Hello, I was asked to introduce myself here. I'm GreatGoddess, I'm not ready to tell my real name. I had the gastric sleeve done August 15, 2017. My heaviest weight was 398lbs. When I saw the surgeon in January of 2017 I was 396lbs. When I had surgery I was down to 326lbs. I now weigh 174lbs. My surgeon is Dr. Wanda Good and she and her team are absolutely amazing. She's in the city of Pasco, Washington. I travel 90 miles to see her. It's all worth it. I've listened to everything she's said to me and what the dietitian has to tell me and I've done as I was told. I'm very involved in my menu planning and I do all my cooking. Exercise is a little hard at this time because I live in a basement and it's freezing. Plus I'm poor and cannot afford a gym membership nor do I have a way there.

I've been over weight most of my life and it had gotten to the point where I thought I was going to have a heart attack just going up the stairs to make a meal for me and the parents. One of my doctors was very concerned about me and kept asking me about WLS. When I finally told yes I would like to have it but can't afford to go over the mountains to see the surgeon and everything, he asked me what was wrong with the surgeon in town. I had no idea there was someone in town. When I got to meet with Dr. Good I found out she was moving at the end of the month to Pasco which is 90miles away from me. However, it was still closer and far more cheaper in gas than Seattle. So I stuck with her. I'm so glad I did. I'm now in a size 14 and still losing weight.

I'm an artist, I draw fantasy art, fairies, elves, dragons, occasional mermaid or unicorn. Now that my arms are lighter I want to get back to painting. In May I've signed up for a 5k walk. I'm going from being a recluse to wanting to be out and about and making friends. I'm even going down to L.A. to see my cousin and her husband in April. It's like life has opened up for me. It feels good.

Thank you for sharing, your story is quite inspirational. After my surgery I am definitely going to follow my doctor's and nutritionist advice.

Thank you for sharing your story! ?

1 hour ago, SusieQ2019 said:

Thank you for sharing, your story is quite inspirational. After my surgery I am definitely going to follow my doctor's and nutritionist advice.

Oh is it really inspirational? My surgeon said the same thing. Although I have one word of advice, don't wait until after the surgery to take your surgeon and nutritionist's advice. I've found that my theory of embracing the WLS lifestyle before surgery has give me a lot of help. I bought cookbooks and I go recipe hunting now. I just decided before surgery the only way I was going to survive after surgery when I was in it for life and there was no turning back, was to dive right in before. Started eating the way I would after surgery when I was back on solids. Drink water the way I'm suppose to, take those vitamins. And ask the questions I needed to ask so I mess up before it would hurt me. My surgeon said that was one of the smartest things a patient had ever done. I have no idea if she was telling me the true. But I liked that she said it.

1 hour ago, Alpaca55 said:

Thank you for sharing your story! ?

Thank you for reading it. It sort of makes me feel good.

Congrats and welcome. Hope you will stick around and post often! Keep up the great work and can't wait to hear how your world unfolds!

On 03/06/2019 at 20:20, GreatGoddess said:

Thank you for reading it. It sort of makes me feel good.

It should make you feel good and very proud! Thank you for sharing. Your story is very inspirational ??????

2 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

Congrats and welcome. Hope you will stick around and post often! Keep up the great work and can't wait to hear how your world unfolds!

Thank you for the welcome. I'm going to try to get into being in here. Sometimes I'm not that good about it. But I can't always get to my support meetings so I want to get support any way I can.

1 hour ago, DanaC84 said:

16 hours ago, GreatGoddess said:

Thank you for reading it. It sort of makes me feel good.

It should make you feel good and very proud! Thank you for sharing. Your story is very inspirational ??????

It's hard for me to feel proud, I was always told it was a bad thing and I had nothing to be proud of. However, I am trying. I'm still in shock that people think my story is inspirational.