McButterpants

Well done you!!!! Beautiful. Congrats.

My doctor said, on average, you should expect to lose about 60% of your excess weight. If I am 250 and I'm supposed to be 140, my excess weight is 110 pounds - I should expect to loose 66 pounds, down to 184. I hope I'm above average!!!!!! :-)

How awesome is that?!?! Congrats and I wish you continued success.

She obviously identifies herself by her weight and image - that's not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. I agree with PDX, we overweight people are not the only ones with self image problems. (My 14 year old son is built like an action figure and sometimes says he's fat. It breaks my heart.) You're a kind person and you treated her with kindness trying to lift her up. You're to be commended.

I am not planning on lying per se. More like omitting some of the details. LOL. I'm telling people that I know will support me and not judge my decision or give me their personal thoughts on weight loss surgery and those I trust won't go immediately and blab to others. I don't want the judgement - I only want positive things in my life during this process. With that said, if/when someone asks about my weight loss, I imagine I will say something like, "I've been working really hard. Eating right, exercising, blah blah blah." I'm fortunate that I work from my home and my social networking is limited for the next 3-4 months, so I can say I have been working on it since the summer - since people will not have seen me in quite a few months, they'll think I'll have been working on it longer than I have. Best of luck in your decision!

Have you talked to your local doc about their schedule? I'm coordinating with my local doc as I will be her patient for aftercare. The lines get a little blurred when you're going elsewhere for the surgery. My local doctor wants to see me at 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, then yearly. I think in the early visits it will be more nutritional and I think she said at the 3 month mark they are doing labs. Best of luck.

Awesome!

That friend is a keeper! You should be proud of yourself - look at what you've accomplished so far. Be kind to yourself and DO enjoy this ride. In a year, you're going to look back at this bump and think it was no big deal. Hang in there! You're doing great.

Pre-opper here...What made me happy today? I went to my primary care doctor to discuss my decision for VSG. I was worried and fretted going in to tell her and ask her to have labs ordered. I just wasn't sure what her reaction was going to be. She had the biggest smile on her face and said, "I am so happy you're doing this. You have worked so hard and haven't gotten anywhere. I think this is the right decision and I think you'll be really successful." It's nice to know you've added someone to your corner.

What an amazing transformation! As a pre-opper, I appreciate seeing the before and afters - it's a great motivator. Thanks for sharing and I wish you continued success! Congrats!

Wow - congrats. Thanks for sharing! Wishing you continued success.

You should be so proud of yourself! Inspiring!

Hi, all. I've been particularly emotional the past couple of days. I've been thinking and dwelling way to much. I've been having my little food funerals - last night was Pasta with vodka sauce. Sigh, "This is the last time I've going to have this for a really long time." Those sorts of things; at times feeling really sorry for myself and other times, was just mad. Mad at the world. Mad because I'm in this position. And then I get mad at myself for putting myself in this position. The insecurities of post-op life and my relationship with food. Yeah, pretty much a tornado of activity in my brain. So, this morning we decided it was time to sit down with my 14-year-old son and discuss the change he's going to start seeing: changes in my diet, the additional talk of diet, why mom is acting like a lunatic, and then in 4 weeks we'll be leaving for 10 days. I was dreading having this conversation. I toyed with telling him only part of the truth. But when it it was time to talk to him, I came 100% clean and, you know what? It felt good. I felt relieved. He handled it like a trooper. He asked some really good questions and expressed some concerns. (Proud momma moment.) This week I'm going to continue to work on my brain, continue to work on getting my office cleaned (I still don't know why that's important to do before surgery), and head back to the gym for the first time in months (do I remember my member number????). Have a great Sunday, folks. Thanks for listening.

Wow - what a transformation! Congratulations and thanks for sharing. It's a great inspiration to us pre-oppers. I wish you continued success!

That's not the one. Private message phillygal64 with your e-mail and she will send you an invite. (I had a problem locating it too, it might be because ours is a private group - not sure)

Hi, November Sleevers. Phillygal64 created a PRIVATE Facebook page if you're interested. You can search: NOVEMBER SLEEVERS SUPPORT GROUP or you can private message Phillygal64 with your e-mail and she will add you to the group. Hope to see you guys there!

That's a cute cut!

Awesome story!

I'm self pay, too. My surgeon requires my local physician to order labs (EKG and blood work) and a risk form to be signed. I then had to fill out a fairly long psych questionnaire along with about 10 other forms. He also required me to watch some pre-op and post-op psych videos (I'm really glad he did - they helped). That's about it. I did start my process going down the insurance route and met with a local nutritionist - I was glad I did. It was nice for someone to walk thru what post-op diet will be like. Two months is probably cutting is close, but is probably possible. I'm looking at about 3 months, but probably could have cut that to 2.5 months fairly easily. My suggestion would be to stay on top of things - I spoke to someone last week that had their surgery where I did and she said to keep calling and e-mailing if you aren't getting a response. This proved to be true this past week - after 2 e-mails and 2 voicemails, I received a call back. I know the patient coordinator is very busy and I wasn't mad, I just know now that I need to make sure my stuff is taken care of and if that takes a call everyday, I'm willing to do that. Best of luck to you!

Hi there! We're close, I'm on the 14th. Welcome!

Here are a few things I have going on ...My husband is threatening to change the password on my amazon.com account!!!! It seems I have 1-2 deliveries each week between blender bottles, decaff coffee, cooking stuff for when I can introduce food, etc. unjury canisters received (Soup, chocolate splendor and vanilla). Sample pack of nectar - mybariatricpantry.com allows you to select which ones you want. Full size Roadside Lemonade which is my favorite Nectar so far. Blender bottles Gas-X strips Chike shakes (coffee) I haven't found a ready-to-drink shake that I like, so I'm going with the powders.

Congrats!!!! How exciting. Wishing you continued success

Congrats! That is awesome! How inspiring. Wishing you continued success.

Congrats! That is so awesome. Wishing you continued success.

Pre-sleever here - I have to say, I enjoyed reading thru this thread. Some were funny and I LOL'd (my husband was in the other room and asked what I was reading). Some made me angry (the hairdresser, then I'll admit, I LOL'd). Some made me sad. Thanks for sharing your stories! I can't wait to have my own in a few months.