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In the beginning......of my journey

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Friend

One of my oldest and dearest friends has had a struggle with weight as much as I have. He and I have dieted together, joined a gym together and have spent years going up and down in weight. In fact, we are so much in sync that one year for Christmas we gave each other the EXACT SAME GIFT! We had both been down on ourselves for being heavy and had discussed trying yet another weight loss attempt. So when Christmas came around we both wanted to motivate the other. We had a photo of ourselves taken when we were both close to our ideal weights. We were probably around 21 or 22 and it was one of our mutual "skinny" periods. In our attempts to motivate,we both had the same photo enlarged and framed for the other person! It caused us to laugh so hard we must have lost a pound or two over just that..LOL Anyway, as the years have gone on we are not in touch as much as I wish we could be. He has his life with his partner, they own an apartment building together plus he works long hours at his day job. I am busy with the life of a single mom; working full time, taking care of a home and raising my daughter. While we no longer have as much in common, we still have a deep love of friendship for one another. So when I decided I knew what path I was taking I called him up to talk about it. He had long been my weight loss ( and sadly gain) buddy and I wanted to share with him. Actually I spoke with him early in the year about it, back in March when I first was thinking about it. At that time he said he was trying Weight Watchers again, but if he failed (again) he would seriously consider surgery. When I called him a few weeks ago to say I was determined to do this, I could hear such depression in his voice. He had failed again and was very upset over it. His mother and his partner both are against him having the surgery, which makes it tough on him. But I have been in his shoes, so to speak, so I have much greater insight on how he feels than they do. I told him I understood their concern, but sometimes you just have to take control to be able to live the life you deserve. Anyway, he and I left the conversation at me promising to stay in touch and him wanting to hear how things proceed. When I went to my seminar a couple weeks after I had posted it on Facebook. He saw it and contacted me. Apparently he too had attended a seminar at another hospital the VERY SAME DAY! His mom and partner went with him and asked all kinds of questions. His mom is now more on board, but his partner is still afraid. But I am so happy he has decided to pursue this, I KNOW it will make his life and health so much better. And here is the kicker...Before, when he had looked into bariatric surgery, he had decided on the Roux-n-Y. But now, after our conversation about it, he is now wanting to get the sleeve! So God willing ( and I pray with all my heart and soul he is) my dear friend and I will travel down one last weight loss path together, then spend the rest of our lives and friendship supporting each other to remain healthy!!!
Roo101769

Roo101769

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One small step for this (wo)man

Tonight is the bariatric seminar. It is mandatory to take to become a patient with the practice I have been referred to. I am very excited, I want to get this party started! I have to keep myself motivated, keep pushing forward. I am the kind of person who will give up all too quickly if I do not see progress. Not exactly a shining personality trait, but it is who I am. It explains a whole lot about my lifelong weight struggles. Also explains how so many of my "big ideas" have never panned out. But this time is different. I have to stay focused. I cannot give up just because things aren't going at the speed I want them to. There are many steps in the process that I have no control over and I must accept that. At the same time I am being little Miss Proactive and I am trying to speed things along as much as I can. My GP told me I would have to get clearances from all my doctors relating to my recent DVT/PE. I already went to the vascular doctor and got his blessing. I go to my hematologist on 8/6 for my post hospital check up, and I will get his clearance at the same time. My GP is already on board, although I am aware I will have to do a full physical. And during my research I read that some doctors prefer you have your pap tests / mammograms current. I went ahead and scheduled my pap for next month ( not really due until September) and will get the mammogram scheduled from there. Like I said, I am doing my part. I won't lie either, there is a financial motivation involved in all of this as well.. Since I had the issue with my leg, the hospitalization, the minor surgery to have an IVC filter placed, all the tests that go with being on blood thinners, and all the doctor visits stemming from it all...I have met my cap out of pocket amount through my insurance for the year. Therefore, if I can get the whole process approved and surgery done before the end of the year I will have little to no out of pocket expense. I am not fully motivated by this, but it is just another component of my decision. Might as well kill two birds with one stone! LOL But the idea of losing weight and feeling so much better in my body is the biggest draw of all. I long for a pain free day. It has been a while since that existed. It has gone from a minor irritant before this last DVT, to a daily chronic problem that I seriously have problems dealing with. I do not want to be a pain pill addict. I do not want to learn to live with chronic pain. I want to learn to live again, without pain and without the fat that is holding me back!
Roo101769

Roo101769

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