Marci

I'm scheduled for surgery next Thursday & this thread makes me want to do this more than ever now!! You all are awesome. I love getting on here every day & reading what you all have to say. All of you are such an inspiration. I cannot wait until I can share something like this!! Congrats to ALL of you for such a great job!!

I start my preop diet tomorrow and not sure how I'm going to pull this off. I'm already hungry thinking about it...lol....I'm glad that I start it on a Thursday. At least most of it's over the weekend.

Thank you all for the words of encouragment. I cannot wait for this whole process to start. Only 18 more days to go. (Wow, it's weird to say 18 days to a new me!!) I am so ready!!

CONGRATS!! This makes me want to do it even more. You're truly an inspiration to us that are just beginning out journey!!

So instead of lurking around the forum, I thought I should introduce myself and get to know all of you better. My name is Marci and I'm 29. I have a 2-year-old very handsome baby boy. I am married to the most supportive, caring and sweetest husband ever. (Maybe a little over exaggeration but you get the point ) I have been overweight my WHOLE life. I remember going to the doctor when I was in middle school to get a physical for sports and they told me I weighed 200lbs. I thought, "Oh wow! The scale cannot be right." I remember that day my mom talking to the doctor about my weight and him telling my mom that it runs in my genes. I also remember when I was 16 my uncle telling my mom that I would never get married or have kids because I was "fat". (I hate that word!) I still hear those words everyday and that's been 14 years ago. My Aunt and her daughter both have had the gastric bypass done. I was leaning toward the bypass but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I see how many supplements they have to take and how they can't eat ice cream (oh no!!) and many other foods. I didn't want to go through that. I was also signed up to do the Lapband last year at this time but backed out. I had a friend that did the Lapband and she said she hated it. Thank goodness I didn't go through with it. My husband came home one day from work and told me one of his co-workers had the gastric sleeve done. Of course I knew nothing about this procedure but obsessively started researching it. Fell in love!! A week later my husband walked in the door from work and I said, "I'm having the gastric sleeve done." If you all could have seen his face, priceless. He said why? I explained to him that I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for me. I also told him that I'm not asking for his permission, I'm just letting him know in case he wants to come with me to surgery. From that day forward he has been SUPER supportive and I could not ask for a better husband right now to help with this. The day before I went to my preop appointment, I decided to tell my parents. I told them the same thing, I'm not doing this for yall but for me. My mom is very excited for me but my dad is just worried and doesn't want me to have it done. (Too bad!) My husband I want another kid. I kept going back and forth, should I wait another 2 years or should I do it now before we have a kid? Tons a questions. I went to the doctor and asked him about what he thought. He said go for it but just remember that you could reverse this once you have a baby. So of course, I was going to wait again but something clicked. I woke up the next morning and decided NO, I'm doing it! I keep thinking, "What if". What if I don't do this and then get pregnant, I'll never know if that was the right decision? Wow....long story I know. So I'm scheduled on January 21st for my surgery and of course I'm still having a lot of what if's but I know I'm doing the right thing. I cannot wait for this day. I know it's going to be a journey but I'm up for the adventure. Thanks for listening and I can't wait to start talking with all of you when I'm on the "loser bench". Marci

Thanks guys for all the feedback. I guess I'll bring it up when I meet with my surgeon one last time on Jan 13th. Everyday it gets closer and closer!!

Judy, thanks for the info. Thank goodness I have been fortunate enough that I've never had blood pressure problems. I plan to cut it off on Monday. Hopefully all will go well. At least I'm not eating until I can't breathe, just eating the "fun stuff". Thanks for the info. I appreciate any input from those that have been through this experience.

I keep reading about people having drains put in after surgery. No one has mentioned this to me. Does everyone leave with drains and how long do they typically stay in?

I'm with you!! I have been eating everything I can find. I know I should stop eating so much but I see something & think, "I better get in while I can." I figured I have a couple of more weeks to enjoy the goods.

I know....thank you for your help. I can't wait until I get to change it to a newer pic!! One day soon!!

Judy, when did you have your surgery?

Awesome!! Keep up the excellent work. It's people like you that make me want my 21 days to go by even faster!! Congrats again!!

Thank you so much for your help. I fixed my avatar so we'll see if it helps!!

Thank you all so much.....only 21 days until surgery!! YEA!!!!

I drove 2 ? hours & they accommodated me as much as they could but I would definitely talk to them about you coming out of state. I had to come up & see a PA for a generic preop physical & saw the dietitian & the program director. The following morning I had to do my blood work but you can do the blood work in the same day. Then I have to go back to see my surgeon a week before my surgery. You may want to advise them that you'll be traveling in from out of state & see if you can see your surgeon around the same time as your preop visit. I know you have to do the surgery within 30 days of your preop visit. I emailed them also in the beginning and it took a couple of days to get back to me. I would call the 1-877 number and talk to Cindy. She's super informative & helpful. Make sure you tell them you want the sleeve & not the lapband. Good luck & let me know if I can help you with any other information.

Why can I NOT get my profile pic to show? :thumbup: I've tried resetting it & we posting it. It says that everyone can see if but I can't. Any suggestions? Thanks, Marci

You should look into TLCEdge | Surgical Weight Loss Home. They are offering a special for $10,990 right now for the sleeve. They are a facility that works with different surgeons in the Dallas/Plano/Ft. Worth area. I went last week for my 1st visit & everyone was super nice & very informative. I have my appointment with the actual surgeon on Jan 13th & scheduled for surgery on Jan 21st. Hope this helps. I know how it feels to be self pay so I had to look at all the deals available & this was the best I found in the US. Good luck & Happy New Year!!

How do I get one of those trackers on my page? And I also don't why my profile pic is not showing? I can't see it but can you? (You can tell I'm not the best at these things....Lol...)

Congrats Tiff. You make me want to do this even more. I cannot wait until Jan 21st now!! I hope that I'm just as successful as you! Thank you for the inspiration you give all of us. I've looked at your pictures & you look AMAZING!! Congrats again....keep up the good work. :scared0:

Thank you all so much for your comments. This page has really opened my eyes up to a new beginning. You all are so informative & are awesome at answering questions & concerns. Jan. 21st will be here before we know it & I cannot wait!! I will be smiling from ear to ear until then & there after. I will definitely keep you guys updated. ~Marci

I have a date for my sleeve. I'm scheduled January 21st for my surgery & cannot wait for this day. I will be counting the days down. :biggrin0:

Thanks for the info. I hope to follow through your pregnancy & see how things end up. My birthday is July 7th. You should try to hang in there one more day....7 is a lucky number, especially 7th month, 7th day.....lol.... Hope all goes well with this pregnancy. I hope you keep us all updated. Thanks, Marci

They have several affiliating doctors. You can go to http://www.tlcedgesurgicalweightloss.com/ and click on affiliated surgeons and they show their names & pics. Here's a list of names that they have on there. Dr. Jayaseelan Dr. Gonzalez Dr. Carter Dr. Stewart Dr. Castro Dr. Veninga Dr. Henderson Dr. Hamn Dr. Cribbins I get to pick my surgeon and I'm not sure which one I should pick. I've researched most of them and they all seem to have good experience. I just wanted to know if anyone has heard anything good or bad about any of the surgeons. Thanks again.

Has anyone heard of TLC Edge Surgical Weight Loss Facility in Plano, TX? Any comments you want to share about them. I have an appointment tomorrow with them for my first visit and I'm interested in knowing about them.

I'm new to this whole thing so bare with me. I'm thinking about having the gastric sleeve done but of course I want to have another baby, not now or anytime soon. I have a 2-year-old & don't want to have another one for at least another 2 years. I'm kinda stuck though. I don't know if I should have my surgery now & get healthy with my weight loss or if I should wait until after I have the baby. I am currently scheduled on 12/29/09 for all of my post op work. I have read about so many women having babies after the gastric bypass surgery but since the gastric sleeve is so new, I just don't know if this is the right move for me. I read your original post about the complications you had. Do you think this is due to becoming pregnant so soon after you had the surgery or is this something I should be alarmed about? I spoke to my primary doctor about this and his only point to me was to have the baby first and then the surgery. BUT his reasoning had nothing to do with the health of the baby. His reasoning was that what if I pay for this surgery & then have the baby & then gain the weight back? Well good point but part of me is thinking "what if" I never have it done & could have had a great pregnancy without being overweight? I'm just torn on what to do. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars & then gain all the weight back but I also don't want my feet or my hips to hurt when I stand because I'm carrying around a ton of weight. Any comment would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Marci