FlikschiK

Here goes girl! I have a closet of little black dresses that are too big now! I found a duplicate of my favorite one in a thrift store in a M... I usually fit a L but this one fits just fine.

I have my consult on June 14th. No insurance approval yet, but a list of other appts to start making. My worry is if I make all these appts and then get denied its a lot of time and money wasted. Of course I would appeal, but still. I also need a letter of medical necessity, but haven't even spoken to my primary care doc about it. My insurance doesn't require referrals for any specialists so I didn't even think about it. Good luck with your appt, I hope everything goes smoothly!

I have my consultation on May 14th. I'm excited and so anxious to get this process started. I'm so glad that I found group, its nice to be able to talk to people who have and are going through it as well.

This deserves a repeat!! Thanks girlie!!

Well put! You are such an inspiration, LilMissDiva! Thank you for this encouraging post!

Well said LMD, well said. Whether you know it or not you are a mentor to many of us. Just saying

Hi guys. I see a lot of you are struggling and worried pre-op about the pre-op diet. It is a HUGE challenge, but for me, it was an important one.
Exactly 1 year ago, I was in the middle of a 2 week liquid pre-op diet because my BMI was 55+ and I was self-pay in Mexico. Traveling from Canada meant that a reschedule would be A LOT of extra expense if my surgeon had to stop due to an enlarged liver mid-surgery. I had NO CHOICE but to follow the diet.
It also meant that cheating would increase the chance of complications and a longer recovery (or worse), all because I could not follow a 2 WEEK diet. Really? Here I was, about to take a seriously radical, life-changing step and get 85% of my stomach cut out permanently. But I can't follow a 2 week diet? That's crazy.
Post-op was going to be difficult for MONTHS, not days. So if I couldn't get my head in the game for the pre-op diet, then maybe I wasn't ready for what was going to follow post-op. I was terrified!
So I started the liquid diet. And I was STARVING. I was dreaming of all the foods I thought were leaving my life forever. Suddenly I didn't care that I had spent my life morbidly obese, I wanted my comfort back. I wanted to fill myself to bursting at every meal, like it was my last meal forever.
But I didn't break my diet.
Because for once, I wasn't going to cheat myself. It was time to grow up (I'm 43....) and take responsibility for my health, my future and my choices. A lifetime of justification, gluttony and excuses brought me to that operating room. Now it was time to face the music and get on with owning my future.
The first 3 days were HELL. That is when your body is detoxing from the carbs. You are using up the glycogen in your liver (to help "shrink" it) and it's screaming for replacement carbs to fill it back up. You can get through it. After 3 days it gets MUCH better. After a week you start to feel normal and more healthy than you have felt in years. You may be hungry, but you don't have the carb cravings anymore.
Most importantly, you feel IN CONTROL; and mentally and emotionally strong for battling your demons and winning. This is the first tangible proof in an unsure future that you CAN get through the post-op recovery and that you CAN succeed in losing the weight this time, FOR LIFE.
Whatever weight you lose during your pre-op diet is really inconsequential. What is important is what you gain:
- Confidence
- Emotional and physical self-control
- The desire to succeed and overcome "impossible" obstacles
- The knowledge that you are a WINNER as long as you do your best
Please don't look at the pre-op diet as a "condition" that your surgeon imposes on you (and some surgeons don't require it!). It is an OPPORTUNITY for you to test yourself, to help build your will, character and emotional toughness BEFORE you have the surgery.
It's like training for a marathon.....you put the blood sweat and tears in before the race to help you finish the race on game day. Without training and preparation, you will likely fail and you can get hurt really badly along the way!
Use your pre-op diet to work through your demons, build up your confidence and prove to yourself you can do it. If you "fall off the wagon" one day, the next day is a fresh start.
Aim for excellence. You owe it to yourself.

To the rest of the newborns out there, it really does get easier pretty quick. The most important thing you need to do is adjust your attitude because Attitude is Everything! You can't go back from here you can only move forward. You seriously need to stop asking "what did I do to myself?!" And start saying, "I am strong and I can do this! I am leaving that miserable life behind me! That's why I did this!!" It isn't that some of us are stronger willed, it's easier for us because we have made THE CHOICE to look at things from a positive perspective. You made a courageous choice to take control and get your life back. Don't let something as insignificant as a little hunger stand in your way! We have a saying at our support group, "NOTHING tastes as good as THIN FEELS!!" Hang in there! YOU are worth it!!!! Best to you!