BKMama

I get it. Totally get it. And I admire your self confidence! My husband, bless him, tells me I'm beautiful and sexy every single day. But I don't want to be beautiful and sexy with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or worse in a casket. Now that this is actually a reality rather than just a possibility, I've definitely thought about the vanity part. Trading in my "cushion" for loose skin, losing my boobs, looking like a bobble head (I have a big ass head LOL). But really, if all of that happens it's worth it for me to be around to be a grandma for my daughters' children, to have a long loving marriage with my best friend, and to check off all the things on my list if "things I'll do when I'm normal-sized".

You're doing great! I bet you're feeling a difference in clothes too.

That is all sorts of awesome. CONGRATS!!!

Congrats!

Wait, your husband actually helps you shop instead of mumbling and grumbling the whole time??? LOL Great job and congrats on your loss!! Did you do the "they fit" dance in the mirror?

Yep, I budgeted my flex account hoping and praying I'd use it to cover just some of the surgery expenses (IF approved). Called the insurance company today and what I have in there will cover the expenses. Thank GOD! Now just need to get the approval. Easy, right? LOL

Congrats!!!

I love this post so much. I'm sure that if I let my husband read it, all of his reservations about this surgery will go out of the window! I'm sorry, all I can offer is a *high five*. =)

Congrats! I'm in the Chicago area as well and have BCBS. I am hopeful my approval goes as well as yours! If you don't mind my asking, who is doing your surgery? I'm going through Northwestern. :-)

That is theoretically when I'll have mine according to my nurse practitioner. I see my surgeon for a consult on May 3rd and that's when everything goes to bcbs for approval. I've heard that they typically give a decision quickly but my last nutrition class isn't until June 21st. (And I'll still have the pre-surgery class to do as well.). So I'm thinking late July to early August. Do you already have a date?

Hi everyone! Such a great thread, so much information. I'm still in the pre-approval stage, haven't even sent everything to insurance for approval. I'm ready for this journey to truly begin even though I'm nervous as well. I have SO much to lose and can't wait to meet the new me. Is anyone in the chicagoland area? I'd love to get some buddies or mentors to get through this journey. :-)

It's definitely hard to swallow but men are such visual creatures that it doesn't surprise me at all. I have shorter "natural" hair (i.e. a wild curly afro) but for the past few weeks I've had a long wavy weave (like in my profile pic) and it has been so interesting how differently people react to me. I literally laughed at a coworker who sees me all of the time but waited until I had the weave to actually talk to me. I'm like "dude, the afro is under this and is coming back!". LOL Even my female coworkers have reached out to me more lately. I know that the extra attention is something I will need to really get used to. I try to blend in a much as possible now (isn't it ironic how our size renders us invisible?!) and I'm sure as my confidence rises I won't actively do that any more. I keep asking my husband stuff about getting "too small" (who worries about that?!) because I am honestly terrified that when I don't look like the woman he's been with for 15 years, I don't want to lose him. He assures me he isn't going anywhere but it stays in the back of my head.

I think discussing weight is difficult and uncomfortable to talk about. Similar to how it's a huge no no to ask a woman if she's pregnant until she's about to deliver or she volunteers the info. LOL What if they're mistaken and you were trying unsuccessfully to lose weight. Or as someone else said it was due to an illness. Or depending on how it's phrased, it could come out as a back handed compliment. I'll never forget, an old coworker lost substantial weight and another coworker gushed about it saying how wonderful she looked. Because she was an overall negative person, she got offended and said "my goodness, was I that disgusting before?!". The coworker who gave the compliment was mortified. :-( I'm not saying you'd do that, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about that exchange before I comment on someone's weight loss....and it has stopped me from commenting a few times. Congratulations on your loss!!

Wow, what a transformation! As everyone has said, you're so pretty! Congratulations!!! And I apologize in advance if I offend you, but you give me hope that I'll still have nice boobs post-op. Hehehe

You just reminded me of hibiclens. It worked well for me but then the Target pharmacy I was getting it from gave me problems and I haven't gotten it again. I'll start using it again as a precaution. Thanks!

I'm sorry, I just saw your question asking what it was. Doesn't it look fun?!?! What a great way to see how strong you've gotten. I can't wait!!

I keep a running list.....so this is only a few if them. LOL 1. cross my legs like a lady 2. dance as much as I'd like to (instead of stopping when I get hot and sweaty after 2 minutes) 3. go into any store and buy clothes 4. go to amusement parks and Water parks with my family - riding roller coasters and water slides!! 5. not run from pictures that aren't shoulders up 6. strut in stilletos 7. take some sexy boudiour pictures for my husband ( I have some very specific pictures in mind ) 8. wear those sexy/funky tights that are in style this fall (I hope hope hope they are still "in" next year LOL) 9. jog a 5k 10. jog/run a 10k 11. do the dirty girl run 12. tackle and master that damn ellipticle machine (I can't hang longer than like 5 minutes on the thing now) 13. wear belts (if you don't have a waist, it's hard/pointless to wear a belt) And the biggest ones: 14. Believe a compliment (related to my looks) when I receive it 15. look in the mirror and smile because I am truly happy with what I see

What a great story ! Congratulations on your success thus far.

I wanted to bump this up as I have this skin condition as well. I plan to bring it up with my surgeon at the consult, but was wondering what precautions your surgeons or dermatologists may have done prior to surgery. I already take an antibiotic daily, but it only helps the condition not make it go completely away. I'll be crushed if this disqualifies me. :-(

Great job! You're so pretty! :-)

Oops, duplicate!

You are rocking it! Keep up the good work. I'm going this be sure to follow your journey as our starting stats are similar.

Nice job!!

The original post and all of the replies brought tears to my eyes. It makes me sad that someone has gone through all of the trouble of having surgery, losing that much weight, and yet is still that unhappy. I used to worry that I'd find myself in the same situation but part of my pre-op journey is remembering to love me just as I am right now. When I lose all of the weight, I'll simply be a better version of my already fabulous self! If you are completely miserable and negative before losing weight, chances are you'll be the same after you're done.