momoffive

My surgery is tomorrow, too. I'm packed and nervous. I wish all my sleeve buddies good luck and many prayers.
Kim

Last night my husband Gordon & I were at dinner @Superior Steak House celebrating his birthday, (we both were "dressed up"). An old friend that we had not seen in a couple of years came by totally disregarding me and angrily told Gordon "Man, I didn't think you were the type to dump a perfectly good woman for this "younger cupcake" I really thought you & Linda were soul mates" He then looked at me and began to tell me how "wonderful" Gordon's Linda was , so I said thank you and told him next month we will be celebrating 31 years together and that's when he realized it was me! After the usual OMG you look fantastic, he left & Gordon and I continued our dinner but I do believe Gordon's smile was a little bit bigger I know mine was. I look in the mirror and am just now (11mths out Sleeve) seeing the new slimmer me that everyone around me has seen for months.
[sharedmedia=trackers:tickers:1098]

When I first met with my surgeon (April 19), he put me on a high protein. low carb diet. I basically eat 3oz of meat and a serving of green vegetables for lunch and dinner and a protein shake for breakfast. I have lost 21 pounds so far. I hope this helps.

Thank you for posting. This is the way I'm feeling too. I won't be sleeved until July 18. I feeling like I'm mourning for the person i wish I was, someone who could lose and keep off weight without this surgery. But here we are, and I know that both you and I will be great because of the help the sleeve will give us. I'll say a prayer that you fly through surgery well. See you on the other side!

...I'll be a Sleeved Sistah. As I am preparing this evening (washing clothes, visiting my mom to tell her I love her--in case I don't make it, packing...), it feels surreal. What if this is the last time I'll see my mother? This is really REAL. This is IT.
I followed my 2-week preop to the best of my ability. I tried my best. I cheated too. I gave myself the excuse to after I got sick from the sugar-free (yet chemical-filled) pudding. But overall, I did better than I expected and have thus far lost abt 10 lbs. These last 3 days of clear liquid, having nothing but Water, tea, broth (repeat), have been the toughest. I've gone through a range of emotions from hunger to anger to despair. But I made it.
And as I end this preop journey and prepare to begin another, I feel...surreal. I know without a doubt that without this surgery I'd most likely never lose this weight. So I am thankful for it. But if I'm honest, I still wish there was another way. I wish my current life was set up to support the weight loss I need. But it isn't. I wish I had the courage to change it without surgery. But I don't. That's the God's honest truth.
And so, here I am. Ready to change, but full of fear too. Full of what if's. One thing I know for sure, though, is that this surgery is my leap of faith. I believe I was meant to be MORE than who I am and how I am right now. And I'm willing to face death in order to truly live.
Is this will be my end, then so be it. But perhaps it will be my beginning. Perhaps my rebirth. Whatever awaits me on the other side of this surgery, know that I was here. And I tried, really tried to live my life with meaning, passion and purpose.
Sorry, I just need to speak my truth to the universe...and any of you who've bothered to read this far.
Love.

I know this has been discussed some in the past because I've been in on some other threads for it, but I just wanted to start a new one because of a great site I just found out about.
I know there is debate over whether a medical ID bracelet is necessary or not. I decided to get one just for my own peace of mind. I just put "Gastric Sleeve VSG - No Blind NG Tubes - No NSAIDs" on mine & thought that would be fine because the place I got it from really didn't have space for contact information or anything else on it. I just figured it would be okay that I had my surgeon's card and other information in my purse.
A couple weeks after surgery, I was talking to a friend who said she had one made also & she said how she put contact info on hers. She said she had never really thought about it before, but had recently witnessed an accident and she and her husband were the first people on the scene of the accident. The woman in the accident was in the car, but her purse had gotten thrown out of the car and it took them a while to find it. My friend said this got her thinking about the bracelet. She said she put most of the same info I did, but also that she's diabetic & also her husband's name and information (and I think our surgeon's number too).
Today someone was talking about it on my surgeon's support group and someone mentioned that they got one with a ton of info on it. She said it has her name, birth year (not full DOB), contact info for her son, her procedure & date of surgery, No Blind NG, No NSAIDs, and our surgeon's name & phone. When we asked her where she got it from, she said it was from Road ID (http://www.roadid.com/). I looked at the site and think it's awesome how much information they can fit on them and they're reasonably priced. They even have options for a wrist or shoe one and some other options. They also have an option for an interactive coverage (which is a subscription) where you could put a more complete profile that EMS could access online or on the phone.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share because although I pray that none of us ever needs emergency assistance, it eases my mind knowing the people who would help me would have the necessary information. I had never thought about how important the contact information is in a situation where my wallet might not be right there! I haven't found other sites that offer the same amount of information on a bracelet as the site above for a reasonable price in the past.

Being short of breath
Sweating…all of the time
Constantly self-conscious
Worrying about eating in front of others
Being squished in an airplane, Angel Game, Concerts, etc.
Worrying about fitting in rides at Disneyland
Obsessing about food
Physical pain; arms, shoulders, back, knees, etc.
Going to the restroom more easily
Wearing flats or ugly shoes because high heels are exhausting
Missing out on life
Comparing myself to every other woman
Feeling lazy or tired all of the time
Not being able to keep up
Shopping at fat-kid stores
Not fitting into CLOTHES!
Hating my reflection in the mirror when I am naked, I literally cringe and look away
Jiggly arms
My legs rubbing together, holy rash
Tugging at my clothes to hide the bells rolls
Laying on the bed to button pants and then being in pain all day from sucking it in
Bathing suits!
People thinking “she has a great personality”….there’s more under there!
Faking happiness
Getting my hair as big as possible to off-set my double chins
Not ever being in “the mood”
Being the fat kid in the family
Dreading people’s reaction when they are next to me on a plane
Knocking over things because my ass has a mind of its own
Long showers and needing a nap after them
Sitting on my husband’s lap
Not afraid to squish my husband
Getting my back fat played like a wash board
Children asking if I can even be tickled through all of that fat
Looking at the “skinny’ clothes in my closet….loathe
Having to return an outfit because the person thought I was a much smaller size
Knowing that stepping on the scale means I’ll be eating a **** ton of ice cream and in a deep depression that night
Pretending I know about nutrition when my doctors lecture
Thinking if I just lost the weight, I’d be able to tackle the world
Society assuming I am a lazy pig
Not chasing my dreams of performing because the anxiety of being on display is crippling
Being too big to zipline in Maui
Being too big to horseback ride in Maui
Being too out of breath to hike down to the blow hole
Wearing tights and just dying to rip them off at the end of the day
Never wearing shorts
Wearing dresses to hide my figure
Online dating and picture a great picture of my face, getting to the date only panicked because I know they will be disappointed with the rest of me
Having to buy a circus tent to use as a bra
My husband saying I have sleep apnea
Being the one who would rather take the picture then be in the picture
Breaking a glass table from sitting on it
Not wrapping my arms around my husband
Being able to balance, I swear my stomach throws me off balance
Shopping in the maternity section when your coworkers pregnant sister has the same dress
My cankles!
Wide shoes
Anything stretchy
Someone asking where I got that cute shirt and lying because I don’t want to tell them a fat kid store
BBW- I HATE the acronym for “big beautiful woman!”
Never cutting my hair so it can hide my face and back fat
Being the big bride
Not crossing my legs…..because I can’t
Sitting and using my belly as a table
Doing everything I can to avoid bending over because let’s face it, it’s freakin’ hard to get back up
Feeling miserably ill after eating too much
Realizing I am more likely to miscarry when pregnant
PCOS
Wanting a baby so badly, but worried about the high risk pregnancy
Stretch marks
Feeling my stomach sitting on my lap when I sit down (my fanny pack)
Ditching my high school reunion because I didn’t want to be the girl who gained 100 lbs. in 10 years
My boobs crowding my throat
My wedding ring never coming off because it keeps getting tighter
Not being able to see my feet
Not being able to give myself a pedicure without sweating and being short of breath!

Finally submitted to insurance.Called and insurance approval is pending. I have a tentative surgery date of July 16!!
Thanks for letting me vent and your replies.