anneeo

That's amazing! I got most of the way through that and got something in my eye dang it! . So happy for you!

Saturday my hubby took me to Breakfast at a market we work at every Saturday. We are vendors there and so once a year we get a free breakfast. I ordered bacon and pancakes. He ordered a breakfast burrito. As my hubby got up to get coffee and tea out food was being set before me.
the lady who delivered it said this is a lot of food for such a little thing like yourself. she then smiled and walked away. I stared in disbelief because I still see myself most times as fat. oops. when my hubby came over I told him what she said and he smiled and said you are tiny. I looked at him and then stared at the woman who had said it. Then it dawned on me that I recognized her from somewhere but could not put my finger on it....Then I broke down crying. It just happened. I remembered her. she was one of my favorite nurses who looked after me when I finally came home from the hospital.
I called her over and asked if she remembered me and was she still a nurse. She said no she did not know me and yes she worked part time as a nurse. I told her who I was and of course it was not hard to place me as I was the only patient who had a category 5 bed sore. She stood there and clasp her hand over her mouth and said OMG I would have never known it was you. I told her how much I liked her and how much I appreciated her honesty with my health and that she meant a lot to me. She came over and hugged me hard and thanked me for the compliment. I turned to my hubby and repeated what she said and she said yup. It's true I did say that. We laughed and she asked me to remind her husband that she was a gem....We laughed and she went back to work serving.
After breakfast I got up to get my coat on and a lady behind me asked me how I was doing. I said fine. Do we know each other? She said you don't know me then? I said no. She said I worked at the drug store but no longer do. I have been wondering how you are doing. You were so sick. We thought you were not going to make it. I said me either and I laughed. She told me I looked amazing and so healthy and she was so pleased to see that. I thanked her for remembering me and for the kind words. My day was wonderful yesterday. All this hard work and trouble has been so worth it.
I face surgery ( repair work on my butt from the bed sore ) on Thursday and no longer feel bad or fearful. I am going forward not backward and these people helped me see that....
Sorry for being long winded but it was an amazing feeling for people to say such lovely things.....

Greetings All ~
I want to thank you all for your support. I gathered my family members in the front room and broke the news. As I was half way thru I started crying (what put me over the edge was my almost 21 yr old daughter with tears streaming down her face) as I was saying my speech.
Honestly the remainder if my speech is a blur to me but my mom said I covered all the bases.
I then gave all the family members a " family gift" as I do every Xmas. This year it was a stainless steel silver band with black enamel. Telling them just in case I wanted them all to know how much they mean to me and that I love them.
Other than all the stunned faces they appeared to get on the me train and claimed to offer anything I need.
End of story I'm relieved that I no longer have the secret and got the best possible outcome.
No judgement!!
Again thank you all for your support. Y'all know exactly how this feels in your own worlds.
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December 17th here. Originally was scheduled for the 4th but had to postpone in order to be off on my anti inflammatory meds for arthritis for 4 weeks prior. My left knee is bone on bone and needs a replacement but, can't do til I lose weight. I got a steroid shot to help deal with the pain until I can get back on my meds.
I kind of doubt how supportive my parents would have been but, they both passed this last year. My sister has been trying to talk me into postponing it, worried about the surgery - she once worked for a law firm that was representing the family of a girl that went to the hospital to be completely put under to get her wisdom teeth out. Thought being in the hospital was the safest. Anesthesiologist screwed up and she died. So my sister is worried about any surgery, especially if it's elective.
I've tried to assure her I've researched the options, the hospital and the doctor. I've been thinking about this for about 10 years.
Hubby, has been losing weight they dieting, which he's done a couple of times before. He's lost probably 35-40 pounds and is looking good. Think he hopes to lose another 10 or 15. He probably will, but will probably put it all back on within a couple of years.
He's been resistant to my surgery over the years. He's made comments about how I haven't really TRIED to lose weight and just two days ago he said something about him losing weight the "right way" and me taking the easy way out. He was stressed out, mad and venting.
Anyway, I think he's accepted that this is the best way for me and will be supportive.
My kids 17 and 14 haven't said much. I think they may be a little worried but will be happy to have me be a more active participant in their lives.
I wanted to wait until after Thanksgiving. I was a bit bummed to have to push the date back to the 17th though. I'm hoping I can at least have some strained cream veggie Soup for Christmas. It will be a little more subdued Christmas anyway since this will the first Christmas without both of my parents.
I went to Quest nutrition's website and ordered a sampler pack of their Protein bars and samples of their spaghetti and fettuccine.
I'm still trying to research the Protein shakes - which taste best and which I want to try first. Any suggestions?
Happy to get my journey started and to share it with you.

So bottom line is it isn't that your insurance doesn't cover it, it's that it may not have been deemed "medically necessary."
What is a beneficial thing is to be your own physician's ASSISTANT. By that I mean, take pictures when you have a rash down there or go to the doctor.
If you can't sit comfortably for more than fifteen minutes, if you find it difficult to use a public toilet because the skin falls down and you get a chemical burn on the pannus (what I did from the cleansers used), if you get pimples or blisters down under....take pictures, or go to the doctor.
These are the kinds of things that adversely effect your life. I don't believe any reasonable physician would expect someone to go the rest of their life dragging this piece of flesh along with them and putting lotion on, blow drying underneath it, using a towel to absorb the moisture...all the things that people do to go on with life and the extra folds of flesh.
I believe failing to communicate ALL of the things that have been medical problems is a big influence on many adverse medical decisions.

@@anneeo thanks!

Why would you feel guilty for considering surgery? EVERYBODY needs help with something at some point in their life. There is nothing wrong with that. That is all weight loss surgery is, help to move in the direction you need to go.

Well folks, today's the day I'm telling my entire family of my decision to have surgery 12/18. No one other than my mom knows as of this moment. What I fear they won't understand is that my primary has stated that if I didn't make this decision I wouldn't be here next year. It's really not about being thin .... It's really about saving my life.
Wish me luck and hope I get their support.
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On my surgery day (10/21) I weighed 330. I am happy to say that after a month I am now 290. ... Out of the three FOREVER!!

My personal opinion is to tell your friends, it isn't fair for people you love that are obese to watch you lose weight so quickly and not realize you had surgery. People then wonder, "why the heck can't I do that?". That is why I will tell any of my overweight friends the truth and the not so overweight ones that ask. What does it really hurt to be honest? Who knows, they may decide to join up and get surgery too! That being said, you have to do what is right for you.

I'm no psychologist so this is purely my point of view, but I'm afraid this has the potential to get tricky for you. Your weight loss is likely to be so extreme that eventually you'll end up "confessing" that you had surgery, if only to explain how it's possible for you to do what seems to be impossible. I mean, our quick weight loss looks like magic! I just wonder if the longer you wait, the more negative their reaction might be to the fact that you kept it a secret from them, especially since they face the same challenges that you used to have. Will they feel blindsided? I mean, if your relationship is really that intimate, why didn't you confide in them about your surgery? I also wonder, since your friendship seems to have always revolved around food, about the long-term health of your relationship with them. Think about someone who gives up drinking... The best way to be successful is to quit hanging out with your drinking buddies. And conversely, the quickest road back to the slippery slope is to continue hanging out with them. So you have two potential issues: 1) your success might feel threatening to them and their lifestyle, and 2) their continued unhealthy relationship with food might be detrimental to the success of your program. With all that in mind, you may want to think about telling them sooner rather than later. (I'm sure others will disagree with me on this.) You've made a huge change for the better! Congratulations on that!!! I would just caution you about putting yourself in situations that might lead to less-than-optimal choices and results. Sorry to be a downer, but I truly wish you all the success in the world! Keep us posted, and good luck!!!!!

I had gastric bypass june 2013. I started at 297 lbs. Now i weigh 167 lbs. With 7 more lbs. to goal. A loss of 130 lbs. Yahoooooo

I have been reading the post in this thread and I am a little surprised. As someone having WLS surgery soon with a goal weight only 80 lbs away I probably fit into the category of someone a lot of you seem to think shouldn't be having surgery or at the very least you poke fun . For me , my surgery is about ridding myself of diabetes. The weightloss is a benefit but the disease is awful and I don't want to go very far down that road.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that morbidly obese people look at just obese people with jealousy, I look at thin people and think how nice it must be not to have to worry about what they eat . At the end of the day we should just be supportive of each of our journeys thru WLS..

Lol! I always get pissed when people who are 10-20 lbs overweight complain. I think it is really rude, especially in front of obese/morbidly obese people.
If you are 10-20 lbs overweight STFU and gain 100-200 more pounds and then complain to me

I have a question that may get me in trouble. Does anyone else find it incredibly irritating that people that only need to lose 40 or 50 pounds are having this procedure? I mean, I wish I only had 40 pounds to lose and I don't think I would consider surgery if I did. I would try something else, first. Just my opinion and I mean no disrespect to anyone.

well i think i have the highest of the females....not that it's a competition...I WIN!
just kidding....it is kind of hard to imagine that my goal weight is some people's starting weight
the last time i weighed 300 i was 23 years old...20 years later and 150 pounds heavier and in dire need of knee replacement and back surgery...but not until i drop some pounds.
anyway, you are not alone...we are all here to lift each other up and be that voice in the wilderness when you just can't see yourself getting to where you need/want to be....
hang in there everyone and yeah us for moving towards a healthier us!

I was 325 pounds two weeks before surgery. I weighed 311 the day of surgery. Three days post op 289 as of today.

My highest weight was 423# about 11 years ago, I was 360# 1st consult visit in April. I now am 320# so I lost 100# before surgery and 40# of that since I started the Surgical Journey. I will be sleeved on Monday October 20th. Only God knows were I will end up, but I am convinced I will be more healthy!

The day of my surgery I weighed in at 398.8. I am now 352.6 exactly 2 months after surgery

I'm a little concerned my doc only requires a 3 day pre-op so I may start mine a little earlier. I'd be sick if they went in and said they couldn't do it laparoscopically because of a big old fatty liver.

My starting weight (also my highest ever) was 380.5. As of this morning, I'm 353.5 but I haven't been sleeved yet. I've lost 28lbs on my pre-op diet. My doctor is requiring a 38lb loss so I've got 10 to go but it's coming off quick.
I'm being sleeved on 11/4.

Frozen ----- Let it go, let it go! It will be over and then you will be a loser like the rest of us.
All the best kiddo!

I wanted to just say a quick THANK YOU to all of people who have answered my questions and those of others.
I have posted a few questions here and most of them have been about my absolute fear of having this surgery. I am thankful to you that have posted encouraging words, it has helped. I am afraid but not as much! I have read your responses to other peoples questions and those have been very informative and helpful in what lays ahead!.
So here is a shout out to all of you that answer our posted questions! You have no idea how much your insight help.
Jacq
P.S. wish me luck on Monday.....Holy Sh$t!

I have not had surgery yet, but I have told anyone who will listen. I tend to tell too much. But everyone has been supportive and even intrested themselves. They are even asking advice. I have had a couple say it seems extreme, but they are still supportive

I am sure you each have your reasons for not wanting to tell your family, however, I was so excited to share my journey with my family and know that I have their support along the way. It isn't anything to be ashamed of you are doing this for you. I am proud of you for making the decision to better your life!
I was the extreme opposite, before surgery I made sure my co-workers, friends and family all knew what was going on so that when I came back or ran into them again they wouldn't worry that I was sick and they would support me in knowing that they don't bring a lot of extra "snacks" around my desk to tempt me away from what I know is good. Just a thought! either way you will have all of us here cheering you on!!