Hello! I just joined this site. My surgery is scheduled for May 30, 2013 and it has been a wild ride getting here. I say wild ride because I just made the decision to get surgery on the morning of April 29th. I researched getting surgery about 4 years ago, but I decided against it because I viewed it as a "failure". I am 42 with a BMI of 46. I have high blood pressure, arthritis in my knees, PCOS, and IBS. That morning I woke up and decided that I had done 42 years in a big body and I was going to do the next 42+ in a different body. I just got tired of carrying myself around.

When I got to work that morning I called my insurance company to find out the places that were in-network and then I went online to learn everything I could possibly need to know. When I thought about surgery 4 years ago I thoulght I wanted the Lap Band, but since then I have changed careers and I travel frequently. I just didn't like the idea of having that band inside me as I get on a pressurized airplane every week so I started researching the sleeve. By the end of the day I had contacted the surgeon's office, viewed the online seminar, filled out the initial paperwork, and scheduled an appointment for the next Monday.

The appointment went well and I needed to get nutrition counseling and a psych eval. I called the nutritionist from the car and scheduled an appointment for Thursday and I already had an appointment with my therapist for Friday. Completed both appointments and the letter was submitted to my insurance the next Tuesday. On Friday I was approved. Whew!! Even typing that made me tired. The next day I went for a pre-op group session where we toured the hospital and learned all of the details of the surgery day. And here I am today joining this site.