' 3.5" frame. My biggest concern about the surgery is having GERD as a result, which he said 30 percent of patients get with the v s g because the stomach pressure is stronger and the flap between the esophagus and stomach sometimes can't hold back stomach acid. I am a carb addict and have told myself if I were in OA, my food plan would be similar to the hi Protein lo carb pre op food plan so I won't be giving up any more foods more than I am eating now.

I am single woman 61 yrs old 5'3" 238.2# At my past visit with my doctor ( where I was once again complaining about being tired), I said off the cuff, "So, how fat do you have to be to qualify for weight loss surgery?" Thank goodness she never made my w e i g h t the focus of our appointments over the last 10 yrs. In just the same off the cuff manner she answered, " With your BMI and pre existing condition, you qualify, I'll make a referral. For my patients who are volume eaters,WLS is very successful and for my patients who are emotional eaters, OA seems to work." The following week I took the orientation class at Kaiser and 2 weeks ago , took a 5 hour lecture class . In 2 days I have my initial appointment with the surgeon. As you can see things are moving along swiftly. I barely have had time to fully consider all my reasons but it is part of my homework assignment for surgery. My top 2 reasons . You see in the last 3 years I have been on 20 job interviews in a field that is very competitive and I am currently only partially employed at a time when I thought I would begin to consider retirement. Further more I have been single most of my life. I cannot help but wonder if my age and weight combinedr are two strikes against me. I never thought it would happen to me because I am attractive and intelligent. I have done a little dating. on my most recent date, my blind date e- mailed me almost immediately saying that there was no chemistry. That hurt and yet I was thankful. it brought to the forefront a thought I had not been willing to look at and that is : Even I myself am not attracted to large people, why would I think no one would botice I am fat. why did I think I was the exception? Lest you think those 2 are my only reasons let's just say I would enjoy sitting in an air plane without a seat belt extender or driving my auto without power steering wheel rubbing my belly. I want to be able to be physical in my golden years. In kaisers programmed they encourage you to have a support system. Because I am single and live alone I am thinking I will check out OA as a support system as well because as any of you know who has started your pre op diet it is a major transition. Before I leave this world I want to enjoy being in my body. No I am not ill my labs are good but I do have sleep apnea. I' love to hear your obvious and not so obvious reasons you are pursuing w l s. I know I am preaching to the choir but if there are any members on this list who opted against w l s it would be good to hear from you as well

Kaiser Richmond program MDs and Nut say no "soft liquid food" before or after surgery such as yogurt and protein drinks because they go thru your stomach fairly quickly and dont satisfy hunger as well, thus setting you up to overeat at the next meal. That said, I am 8# away from meeting w/ case mgr and sometimes use protein drink as a 4th meal/snack on my hungry days. As Dr. Im explained to me, the pre op food plan is to help us get used to how we will eat post op to be most successful post op. I use Jay Robb because it has no asparteme. Pricey.

I'm 5'3" (used to be 5'4" before I hit 55 yrs young), currently 235 #, surgery goal 225#. The process is going crazy fast @ Kaiser Richmond, CA. Saw surgeon for first time today. 5# more and I'm to going for psch eval , then case mgr for surgery date + labs. wow.

Be able to shop for clothes made of natural fabrics instead of only having a choice from Lane Bryant's polyester selection. ugh

Kaiser Richmond, CA patients, Which surgeon did you prefer and why?

FAFSA probably has statistics to support our suspicions. My size has grown so that recently I am now beginning to see shock in people's faces. For example, I was reuinted with a HS friend I'd not seen in 30 years. I warned her on the phone that I was obese and not to be surprised. When I opened the door, she did not drop her jaw. However, the eyes gave her away. I saw her eyes open wide as half dollars as she took a look at me. The second time this happened was in a job interivew. When the supervisor came out of his office to shake hands, his body language was friendly but his eyes registered shock and his eyes opened up as big as half dollars, too. It was as he was saying, "Wow, are you ever fat!" P.S. ( I got the job but later resigned. Another story for another time.)

I have been unemployed off and on for 2 years, made 100+ applications, and had 15+ interviews without offers. I don't know what to believe about how much my obesity is linked to my lack of ob joffers. There hasn't been this type of recessionbefore,but I also have never weighed this much, so it's hard to sort out the real cause. Part of my decision to go for WLS has to do with being age 61, 243 pounds, and unemployed. While being a normal weight won't get me a job I'm not qualified for, it will boost my confidence so I am my best self at future interviews.