lmal

A friend of mine told me about Bariatric Pal and I logged in to check it out!  I'm currently pre-op and scheduled for surgery on Feb. 3, 2018.  The journey to the decision for weight loss surgery has been a long one.  I've been overweight for most of my adult life.  I have tried every single type of diet plan/lifestyle change, etc. that I knew how to try and I have been unsuccessful at maintaining those changes.  
Until a few years ago, I refused to even consider weight loss surgery because it always seemed like "the easy way out" or at least that's how people around me seemed to view it.  I remember folks talking about others and acting like weight loss surgery was "cheating the system" and I didn't want them to talk about me like that.  I wanted to lose weight the old fashioned way-through diet and exercise-so they could talk about how awesome I was and how I had "worked off" my weight issues. However, that is an unrealistic viewpoint and goal.  
I have PCOS and a host of other health factors that make it nearly impossible for me to lose weight naturally.  Over the years, I have been able to maintain my weight with diet and exercise but I was never able to lose the significant amount of weight that my doctors felt would be best for me.  With my fertility issues, family medical history of heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, etc., I decided to look into weight loss surgery-not necessarily for the goal of being thin but to be more healthy long-term.  
I began the journey to Gastric Sleeve in June 2017 when I met with my surgeon to discuss best options.  My insurance required multiple steps before they would consider covering the surgery (6 months of monitored weight loss, sleep study, 3 years of health history, letters from my doctor, blood work, etc.).  I got the approval on the same day my boyfriend of 7.5 years proposed!  January 15, 2018 is now my favorite day!!
I'm getting really excited about the surgery and I look forward to the changes that will happen to my body.  Hopefully, my PCOS will go away-my sleep apnea will go away-and my fertility issues with go away!  
Thanks for taking the time to read my story!  I look forward to sharing this journey with you all!