Am new and nervous

[tkegal71 0]

So I have been overweight all my life and at my heaviest I weighed about 350 pounds. I have Diabetes, High Blood pressure and a few other issues. In January of 2016 I decided to start losing weight. It worked, for the most part. I was walking every day, I started taking my gym membership seriously and even got a part time job at the gym. So far I have lost 50 pounds. In about March of last year I signed up for Bypass surgery. Having been a big fan of the show my 600 pound life, I felt this was a good idea for me. I had just turned 45 that April and knew I only had a short window of time to do this while I was young enough to recover.

However, I was dealt a huge blow in September of 2016, when I had a mini stroke (a TIA). You could have knocked me over with a feather. After all the weight I'd lost. How could I have a stroke? I was okay, and had no real side effects (thank God) but I worried about one thing, could I still get the surgery? So many people told me they wouldn't do it because of the stroke. Well, after consulting with the doctors, they all agreed that my risk was small enough that I could go forward with it.

So since then life has been challenging. I have suffered from so many small ailments that I hadn't suffered from in years all within the space of a few months. All of the appointments I had just for the surgery were doubled because of the stroke. This was the coldest, wettest weather we'd had in ages, and since I don't drive, I wasn't getting out as much as I should, but continued to exercise as much as I could. I still had my job, and made a good friend there, and I was still motivated, but my old eating habits were creeping back in. However, I was shocked that instead of gaining, I was still losing. But I am still concerned. Concerned that when the time comes, some doctor will say it's a no go, scared of some of the upcoming tests I still have to go through, like the sleep apnea test. I would rather get a colonoscopy than go to a sleep Apnea clinic. But mostly, just scared of the post-operative stuff. My sister, who I live with and who has been my biggest cheerleader, threw me for a loop when she said, "I can't take five days off", after the Dietician told me that was a requirement after surgery. This whole surgery had been her idea. Fortunately my new friend from work said she would stay with me for a while as well, but still...

Anyway, I am worried about something going wrong, about my old habits interfering with my new life, about how long it will take me to recover, and will it be really painful? But mostly, I worry about my stroke, and whether the rug will be pulled out from under me at the last minute, after over a year of preparing and doing everything I needed to do to get here.. I feel pretty alone in all of this and could use some encouragement...

They sure make it look easier on my 600 pound life!

[jracy 0]

I am so thankful for the sleeve.My blood pressure has evened out after 57lbs but still have to take my medications.

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[catwoman7 10,859]

sleep apnea - I don't think they'd deny anyone for that. I think the issue is the anesthesiologist has to know about it so they can take precautions

pain - I had pretty much none, other than sore abs for a few days

having people there to care for you - my husband took a week off work to stay with me, but after the first couple of days, I would have been fine on my own

something going wrong - it happens, but fortunately, it's not common. These surgeries have come a LONG way and are among the safest surgeries out there. They're safer than hip replacement surgery, and they do those every day!

stroke - not sure what to say here, other than hopefully they'd let you know early on if they can't do the surgery because of the stroke

[hmills653 365]

That's so scary, but another reason to try to lose the weight and watch your diet. I had a blood clot in my lung a year ago. It was scary but blood clots can be weight related. This shouldn't keep you from getting approved for surgery. I had to do a sleep study. It was a bad experience for me. I felt very panicked when first wearing the mask but they kept making adjustments to the machine and eventually waited until I was actually falling asleep before putting the mask on me. They said I don't have a problem until after I go into REM then my throat relaxes too much and closes off. My suggestion would be to practice relaxation breathing and calming thoughts ahead of time to help you relax. Also tell them if you feel that you need to breathe slower than the machine etc and they can change it and I was told that it adjusts as you fall asleep. Once I feel asleep it was ok and I woke up a few times because my mouth felt dry but feel right back to sleep. Good news is that the girls at my weight loss support group said their sleep apnea reversed after their weight loss. Crossing my fingers. Although, I haven't had a colonoscopy, I imagine the prep would be worse than the sleep study.

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Edited January 20, 2017 by hmills653

[catwoman7 10,859]

the prep for a colonoscopy is most definitely worse than a sleep study!! (I've had both)

[shedo82773 1,236]

I can say in honest that the Colonoscopy is so much worse than that. The prep is a B**CH. I am retired and so is my hubby but after my surgery I did fine on my own. I had hardly no pain, but I took my pain meds before I had pain. Then I started to not take them for longer time and then I just stopped them. One thing I can say is walk walk and walk some more it really helps with the gas, I was real lucky in that sense I didn't have to much to deal with. Make sure you follow your Dr's guidelines concentrate on getting your fluids above all to start with the rest will follow. You can do this. You are already preparing your self now. Keep doing what you are and you will be great!! You are already doing great and I look forward to following your journey!!!

[MFM008 44]

sleep test is nothing. You just sleep lol. A PET scan terrified me and delayed my surgery by 3 months. Then they found an abnormality. A possible heart attack. (!!!!!). OR...OR an artifact caused by a bone casting a shadow. No way to tell. Surgery went good. Post op not so good.

Don't worry about sleep test they put electrodes on you and that's it. It's all good.

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