britb43

My VSG is scheduled for 8/22! I'm a mix of excitement and nervousness!
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Here I am less than 36 hours before I take my seat on the losers bench. Currently on day 12 on my 14 day liquid diet. Pause to knock on wood, I made it with out cheating and no major craving episodes. Hopped on the scale this morning and I'm down 14 lbs since my pre-op visit, 36 since I started this journey in March 2016. Someone today applauded my weight loss and commented, that if I can do this without surgery, why am I having surgery. Well my friend I said with a smile on my face. These 5 months have prepared me for the rest of my life. See, I've lost massive amounts of weight before, once I took phentermine and lost about 50 lbs, of course when I got off the drug I gained about seventy. About 7 years ago I went on a high Protein, low carb diet, joined a gym and exercised 6 days a week. I lost a whopping 90 lbs, of course along came a job change, a new roommate, a change in habits.... and I gained 110, imagine going to bed one night wearing a size 10 and waking up in the morning wearing a size 22. I know it didn't happen like that, but that's what it felt like happened. See yo yo dieting is real, the struggle is real, and the mind and body play tricks on you. Each time you lose and gain your metabolism slows, your mind tricks you into craving the sweet, the fatty, the salty. Your body wants more, and it stores more (fat that is). That's only part of my story, but you get the drift. I've gone through it, and that's why I am going through with it.

@@Kyn13 I'd be very surprised if your boss had any say in whether you lost your job. Usually they don't have that much power in a hospital setting. Go to HR and ask for unpaid medical leave. Don't fall prey to a bitchy boss on a power trip!

My date is 8/19... we'll be doing pre-op starvation together

Giving up things post surgery will likely be very hard, I agree.
But have you ever given real serious thought to all the things you unknowingly "gave up" because of your weight? I can't speak for you, but as for me, my weight caused me to GIVE UP:
Feeling self confident
Being seen in a bathing suit in public
Participating in a real beach vacation with my family....my children are now 23 and 20, it's too late to ever get that back
Feeling confident and really "seen" when meeting new people
Applying for jobs I was intellectually and professionally ready for, but for which I did not look the part
Trying skiing, snowboarding, white Water rafting with my family
Feeling fully confident in intimate relations
I lost out on all these things, that's what being morbidly obese forced me to "give up." And now, I've decided I would INSTEAD rather give up all those foods that diminished my enjoyment of my life.
So.....choose what you are willing to give up.
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@@Heidijenn I read your post an hour ago and have been trying to come up with something to say that doesn't sound mean or harsh, because I don't feel angry, just kind of sad. I'm no expert on WLS, and I'm only in my 6th post-op week, but I could never have done this if I didn't have a positive attitude about the procedure and the outcome.
In the endless classes and support group meetings my pathway required, I met so many people who could only focus on the food they wouldn't be able to eat. It blew my mind and continues to do so...we're all candidates for this surgery because we liked food more than we liked ourselves. It's hard to be completely honest with yourself, but I sat myself down and said "you are failing at life right now, sweetie, and someone is offering you a lifeline...are you going to refuse to grab that rope because eating 20 chicken wings at a sitting is more important that living a healthy, normal life?".
And THAT is the bottom line. Do chicken wings mean more than your well-being? If the answer is yes, then walk away and go to Buffalo Wild Wings and chow down. But think about this: are there people in your world who you care about? Your partner, your siblings, your children, whoever it is that are a meaningful part of your world...can you stand in front of THEM and say "I love chicken wings more than I love you"? My weight and my inability to fully participate in my family's life has already altered the lives of my husband and children, so when I was offered this opportunity, I DID put on my big girl panties, stopped loving chicken wings more than life, and I had the damned surgery.
My surgeon offered me AND my entire family a gift, but I was the only one who could accept it on behalf of all of us. So I decided that my family, my friends, my future grandchildren and I are more important that 20 chicken wings at a sitting. What are you going to choose?
I wish you much peace and hope you're able to come to a point where the idea of WLS isn't terrifying, but is empowering instead. Please stay around and let us know how this all goes for you.

@Ivfavy c'mere and hold my hand while I tell you this.
If you have a job and you do it every single day, day-in and day-out, would you want anyone else doing that job? The nurses and surgeons are trained to do this one thing over and over. They are incredible experts. They could likely do it in their sleep. Take comfort in knowing they really know what they are doing and relax into their proficient hands.
Also know... by the time you get to the hospital, you will have been given so many instructions, which insure a positive outcome. You will have been prepped for months before you even got to the hospital. So take comfort in that as well.
I would go so far as to say, the surgery will be the easiest part because you don't even have to participate. You get to sleep through it!
Your assigned legions of angels are already around you.
I can do all things through Christ. Phil 4:3

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/373511-whats-in-your-hospital-bag-vsg-edition/
You can also use the search function to search for the phrase "hospital bag" or "pack for the hospital" in the forums. You'll get lots of ideas. Good luck!

Fingers crossed you're approved quickly!!
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I'm all ready to go! Iv placed and pre meds are flowing. Anti nausea spot is placed behind my ear. Let's do this dr!
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(I am sure I will offend someone by saying this, but I just can't hold it in. Every time I read the title of this post, I think to myself 'that's what she said.' Giggle.)

Being able to see my johnson for the first time in over 20 years.

No more bra extenders, being able to easily get into and out of my boyfriend's little sports car, not feeling invisible.
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