Hi Everyone,

What is your greatest fear about having weight loss surgery? I have thought about his over and over. For me it was spending the amount of money it would take to have the surgery and fail again at it, and it was quite of bit of money to fail again at another kind of weight loss.

I am here to tell you I was 63 years old when I had weight loss surgery and I had been on more diets and failed at them then a lot of you have been. I can’t count the number of times I joined and rejoined Weight Watchers—maybe 25 times. I was pretty successful at Weight Watcher and I still to this day think it is one of the very best programs out there to do. Nevertheless I wouldn’t lose the weight and get discouraged because I would plateau and get frustrated. I would also think “Oh I can do this myself” I know that plan and program so why spend the money to go to their meetings. So I would end up gaining some of it back then I would be so upset with myself that I would go right back to eating what I shouldn’t eat.

I NEVER consider myself on a diet anymore. I have made a permanent lifestyle change. It is a way of life for me. That is why having WLS has worked for me. I think the # 2 thing that scared me was the unknown. We have no idea what WLS is really going to be like, sometimes for some of us we travel outside the US, and for many of us we have never met this doctor that EVERYONE is tell us is so great. We have a million and one questions. For many our families are not very supportive of our choice for having Weight Loss Surgery.

Here is what I want you to know. It is a very safe surgery to have. Do your homework and find the doctor that is best for you. For me after 6 months research I pick Dr. Aceves. I can only speak about how wonderful and great he is because that is all I know. I can tell you NOT all Weight Loss Surgeons are great and wonderful. I would NEVER trade one day of my life after I had weight loss surgery for anything. I am healthy and happy and I am NO longer dragging around 105 extra pounds.

DO NOT let fear control your health or life. Take back the control and do something that is going to change your entire life for the rest of your life. I wish you great success. I had “Sleeve” surgery 3 ½ years ago and have kept it off, you can do this too.

Hugs,

Suzanne

Sleeved 10/21/2008

u are so great words cannot articulate , mind if i ask u how long u have been trying to lose weight ? , and what ur advice for me regarding the surgery ?

u are so great words cannot articulate , mind if i ask u how long u have been trying to lose weight ? , and what ur advice for me regarding the surgery ?

Awww thanks for the kind words. Someone once told me I write just like I talk. I take this as a compliment. I started to have problems after I had my last child. So I guess I battled the weight loss game for over 30 years. Lose it gain it, lose it gain it.

And as I said I was 63 when I had Weight Loss Surgery. I am not 66 and wished I would have done it 30 years ago. But 30 years ago there really was NOT much information about weight loss surgery, and I was NOT going to have bypass surgery then, because that is all there was out there --30 years ago. So the time was right and I went for it and I love having the sleeve.

NEVER give up on becoming healthy and being able to control your weight. You are young and have your entire life ahead of you. Why not have WLS and enjoy the rest of your life as a healthy, slim person.

I am always here if you have any questions or just want to talk.

Hugs,

Suzanne

hi , its weird but i swear i can feel u talking directly to me while am reading ur posts thanx so much for the advice , u are so smart btw u gave me courage and motivation .

kisses

hi again , u know i also struggled with my weight through my whole teenage-adult life , actually iv had two very successful weight loss experiences where i reached 20 BMI in both , one when i was 16 and the other was 2.5 years ago ,but the hardest most brutal part was the consistency , that's what i love about VGS

kisses

hi , its weird but i swear i can feel u talking directly to me while am reading ur posts thanx so much for the advice , u are so smart btw u gave me courage and motivation .

kisses

Hi,

I am glad that what I say helps you and I want to motivate you to know that you can be as successful as I was. It does take a lot more courage to have Weight Loss Surgery than it ever took to remain fat. I wanted more for myself. I have a fabulous husband who loved me when I was fat and he loves me now just as much. I did this for myself and NO one else.

You have to want more for yourself. This is possible and you can have it ALL too. Do it while you are young and it will change your entire life.

If you have questions or just need to talk, I am always here to talk to you.

Hugs,

Suzanne

Thank you so very much for your post. I am so very greatful that you posted it. I am so miserable with all this weight. But you gave me hope and encouragement. I am 19 days post op and very nervous. I am taking in all the negative things with the positive but am still going through a host of emotions. I have high blood pressure, GERD, a hiatal hernia and RA. I am only 38 year old and I am so tired of living life like this. I am always tired, low energy, aches and pains. I also don't have very much support. I'm not sure if people are scared of my success or scared that I will be seriously injured or that'll I'll die (I've had a couple people say that too). None the less it is not very encouraging. Besides the road that I am traveling now is close to death. I just want my life back, my health back. It will be great to look good. But I don't even so much care about that, I just want to "FEEL" good. Anyway, I've been nervous and your post encourged me.

Did you have any complications at all? I see you had your surgery in Mexico? Just curious, how did you follow up in the States? Again thank you!!!

I agree! No more dieting is the BEST! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so very much for your post. I am so very greatful that you posted it. I am so miserable with all this weight. But you gave me hope and encouragement. I am 19 days post op and very nervous. I am taking in all the negative things with the positive but am still going through a host of emotions. I have high blood pressure, GERD, a hiatal hernia and RA. I am only 38 year old and I am so tired of living life like this. I am always tired, low energy, aches and pains. I also don't have very much support. I'm not sure if people are scared of my success or scared that I will be seriously injured or that'll I'll die (I've had a couple people say that too). None the less it is not very encouraging. Besides the road that I am traveling now is close to death. I just want my life back, my health back. It will be great to look good. But I don't even so much care about that, I just want to "FEEL" good. Anyway, I've been nervous and your post encourged me.

Did you have any complications at all? I see you had your surgery in Mexico? Just curious, how did you follow up in the States? Again thank you!!!

Hi,

NO complication at all. I had a wonderful PCP here in the US. who I told her what I was going to do. She checked Dr. Aceves, and her comment is that he is Highly rated as a suregon for weight loss and to go for it. I love Dr. Aceves he is fabulous and he had been there any time I had a question. All my doctor really every did in the US was run complete blood panel to make sure that all my levels were good. My potassium became very low, but I knew that when I left Mexico. So all I do is take one pill a day and I am just fine. She would have me come in and weigh me and ask me if I had any problems every few months, and I never did. I do have acid reflux, but that is taken care of with Prilosec--another simple fix. I get my Prilosec with a prescription because it cost less than the OTC. I had a hiatal hernia also that Dr. Aceves fixed when he did my sleeve surgery.

The first month is the hardest month that you will ever have to do. I promise you that things will get a whole lot better as time goes on. It really is a time to do some relearning and learning how to eat, by taking tiny small bites and chewing and chewing and more chewing before you swallow. This is a lifesyle change and NOT a diet.

You will get rid of many of your medications that you are taking now. Each day you become more healthy and you are going to look fantastic too!

DO NOT ALLOW the adult bullies to get to you. They are jealous and many are uneducated when it comes to weight loss surgery. They have not been educated and sometimes it is not worth your time to educate them. Don't allow their thoughts to take up in space in your mind. YOU are doing all the right things. Hang in there and I am always right here if you need and want to talk to anyone. I also had a few people who were NOT very supportive of what I wanted to do. I proved to them and I am skinny, healthy and loving my new life. You will do the very same thing.

Hugs, and remember just send me an E-mail if you are having a hard time. I have been down the road ahead of you. Enjoy your new life saving adventure.

Suzanne

this is just what i need to read!

my surgery is tomorrow and i'm so ready!

thank's for being so possitive and nice

this is just what i need to read!

my surgery is tomorrow and i'm so ready!

thank's for being so possitive and nice

this is just what i need to read!

my surgery is tomorrow and i'm so ready!

thank's for being so possitive and nice

good luck for u , hoping the best for u

Allie alli good luck on ur surgery

I agree with you cherrytree15, I have type 2 diabetes and insulin dependent, high blood pressure, high colesterol and sleep apnea. My legs and feet hurt all the time. I just want to be healthy and be here for many more years to enjoy the great life that I have with my husband that I waited so many years to meet. The looking good part is just the icing on the cake. I go to my information seminar March 10th so I am just getting started. I've been reading up on this for about 8 months and wish I could get it done tomorrow. I wish you and everyone here good luck. Looking forward to starting my journey.

Suzanne, you do seem to talk as though you are right here telling us your story. It's nice to have people like you here to easy our minds and give us support. Kuddo's to you!!!!

good luck for u , hoping the best for u

thank's hun!

Allie alli good luck on ur surgery

Thank you sweetie!

I'm scared of complications keeping me from graduating. I'm having this done during my spring break. I'm in my final semester of nursing school and it should have been done last year, but I was having a lot of issues with my previous surgeon that I had to switch. So that is my biggest fear, not the surgery itself. I'm looking forward to it actually :wub: just not the unknown, as Suzannesh stated.