Reason to Believe

It has made me who I am today.
I hope it has made me caring, compassionate, kind, slow to judgement, forgiving, and much more.
It also has given me a highly developed BS meter!

Normally I don't engage in conflicting opinions because everyone has their own but felt I needed to share the other side of yours. In today's economy there are many people who live pay check to pay check. A few thousand dollars doesn't come easy in today's world unfortunately. The frustration for people to think they'll have insurance coverage then realize they don't and be faced with the prospect of raising this money on their own is overwhelming and frankly they have the right to be sad and frustrated. Your way isn't always possible. I like your thought, it's just not always viable. Especially not in a quicker time frame which most are aiming for.

That's wonderful that everything is planned and lined up. Doubly fantastic that you've already got a surgery date! I started my process in August 2014 and didn't get my surgery date until June 2015 for July!
The wait was worth it though, as yours will be. Congrats!

Good for you. June might seem like a long ways away but you'll be surprised at how fast the time will pass. Good luck.

Funny-I found myself thinking, 'that's about 10 months out!' No...it's a little over 6... Where does the time go?

My surgery is scheduled for June to one more test to do thats a stress test.

@@Reason to Believe & @@eulette I should have mine in June also as I will be done in May!! It is so exciting and bervr racking at the same time. I have my Psych eval the 22nd and 1st Nut class same day.
So exciting!????????

So I am smiling tonight, excited, nervous and committed. I had my consultation today. Surgeon agreed that with my history etc, the sleeve is the right choice for me. I chose late June as I get extra time off in the summer. I have all my appointments with surgeon scheduled through June 8's ultra sound. Tomorrow I will call to set up appointments in January with Nutritionist and Psychologist. When we roll around to March, I will need appointments with a pulmonologist, cardiologist and gastro.
I did a lot of hard work to get to this point and I know I have a lot more work to do but this is really happening!
Thank you to everyone who posts. I don't post a lot but I read a lot. You all inspire me.

So I am smiling tonight, excited, nervous and committed. I had my consultation today. Surgeon agreed that with my history etc, the sleeve is the right choice for me. I chose late June as I get extra time off in the summer. I have all my appointments with surgeon scheduled through June 8's ultra sound. Tomorrow I will call to set up appointments in January with Nutritionist and Psychologist. When we roll around to March, I will need appointments with a pulmonologist, cardiologist and gastro.
I did a lot of hard work to get to this point and I know I have a lot more work to do but this is really happening!
Thank you to everyone who posts. I don't post a lot but I read a lot. You all inspire me.

Congratulations! I had my first consult today and I was so nervous. I loved the surgeon who really took time to speak with me and remembered me from a seminar I had attended. The scheduler and the insurance liason also could not have been nicer. I walked out with a surgery date that works for me, all my surgical appts. scheduled and knowing what I need to do before my next appointment.
I know your consult will go just as well.

@@heynowkc
Congratulations! I am so happy for you and inspired by you. I have quite a bit to lose and an just starting to explore sleeve surgery.

Today is my one year surgiversary and as of my weekly weigh in yesterday, I have surpassed my goal by one pound. My starting weight at the beginning of this process was 260. I was 236 on my surgery date. And I am now 164.
It's been a long road. The early days/weeks/months were rough. But for a long time now, I've just felt "normal". I eat 5-6 times a day. Always Protein first, but I occasionally have some treats. Juts yesterday I shared a piece of cake with my husband. I love not feeling deprived. If I want a treat of some sort once in a while, I have a little bit of it. I don't track my food or calories. The big thing to really get my head around through this whole process is that this is not a "diet". This is the rest of my life. I don't have any deadlines to meet with my weight loss. The goal was just to eventually get down to a healthy weight and stay there.
Were I on a "diet", I would have been tracking every calorie in and every calorie out. Sharing that piece of cake with my husband, I would have tracked those calories eaten and then tried to make up for it in calories burned so as not to "fall behind". I would have to "make up" those extra calories. Now... if I eat half a piece of cake, I don't sweat it. If it takes me a week to burn off those "extra" calories, what does it matter? What's a week in the grand scheme of things? It's definitely been a real change in thinking for me.
As for exercise, I've been killing it in that department. I've run several 5k races over the summer and plan to continue with my running and working on improving my time. I was pretty hard-core about strength training as well until my sister and her four kids moved in with us temporarily. That makes getting time to myself to SAFELY do strength training a real challenge, but I plan to get right back to it once they move out later this month.
So now, what you've all been waiting for: PHOTOS!
           

Babbs, that is something I am really looking forward to.

Happened to click on the 'YEAR' view on the Health app dashboard on my iPhone. Was amazed to see improvement in walking steps taken over time since my GSV on 4-16-2015. You can clearly see the vast improvement and trend in my ability to walk.
What is really awesome is that I have two bad knees, scheduled for replacement before end of year. So, its a miracle that I have improved my walking and steps taken each day this much.
A huge NSV indeed
-RC-

As of this week's weigh-in (Wednesday) I hit one of my major goals of 200 lbs lost since my highest weight.
Here are my stats:
HW: 491 (2.5 months prior to surgery)
SW: 422
CW: 290.5
Total loss: 200.5!!
I'm really exited to have hit this milestone. This month (and last month) has been my slowest rate of loss since surgery and it's been very frustrating for me (even though I'm thankfully not in a stall!), so it was good to make this goal this week! I'm still about 135 from my ultimate goal and my surgeon's ultimate goal for me. It's just crazy to think that I ORIGINALLY had about 335 lbs to lose and now I "only" (haha) have 135 to lose! It's been almost 11 months since my highest weight and I've come so far. It's mind-boggling to me.
So, I don't know if anyone else has done this, but I totally threw a party this weekend to Celebrate my accomplishment and invited all my friends/loved ones. I also happen to be moving (about an hour away) this week so I guess technically it was a farewell to my fat party and just a general farewell party! Haha.
Definitely something worth celebrating. This is the first proper party I've thrown since surgery, and it went really well. Just as an NSV I feel like parties have historically been very food-centric for me. Snacking the entire time, always going back for more. But this was different. I thought it would be tempting to keep snacking on small amounts and that I would over-eat, but I absolutely did not. This really is a new me!
Oh! And I made a really yummy cheesy riced cauliflower dish (made the recipe up myself) that everybody loved! So that's always a plus!

Thanks for the tip. I have no plans on resuming the old level of alcohol consumptions I had prior to surgery. But knowing that it can stay elevated in the blood stream that long will indeed make me question doing it again. That and a super strict girlfriend that makes sure I follow my doctor's advice and not stray away.

Assuming I read you correctly that case manager works for the insurance company? If so, I would ask for everything in writing first and foremost. Secondly, ask if you have to use a Bariatric Center of Excellence and/or do they have someone in your area they would refer you to.
Regarding the timing, not sure when your insurance renews, but if it is on a calendar year (i.e. renews 12/31), then you might consider trying to get it done this year. If the policy changes when it renews at 1/1 (and there are no guarantees it won't), then anything they tell you now could be completely different.

Yes I was not prepared for the goop! At all! But I had so many cords coming out of me I felt like a science project

You will sleep great once you get your CPAP I hates the test but I am telling you I sleep so good and wake up so rested is worth it!!!!

I put books into kids' hands and smiles on their faces. i work as a sales consultant for a book fair company.

Hi everyone, ???? so glad I found this awesome on-line support forum ???? I've been a bit of a lurker for a few days reading through various posts and FAQs but thought I'd write something of my own today.
My name is Nikki (age 37) & I live just outside London with my hubby & gorgeous little girl. I am at the early stages of the WLS journey. Been doing loads of research online & having discussions with my doctor over the last few weeks & have decided that I think the gastric sleeve is the right route for me.
Part of me is super excited but I am also so scared .... Weirdly I'm not that scared about the procedure itself (although it does make me nervous), What really scares me is that I'll fail at this too ????.
I have been fat my whole life, and my whole life I've been told by numerous people that the only reason I'm fat is because I choose to be and that if I just ate less & moved more and really really tried hard enough I could be thin. I've been on lots of diets and even lost a pretty large amount of weight once (about ) but just put it all back on (+more!). I can't blame my weight on a medical condition or a traumatic childhood event so basically I've come to the conclusion that it's my lack of willpower/laziness??? And that's why I'm scared - what if I fail at this just liked I've failed at my other diets.
I feel super motivated & excited & positive about this amazing opportunity, but if I'm honest I've felt this way before when starting a diet and haven't managed to lose all the excess weight.
Did anyone else feel this way?
Nikki xx

I know I crave approval and support. That hits home. Ralambert, I hope your family offers you their love and support. If they don't please realize that it is their issue not yours and remind yourself that you do have support elsewhere. Good luck.

I know I crave approval and support. That hits home. Ralambert, I hope your family offers you their love and support. If they don't please realize that it is their issue not yours and remind yourself that you do have support elsewhere. Good luck.

Hi guys!
Today is my one year surgiversary!!!! Hard to believe it's been a year!
I wrote a short essay about my experience that I think you all might enjoy and possibly share! The courage to write is a direct product of this surgery!
Here is the link!
http://tinyurl.com/nlbxbd2
xoxo

MzAlice, I am not close yet to having surgery but I think it must be very normal to be nervous. I have had surgery twice in my life for other issues. First one I did not have a lot of time to be nervous but the second one I knew a month a head and i was a wreck. Take the medicine. Ask family and friends for extra hugs. Do what every helps you relax. I am sending you all good thoughts!