Wow...even that one small step made this very real. I'm so nervous/scared. Any words of encouragement?

I had my first consult last week and my hands were shaking I was so nervous! The nurse was like "what are you afraid of? We're not going to poke you with a needle or anything!"

I'm not worried about needles or even that crazy alligator-stapler thing they use to make the sleeve! It's hard to explain that I've developed such a phobia of going to the doctor's and getting scolded for my weight that it's hard to do anything medical at all. And going to the consult was both scary and a relief--that maybe this thing will really happen and I won't have to be morbidly obese anymore.

Congrats on taking the first step. I wish I had done it years before I did.

That said, the consult is pretty much a non-event. Mine was pretty much a review of my basic medical history, discussing which surgery would be appropriate for me, a talk about realistic goals and expectations, an opportunity for answers to any questions I had and a meeting with a coordinator to go over the requirements I had to meet. It was a year before I actually got sleeved.

Don't be scared or nervous. You're doing something really good for you. Remember that.