vikingbeast

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

Don't be discouraged. And don't beat yourself up! Be nice to our friend greenwitch17, she's pretty awesome.
The delays are unfortunate. Did the former office at least get you started on whatever program is needed for your insurance to cover? Some insurances like to see 3 or 6 months of "medically supervised weight loss" 🙄before you can move forward with surgery. Or there are all sorts of other hurdles, like getting sign-off from your psychiatrist, etc.
As for the depression—many of us have been there. I am discovering that my weight was a HUGE part of my depression, both emotionally ("why can't I lose this weight, what is wrong with me") and physically (obesity causes depression which causes obesity, etc., etc., etc.). I am on a quarter dose of my antidepressant which feels liberating because I don't have many bouts of depression anymore even on such a low dose. They're going to try to take me off in a couple of months, and I'm curious whether that will actually happen. (My depression manifests as lethargy and The Impossible Task™.)
You will get there. And we're here for you both now and later. And a year from now you're going to be living your best life, #hotgirlsummer or whatever hashtag we're using next year.

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

Since I am now halfway between my heavy weight and my goal weight, I thought I'd show myself. I lost 26 lbs. on my own, then 9 lbs. on the pre-op diet, and 41 lbs. so far since surgery (five weeks ago). I only "see" the changes when I look at before-and-after pictures. I'm starting to see what I'll look like further along and I ain't mad about it.

76 lbs. down, 76 to go.

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

If it's any comfort, I can eat that now (two months post-op) and just had a barium swallow and my sleeve is exactly fine. Don't freak out. Just weigh yourself once a week or so, and have an "oh sh*t" weight where if you get there you will go back to basics to get back down. So if your goal was 50 kg, maybe you say at 53 kg it's time to get serious (it being a lot easier to lose 3 kg than 10 kg).

I had exactly the same thoughts... if I can drop this weight like this during the pre-op diet, why can't I just... continue?
But I couldn't have, and I talked to my surgeon's staff about it.
The pre-op diet (not that I had one necessarily, I put myself on it so I didn't go from nought to sixty in one day) is meant to be a crash diet. It is meant to shrink things and get a little visceral fat off you so that it's safer to do laparoscopic surgery. It is not sustainable long-term without surgery, and it is not meant to be.
The other thing is—all or nearly all of us have binge-eaten in our past. Whether we have a healthy or unhealthy relationship with food, we've all overindulged. Well, after surgery, you literally CAN'T binge... and, bizarrely enough, most people don't WANT to. The first time you take ONE BITE too much, you will really feel that restriction and the resulting sensations (for me, it's massive chest pressure, and terrible gas that causes me to spit up) will make sure you learn what "full" feels like.
I was a pizza eater. I could demolish an entire pizza myself in one sitting, because once I started I couldn't stop. Yesterday (just over 7 weeks post-op) I delivered pizza to my daughter's dress rehearsal, opened up the box, took a slice, had one bite, shrugged, and threw the rest of the slice away. It's like my body's been given this tool and it is forcing my brain to reckon with how I eat/ate.
I wish I had found this site and gone for this surgery ten or more years ago. When I was nervous about the surgery—I had exactly the same thoughts as you—my family reminded me that I had tried REALLY hard, and never gotten below 330, then gained it all back until I was two cheeseburgers shy of 400 lbs.
I went below that 330 mark 13 days after surgery. I'm now closing in on TWOsday, and I honestly feel like a different (and happier) person.
Ultimately, only you can make the decision, but I think you'll find the ratio of yeasayers to naysayers here at BariatricPal to be massively tilted in the "yes do it" direction.

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

I have also noticed that I can reach down and pick up something that falls on the floor! Even in heels! I had fallen when I was large trying to pick something up in the middle of a parking lot and was unable to stand on my own. (So embarrassing!!) After that, I would NOT bend down to pick something up, unless there was something to hold on to and get up again. Now, terror does not strike my heart when I drop something and have to pick it up. Yay me!
And by the way, these non-scale victories are great! It's not ALL about the scale!

This is going to sound so weird...
...but I can tie my shoes in the centre now, by leaning over my leg and having one hand on each side of my leg. (You know, like normies tie shoes.)
Also, I was picking up an order at the same time as a bunch of people and I overheard one of the employees say to the other, "This one is for that guy." So I turned and the other employee said, "This one?" and the first employee said, "No, the big guy."

I can cross my legs with ease!!! phew!
Also, this weekend I flew in a very old WWII plane. Allegedly this was a 2 seater (open cockpit) but I had to sit sort of sideways to fit. 6 months ago, I would have been embarrassed that I had to squeeze thinking the reason would be because I was too big (and I prob wouldn't have fit) but, now I know I am healthy and was not embarrassed at all- just a little squished.
Other weird NSV: underwear is too big! to the point of unwearable. lol.

I have a few NSV's to share!😁
Yesterday, I went to a restaurant that I went to before surgery. We sat outside in patio chairs, and I had no problem sitting in the chair, the arms of the chair were not cutting into the sides of my thighs. (I still don't trust those plastic white ones, though.)
Also, yesterday, a neighbor asked if I lost weight & said I looked great. It was surprising to hear from someone who doesn't know about my surgery. It was also the first time I heard anything from someone who didn't know.
Today, I tried on the bridesmaid dress I will be wearing for my brother's wedding in April. At the end of September, I ordered a size 16 even though I couldn't quite zip it, hoping that by April it would fit, or possibly need to be taken in. Well, it zipped with a little room!
Another NSV is my shirts are getting very baggy on me. I am trying to hold off on buying lots of clothes in between sizes, but every time I wear something lately, I feel like it may be the last time. (Although, I guess this isn't really a weird NSV🤷‍♀️)
BTW- I love reading everyone's NSV's and can relate to so many of them. It is so nice to hear about other's progress & really start seeing some of my own. 🤗

Have you started your Iron supplement yet? I was completely lethargic because my iron levels were shot post-op. As soon as I started the iron supplement, I felt a million times better—within 2-3 days, even. The protein is vital—if you can't get the protein in, you will feel weak no matter what your iron level is, though.

The weird churning pain happened to me and felt like hunger too—but it turned out to be mild GERD. I took some over-the-counter omeprazole (Prilosec) and it stopped in a couple of hours. I still take this sometimes if I have a mild GERD attack.

Nicely done! I catch myself looking in the mirror sometimes because I'm used to seeing "the blob" and I'm not a blob anymore.

Since I am now halfway between my heavy weight and my goal weight, I thought I'd show myself. I lost 26 lbs. on my own, then 9 lbs. on the pre-op diet, and 41 lbs. so far since surgery (five weeks ago). I only "see" the changes when I look at before-and-after pictures. I'm starting to see what I'll look like further along and I ain't mad about it.

76 lbs. down, 76 to go.

Surgery was one year ago today. Down 170.4 lbs, weighed in this morning at 168.6. 24 BMI.

Topiramate (long, long pre-surgery) made me absolutely ravenous, which is stupid because it was prescribed as part of a weight loss regimen. As soon as I stopped it, the hunger went away.

Twins! Mine will be 11/19 too! We are going to do great!

Have you started your Iron supplement yet? I was completely lethargic because my iron levels were shot post-op. As soon as I started the iron supplement, I felt a million times better—within 2-3 days, even. The protein is vital—if you can't get the protein in, you will feel weak no matter what your iron level is, though.

The weird churning pain happened to me and felt like hunger too—but it turned out to be mild GERD. I took some over-the-counter omeprazole (Prilosec) and it stopped in a couple of hours. I still take this sometimes if I have a mild GERD attack.

The "easy way out"?
Bulls(p)it. Total bulls(p)it.
It is not the easy way out. It is a TOOL that you are being given to teach yourself how to interact with food from now on. It doesn't last forever. A lot of people think "oh well you got your stomach stapled so of course you're gonna lose weight" without knowing that you can absolutely stretch that pouch out.
Don't. Listen. To. Her. Mothers aren't always right. Do this for YOU, because you have an entire life to live. And when the weight is coming off you left and right and you're starting to ease back into the world, you'll have the best feeling in the world and it'll motivate you to keep going.

I'm with @catwoman7 - Joe Schmo gets told I'm protein-first and calorie-restricted (believable, and these days my calorie count is 1000-1400 a day, which is strict but not "omg you're gonna starve"). But other obese people get the truth. And the one person who found out and then confronted me for lying got, "Given how you just reacted to the idea of the surgery, are you surprised I didn't want to tell you?"

One suggestion—ask your anesthesiologist to give you a TAP block (it's like an epidural for your abs). They give it to you at the end of surgery; you feel nothing (you're still under anesthesia). It lasts 12-24 hours and made it so I didn't even fill my prescription for Those Painkillers. I survived that entire surgery and recovery with 4-5 doses of Extra Strength Tylenol (acetaminophen/paracetamol).

Surgery itself was a doddle. The first few days were annoying, because I was trying to expel all the gas they pump into you.
Just follow your surgeon's orders, walk as much as you possibly can even if it hurts, and know that the first 1-2 weeks are the "price of admission" to what will 100% change your life.