Hello Everyone,

I've struggled with my weight as long as I can remember. I delivered identical triplets in Feb. 2013 and have not been able to get to my pre baby weight which was around 190lbs. After having the girls I developed an incisional hernia on my c-section line that has grown to the size of a grapefruit. It causes daily pain and I haven't found a surgeon that will even consider fixing it until I'm down to 150lbs. Christmas of 2016 I was 260lbs and have been able to get down to 212lbs and have plateaued there for about 5 weeks. I'm incredibly active walking about 8 miles a day 6 of hard walking.

The pre-op diet hasn't been terrible though I have found it difficult to find food on the approved list that I like. My anxiety comes into play with the amount of potential pain and limited ability to be active. As I'm sure you all can imagine having (3) 4 year olds I don't get a moments peace. I can't imagine sitting for 10 minutes to eat let alone 30 minutes.

My support is limited. My boyfriend is on board as he knows how important it is to me to not only be around for my girls. My goal is to simply be ABLE...I know that sounds strange I want to be able to hike, bike, walk, run, swim and be around for a long time. My family however is a different story intitially they were supportive now they are afraid I will die and won't be able to handle the diet changes. Those changes seem reasonable as I'm noIt really an over eater as I am an under after and the food choices weren't nutrient dense just caloricly dense.

My surgery is July 21 and I feel alone and scared. I have self image issues and I know I'm not unique there, I'm really concerned about saggy skin and aprons I've heard others discuss. My primary area of weight is in my belly I'm pretty ok with everywhere else. Does the drastic weight loss cause the sagging of skin and what can I do to try to combat that? Any exercises that will help keep me somewhat firm?

I know this was long winded. I just don't feel like I have any other place to vent my fears with others that know what I'm going through. Any comments or suggestions would be helpful and appreciated...

I can't be in two places at one time...so I guess I have to choose between fear and faith. I know God has a plan for me and will carry me through. It's keeping that mindset daily that is a struggle when you have others around you that are constantly trying to fix me.

Much love to all,

Jenny

Hi Jenny, I think it's common to be nervous - especially so close to your surgery date! I'm still about four months out and had anxiety all day today just thinking about mine. Did your insurance require any visits with a psychologist that you were able to discuss any of this? (My insurance requires 3 visits at a minimum.) I'm like you in that I'm an under-eater, not an over-eater. My food choices themselves just weren't the best. I know getting a grip on the "head stuff" is key so I'm trying to focus more on that than thinking too much about the surgery itself. I haven't heard of any severe complications from the surgery and most people seem to have no regrets once they're through the healing process. Best of luck to you!