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Yaiiiiii tomorrow is my big day too!!!!!
I will have my surgery in the afternoon (5pm)....
And to be honest am starving, nervous and anxious!!!!
What time will be your surgery?


Instagram: itsgretchen

I’m excited and nervous!!!! Tomorrow is the big day! Any last minute advice, tips, things to bring to the hospital that I may not of thought of would be appreciated!!!!

So I was scheduled for the 27th of December but got the flu so I had to reschedule to the 8th because my doctor wouldn’t do surgery with me being so sick. Now my job has changed health insurance policies from BCBS to Aetna and there was some sort of lapse to where I’m technically covered but not in the Aetna system at all...HR is trying to help but I’m not hopeful. Pushing surgery to the 8th is pushing it because I work full time and return to RN school the 16th. So if I don’t have surgery the 8th it’s not an option until after I graduate in May. I’m starting to wonder if I should just cancel all together because I’m second guessing myself now with all of these snags. Not to mention the insurance doesn’t cover it and I’m getting a discount through the hernia program but I’m worried that if the new insurance goes through what if my out of pocket price skyrockets? Sorry just needed to vent to people who may understand because nobody around me sees my frustrations.

Looking for info on a doctor here in Texas preferably in Austin or Dallas who offers discounted self pay price for sleeve gastrectomy with insurance hiatal hernia repair. (Insurance pays for hernia portion) I've come across a doctor in Arlington for under $5000 but I'd like more options. If anyone has any experience with this option please let me know thank you!!!

I was a reluctant sleever, It wasn't being done voluntarily really, it was a "Do this or die in 18 months". I was SOO SCARED! I was changing my body and relationship with food permanently. It was very rough. I kept wanting to cancel my surgery. Up until the day before. But I knew I had to do this if I wanted to live to see my family grow up.
So I did it. And then I was miserable for the first 4 weeks. Well, the first 2 were a blur of recovery and focus. But then week 3 & 4 were rough. I had an adjustment stage. Once I got past that....holy cow!!! The whole WORLD opened up for me!!
I weighed 375 lbs when I started this process years ago, I did 16 MONTHS on a liquid diet and lost 125 lbs. I then gained 40% of that back, destroyed my gallbladder and almost died when my gallbladder threw a gallstone, cause a pancreatic attack and I ended up in ICU. I am now able to run, I am working on doing a marathon. A f**king MARATHON! I weighed 375 lbs, I am 5' 1", I wore a size 36 pants. I now wear a size 8.
I regretted my decisions for about 10 days. I would NEVER GO BACK to where I was. Yes, I had regrets, and then I worked through them. And I just kept focusing on the Protocol numbers, My Protein, My Water, My Vitamins, My 10K steps. Those were my daily priorities. By 6 months in I was jogging. I was dating, I was doing things I hadn't done in 2 decades. Now?? OMG I'm planning on traveling next year! I've never traveled outside the US! I'm gonna go on a ZIP LINE!! OMG! I'm gonna ride rollercoasters, I went Ice Skating, I did a wall climb, I am doing bootcamp Yoga daily, I feel AMAZING. I walk past a window and LOVE what I see! OMG I'm so happy. I constantly turn to my side in the mirror and pull up my shirt, astonished to see all my muscles under that skin. I"M SO PROUD!!!
And let's talk loose skin. Ok, so what it looks ugly, I'll tell you the real truth, I was far less attractive and felt far less sexy when I was fat but didn't have lose skin. Now I feel like a model that just has some extra skin. I am so PROUD of that skin! Everytime I look at my hanging stomach I do NOT get discouraged, I get so amazing. That portion of hanging skin used to stick out so far I couldn't see my feet. It would sit on my legs and take up all the space to my knees. Now? I can put a laptop on my lap and work. I don't' have 80lbs of stomach fat sitting on my legs. Do I have arm wings? Yes - and I don't care ONE BIT! I thought I would, at first I did, now I look at it and I think "Damn!! It's all my hard work that has my muscles sticking out more than the hanging skin."
It's all about how you look at it. Sure, I could be miserable cause I have loose skin, but when I look at it I see all my hours and hours of dedication and hard work. I see it as a sign I've done everything I can to turn my life around.
There are always ways you can talk yourself out of something. I always say that people have NO IDEA what they are talking about when they say this surgery is the "easy way out". It's the opposite of that. It's a forever commitment to altering your body. And what makes us heroes, what makes us so god damn badass is that WE DO IT ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!! We are terrified, but we do it anyway. We are scared, but we do it anyway. We want to quit, but we do it anyway. We want to cancel, BUT WE DO IT ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!! Why?? Because we are the heroes of our own story, we are our own saviors, we are the ones on the white horse saving ourselves. I don't care what anyone says, this is the opposite of the Easy Way Out. This is a permanent solution that changes our lives. We are warriors, we are the biggest badasses around. You are going to do AMAZING at this, even though you're scared, even though you are ready to change your mind.
I believe in you. I believe in all of us.

I'm getting sleeved the 29th. Would love to have a buddy!

I’m new to this website, but here goes! I’m getting sleeved 12/27 but I’m starting to second guess myself and wonder if it’s the right thing to do.....I worry about complications, loose skin afterwards, or not losing the weight. My mind keeps going and going. Looking for some reassurance and maybe some people getting sleeved around the same time as me to buddy with!