Hello everyone, I'm new here to this site, I was looking for a site such as this because I have decided to have weight loss surgery, preferably the gastric sleeve, I have attended the seminar but have not completed and submitted my application, I have procrastinated on this for about a month or so, I'm nervous, I've seen several people at work have it done and the results are amazing, I'm very overweight with diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, I have used excuses such as; I don't have enough time to take off from work, to how will I care for my 8 year old daughter, I just wanted to know whether or not there is someone out there that in the same boat that I'm in, I know that there are great advantages to this, plus my insurance has already approved me, I've even used the excuse of having to get rid of all of the nice clothes a friend of mine gave me after having the surgery and loosing a lot of weight LOL I guess what I need to hear is a conversation from someone like me that can kick me into the start position, I have spoken to several people whom also informed me that I'm going to have a lot of excess skin that the insurance will not cover, so hopefully I can receive the encouragement that I need in order for me to start living a smaller healthier lifestyle and to be able to cross my legs like "skinny people" lol. thanks for listening.

I'm right there with you. Although I have made an appt to see my second surgeon. My first surgeon I'm sure is an awesome doctor but his office staff cannot reply to my emails for 3 wks and when they do it very vague. And that doesn't give me warm fuzzies. My fear is anathesia. But I'm moving forward one step at a time.

I went to 200 seminars in 3 years before I decided. It's a hard choice to step out of familiarity and into the unknown. Only you can decide if this is what's best for you. I will tell you, after all I went through, I would do it again in a heartbeat but sooner. Good luck to you

PS the excess skin is the least of your worries. You having all your health issues with an 8 year old is.

I would just say fill out the application and submit it and meet the Surgeon and see if that calms your nerves

Scamp662, I changed surgeons too because of the staff being disorganized.

Whoa, deep breath. Sending in the paperwork is scary. I just sent mine yesterday. This is a scary decision, I won't argue that, but you cannot hide behind your fears. You have your insurance approval (that's huge!), your daughter will be just fine and will love being your nurse, take the time off from work. Excess skin? Pfftt. There may be some, but so what? If it bothers you that much, open a savings account and start saving pennies for skin removal surgery in the long term future. Spanx, baby!

Do this for you. Do this for your daughter. Just because the paperwork is submitted doesn't mean you can't back out if you really have to, but fear alone can't be the reason to back out.

Every excuse you listed is from fear. Focus on the "I will be able to do...". I will be able to shop for clothing in any store I want. I will be able to lower or get rid of my medications. I will be able to bounce my grandchildren on my knee because my big ol' belly isn't in the way any longer. I will be able to fly coach and not worry if the airline will make me pay for a second seat. I will be able to ride any ride I want to at a theme park. I will be able to scratch my own back without the assistance of a friend or a nearby wall. I will be able to save money for skin surgery because my food bill has gone WAY down. I will be able to do ALL those things I've never been able to do because of my weight.

Sweetie, my surgery is scheduled for Oct 22nd and I'm scared too. But I am WAY more excited about the "I will be able to do".

I thought about going to the seminar for about 2 years before some serious medical issues pushed me to attend the seminar. I came out of that saying there is no f^#cking way i can do that.

I resolved myself to diet and exercise. I did that for almost a year and all i did was yo-yo over the same 10-15 lbs. None of my medical issues got any better and i have diabetes, high blood pressure and so on.

So after my last physical in May, i decided that the consequences of not doing more were far worse than to continue on my path. So did the seminar again and made my first appointment for May 25th. Its been a roller coaster since then.

In the end i am currently on the 3rd day of my 14 day pre-op diet. I am 32 pounds down since my first appointment with the surgeon on 5-25 where I was 322 that day and i am sitting at 290. My surgery is scheduled for 9/28.

I am terrified about the process and the future. But I am more terrified that my 9 year old daughter will grow up without her dad. I lost my mom to a heart attack when she was 54 and I was 26. It was devastating to me. I don't want her to go thru that and that's where i draw strength when I think I can't go on!

Who do you have your insurance through, if I may ask? I'm thinking of buying a secondary policy since my primary doesn't cover it. Thanks!

I have blue cross/ blue shield of Massachusetts thru my employer. They are covering most of it.

Good morning everyone, I would like thank you all for such wonderful and informative responses, this was exactly what I had in mind during my search for information and support, I really appreciate it, I wish you all the best of luck and loads of blessings during your journeys.