I have been reading everything I can on here for the last several weeks so I thought I would pop in and say hi. I am a 51-year-old woman, married for almost 22 years with 3 children (20, 18, and 17). My heaviest weight was 267 lbs (about 252 right now) am 5' 9.5". Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes almost 1 year ago. Have considered surgery in the past but my BMI was not high enough and I did not have any comorbidities until last year. I joined WW (again) and tried to lose weight on my own. I have no trouble losing 20-25 pounds on a diet but then I "find" them again. I have tried so many different weight loss and exercise plans and eventually failed to keep any weight off.

A friend of mine went through gastric banding, which she had a lot of complications with, and then had the sleeve done. She looks awesome. It has been about 5 years and she has kept the weight off. I think I am going to go for the sleeve procedure also.

I have Exclusive Choice (SSM) and they will cover the surgery and I have just started the 5-month medically supervised diet with my PCP. I joined WW online and go to see the doc once a month. That should be completed by the end of October. I have not been to the seminar yet as they cancelled the first one I was scheduled for so I will go next week. I have gone through my three hour appointment and met with the nurse, nutritionist, and counselor with the Weight Loss Institute. I am scheduled to meet the surgeon late August.

All of you are a source of inspiration for me and hope that I can turn things around and get my life back. Thank you! and I wish you all continued success and good health : )

Hi and welcome yourself!

I too did weight watchers since Jan 2013 and that is how I lost the original 30 pounds before my surgery so I'd say stick with it for your pre-op it is a good program.

I too remember my journey pre insurance etc. back in October of last year. It is a lot of work to jump through the hoops to get the insurance to pay but it is worth it. After about 5 and a half months I had my surgery on March 12 and have no regrets. Well, fwiw there is a period from right after the surgery to about a week later where I had serious regrets, I pled and prayed that I would lose the weight on my own if only the Lord would make the pain go away LOL. Things are much better now. I feel I eat like a normal person and not like I did before. The surgery is only a tool but it is a powerful one. Just prepare yourself cause the food cravings will still be there and you will and can feel hungry though half of it is between your ears.

Best of luck on your pre op activities and thanks for a wonderful posting. I've found this site to be a great support for me as I journey through the post op world of WLS. Glad you found it as well.

Thank you Odesa! I am so excited to get started. I think I am driving my husband a little crazy lol. You are doing awesome on your journey I see, congratulations and continued health. I will be so much saner when I actually know more of what my insurance company requires and get to meet the surgeon