Good morning all. I've been reading up on VSG for several years now but was never to the point where I was really truly ready to make the life-altering changes required. In that time, I've lost and gained 40lbs twice. I've been put on hypertension meds, and my knees creak when I walk. I've been miserable about my weight for as long as I can remember but wasn't ready to never eat a full meal again, or chug a glass of water when I was parched. But something finally clicked when I was planning a family vacation (which should be the most exciting thing ever) and was focused on "will I fit on the plane? How about the rides? Will I run out of energy halfway through? Will my knees give out?" etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Not the stuff I want to be focusing on!! So, now I'm ready and I'm signed up for three different information seminars at three local hospitals over the next two months. I'm hopeful to get sleeved around Sept/Oct depending on insurance and doctor requirements. That would be the best timing for me. Unless for some reason they could get me in before the first week or so of June (which I know isn't likely) so I'd be on my way to recovery by the time school is out for my kids. Summer is a bad time for me to be on my butt, with 2 very active boys running around.

If anyone has any tips/suggestions for someone at the beginning of the journey, please share. I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this and other forum soaking up the experiences and knowledge. A little about me - 36 year old mom of 2, married, current BMI 43 . Been struggling with my weight since I was 10. Tried alllllll the things - Weight Watchers, FitnessPal, very low calorie diets (which work, until you eat normally again), etc. The weight always comes back. I'm sure most people here know exactly where I am and how I feel. I do have someone close to me that had the surgery 5 years ago and has been talking me through the overall process but I'm big on getting as much information as possible.

Thank you for your support

Oh, and if anyone has used Harvard Pilgrim insurance and has any info related to that I'd love to hear it


CJ

Edited March 31, 201610 yr by CJ'sready

Welcome! It sounds like you are making this decision for all the right reasons. As you correctly guessed, many of us have been in your shoes. I even credit not fitting in amusement park rides as the "straw that broke the camel's back" for me.

The long-term lifestyle changes are well worth the sacrifice. And honestly, at 19 months post-op, it really doesn't feel like much of a sacrifice at all now. I can gulp Water, for the record. Water consumption was really only an issue for me in the early days post-op when my stomach and esophagus were still swollen. I have no issues getting my water in now or even just a couple months post-op. And as for not eating a "full meal", I do eat full meals, they are just much smaller now. I choose not to eat a lot of the "fillers" that are often included in meals like Pasta, rice, bread, rolls, etc. But I technically could eat a few bites of those if I so chose. I just prefer not to waste the space. I really *can* eat everything I ate pre-op, I just make very different choices now than I did before. Which I guess is the whole point, because I clearly didn't make good choices before!

Feel free to post any specific questions/concerns you have and I am sure you will get a lot of answers and support. This is an awesome community full of people at all different stages of this journey.

It's uncanny how both of you could have been speaking directly to me. I am just starting my journey (pre-ops in April) and have been gleening sooo much info and inspiration from everyone that posts here. I am so grateful to you all for sharing.

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

It's uncanny how both of you could have been speaking directly to me. I am just starting my journey (pre-ops in April) and have been gleening sooo much info and inspiration from everyone that posts here. I am so grateful to you all for sharing.

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

Well then, "welcome" to you too! Glad you are getting so much out of the site already. It was a HUGE help to me as I began looking into WLS and helped get me through my pre and post-op trials and tribulations. Now I like to "pay it forward" as much as possible.

I am grateful as I am sure many many others are also. Hopefully I will be of help to others later as I get further and have more first hand knowledge.

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Thank you for the replies! I know I have a very long journey ahead of me but just knowing that I'm 100% ready and there are others I can turn to when I have questions makes me feel like I really can succeed! Here's to being healthier and happier by this time next year

****I will likely be adding random posts to this thread to keep myself motivated and on target as I get this process rolling. No worries if no one reads/responds, but I need to put it somewhere and it needs to be more public than a journal for me to feel that it's real.****

I've been on this site all weekend. Reading about people's journeys, looking at the before/after threads (which are incredibly motivating and wonderful), looking for any negatives people have had. I can honestly say I am truly ready for this. In the past I'd read a few negatives and be like "nope, not going to risk it!" and move on to my yo-yo cycle of diet and weight loss/gain. This time, I am thinking "worth the risk".

I am too young for this to be my life. Being too tired to go for a long walk/bike ride with my kids and when I do, feeling it for DAYS afterwards. Having knees that creak when I go up stairs. Being winded after a walk to the mailbox!! I'm just now starting to realize just how unhealthy I am. Being that I didn't have any major medical issues before I was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year (besides hypothyroidism, but that's not going away regardless of my weight), I never really though I was "that big" or unhealthy in general. I'm now beginning to accept just how large I truly am. You'd think the little number 20 on my pants would be enough to tell me that, but I guess I just saw what I wanted.

I've read that people my size can hope/expect to lose up to 100lbs the 12 to 18 months if I'm careful and stick to the rules. Last time I was that weight was high school, and that was only because I'd basically starved myself for several months before a school Disney trip. I looked good! I still thought I was fat. Hindsight, I know. I'd LOVE to be that weight again. I've been 220+ since before i got married back in 2002. This is not who I want to be. This is not me.

I'm ready to make a life-altering change now.

Edited April 3, 201610 yr by CJ'sready

There's no reason you can't lose 100 pounds with the sleeve as long as you stick to the plan. It sounds like you are ready to do that!

Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 5 using the BariatricPal App

I've been poring over the before/after threads and the success stories and keep breaking down in tears. I *so* want to be a success story some day, so bad that it hurts. It also scares me though. Not the actual surgery, but the changes that will come in my life after. If I have the surgery in early Fall I could feasibly be up to 100lbs lighter by this time next year (I have 125 to lose to get to the middle of "normal" for my height). That's terrifying. I've never really been a normal weight, not since I was 5 years old. I was bullied (majorly) as a fat kid, ignored as a fat teen and adult except for my close groups of friends. Always been insecure and hiding myself from others. I learned to survive in my own head, ignoring the haters and loving myself regardless. I am incredibly lucky to have found love in high school and am still married to him now (together going on 20 years). How will my relationship change? I've never been thin with him, not really. Maybe a few times when I starved myself for a trip/event I got down to a size 12. But otherwise - I was even 225lbs at my wedding (size 16 dress). And now I'm a size 20, have been for years. He's always been a healthy weight. He has NEVER complained about my weight, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind a more agile, active wife/mother of his kids. Who wouldn't?

I've been fat so long that I don't know myself any other way. How do I do this and not lose who I am?

Just rambling. First info seminar on Friday. It's starting!

@@SarahSleeve You adapt. It is a lot of change, that is for sure. But we, as humans, are incredibly adaptable. You live from one day to the next and small changes add up over time. I can completely understand that you are worried about losing who you are. It's something to be mindful of for sure. But it doesn't have to happen. There was another thread very recently about whether or not weight loss changed people. And the overwhelming majority of people who posted said they felt more confidence and were more active, but the core of who they are had not changed.

Great advice Jamie!!!

Sarah, thank you for starting this thread. Welcome. I was sleeved yesterday morning. I did it for a lot of the reasons you listed. I'm almost 30. I have three kids. My family are huge Disney nuts. I was tired of looking at the family pictures with me missing because I was so embarrassed. I learned a lot from my NUT meetings. I also committed myself to the pre-op diet. The lifestyle change started before surgery for me. It's people like Jamie that are so encouraging to me. I am looking forward to living life!

And the overwhelming majority of people who posted said they felt more confidence and were more active, but the core of who they are had not changed.

Thank you for this. This is exactly what I hope for myself.

Great advice Jamie!!!

Sarah, thank you for starting this thread. Welcome. I was sleeved yesterday morning. I did it for a lot of the reasons you listed. I'm almost 30. I have three kids. My family are huge Disney nuts. I was tired of looking at the family pictures with me missing because I was so embarrassed. I learned a lot from my NUT meetings. I also committed myself to the pre-op diet. The lifestyle change started before surgery for me. It's people like Jamie that are so encouraging to me. I am looking forward to living life!

Congratulations on your surgery, I hope recovery is kind to you

Up until now I've avoided being in pictures, too. I have so many awkward pictures of me trying to hide behind people. I don't know why I try, a person my size doesn't hide from anyone, ha! I'm taking my kids to Disney in a few weeks (their first time!) and we bought the photopass so I'm preparing myself to be in as many photos as possible and to just smile and enjoy myself without worrying about how I look. My kids will see my happiness, not my stomach. One of the things that's making me OK with that is knowing that next time we go on vacation, I will be many pounds lighter and much healthier Kinda like a chance to get some "before" pics to compare to later. I know I'll have a blast regardless of my weight, but it does always sit there in my mind no matter what I'm doing.

Heading off to my first info seminar in a couple hours. I'm excited to find out what the process will be and when they think I might be able to get on the table

Step #1 complete! I've registered with the program and completed my introductory seminar. They said their average pre-op time is between 6-7 months, sometimes as short as 4 depending on what the surgeon and insurance require. So that should line up for late Sept, early Oct which is what I was thinking. Would I like an earlier date? Heck yes. Do I know I need to give myself the full 6-7 months to truly absorb the changes that are about to happen? Absolutely. This time next year I could be 6 months post-sleeve and in a completely different place when Summer comes around. I can't even imagine! More energy, better sleep (Hoping my snoring subsides - it usually does when I lose some weight so fingers crossed!), more beach days with my kids enjoying the sun and sand instead of hiding in my house. MORE MORE MORE!!

Up Next - meeting with the PCP to get the referral in place, get labs organized, and see if she'll go off my own spreadsheets detailing my weight loss attempts over the past 5 years. I will also be required to lose up to 10lbs (the surgeon will let me know once all my papers are in) and complete three more informational seminars along with the labs/paperwork.

I could actually be losing serious weight already by my November birthday!! And up to 3 months out by Christmas!! I am so excited and ready.

Oh, and I had to giggle at myself when I walked into the meeting today. I looked around and saw the 25+ other prospective patients and finally felt like I wasn't alone. I was like "these are my people". I mean, I knew everyone attending would be overweight, but I didn't feel like I was being stared at or judged. Is this what "normal" people feel like every day???? I cannot wait for this to be my life!

Edited April 9, 201610 yr by SarahSleeve

Sounds like everything is going well so far. It's a long road ahead, but you are off to a great start and already have a great attitude.

Another update/entry for my VSG journey.

April 18, 2016

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This weekend I had several reminders why I want to do this. Be healthier, of course - getting my BP under control (so I can drop the meds - which I hate) and taking some pressure off my heart are the major motivators that pushed me over the top. But also - it got up to 70 here this weekend. (I live in New Hampshire, so it's been hovering around 40 - 50 on and off for a few weeks, but this weekend was the first really warm one). I was SO uncomfortable. Why? Because I won't wear shorts and tank tops like the other moms I was with. They were wearing cute sundresses or shorts, all looking comfortable and enjoying the beautiful day. Me, I was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a cardigan over it to cover my lumps and flabby arms. This is how I am year round. I only wear weather appropriate clothing at home - I layer up when I go out. I've been like this for as long as I can remember. Only on the really hot days when it tops 90, will I shed the sweater and then I'm self conscious the entire time. And forget the beach. It's an anxiety attack waiting to happen (I have a mild anxiety disorder, which is currently under control). And of course, I have the "mom suit" with the skirt and long top and cover-up that only comes off if there's basically no one else at our little town lake beach.

I took my kids to 2 parties over the weekend and there were party games and other activities going on. They talked me into joining in and all I could think about what "I sure hope no one is taking pictures of me right now!!" Instead of just having fun (because it was a lot of fun) - I was focused on my fat body yet again. I'm so done with this feeling. I just want to enjoy my life instead of focusing on the size of my stomach! I know that part is psychological, and I plan to work on that while I work on the physical stuff, but I've been this way for 25+ years, and it just seems like it's never going away. It's been my life since I was a kid. Even when I lose the weight, I'm sure I'll have to work on my self-esteem. But staying this weight won't help me get there.

We're taking the kids on vacation next week. I don't plan to layer up, but then again I'll be 1,000 miles away from home so I don't care who sees my fat rolls (well, I do, but I'll never see them again, so I don't - you know what I mean I'm sure). I do dread the vacation photos, but I'll have to get over that. But I am SO looking forward to not HAVING fat rolls to cover up. To be able to walk down the hall at my kids' school when I'm volunteering and not break a sweat (seriously, it's gross). To not be hiding in the back of all the photos. To be able to wear those cute little sundresses - I love sundresses, but my body shape doesn't really allow me to wear them (I have the double belly problem, the roll above the pants - not because my pants are currently too tight, but I think from years and years of wearing pants that were so that's how my stomach expanded as I gained - not attractive at all in a floaty dress).

The informational seminar at the second hospital I'm looking at is at the beginning of May. After vacation. Which means my high weight will probably be even higher :/ but I guess that might work in my favor - if I choose this program I have to lose about 22 lbs before surgery. Which might be easier if some of the initial weight they see is Water weight from vacation (flying, eating out for 6 days straight - I plan to make good choices but still). 22 lbs shouldn't be too hard to lose over 3 to 4 months, not when I know that I'll soon be having a procedure that will help me keep it off and take many friends with it. I'm already used to drinking Protein shakes and eating Protein Bars and lots of water, just have to work on cutting out some of the Snacks and I think I'll be ok.

On a good note, I didn't eat any junk this weekend - no cake at either party, no candy, no ice cream, no pizza. Stuck to my protein and veggies both days with the exception of my guilty pleasure (Dunkin' iced coffee - that's my warm weather treat, I know I'll have to give those up for at least a while after surgery, but it's a nice thing to be able to sip on that for an hour or 2 and avoid the goodies around me at this point). Of course the scale doesn't care, still tells me I gained. I can't wait until the scale goes down, down, down in a regular pattern for a few months.

Think I'm done rambling for today.