Flagstaffian

Thank you! I am still getting to know that threads & what not. Love this site!!!

Hi TIffany! I have the VERY SAME WORRIES as you. I don't have kids (yet!!!), but I know my loved ones are worried for me. I am meeting with my surgeon next week and have a tentative surgery date of March 30. I have only been a member on this site for a few days, but it is a wonderful community of people just like you and me, with the same hopes and fears. I'm scared and excited at the same time, but I just keep telling myself: "Hasn't every experience in life that was the MOST MEANINGFUL, the MOST VALUABLE, also been the hardest and/or the scariest?" I think, yes! i look forward to journeying along with you! ((HUGS)) Sarah

I totally understand people's hesitancy to be open about WLS. To people that have not struggled with their weight for DECADES, it might seem like the easy way out....people LOOOOVE to judge others. For people that know you and love you, that have seen the toll that excess weight takes on your mind, body, and soul, well...they love you and so they should want you to live as long and healthy a life as possible!! I do worry about what some of my friends and family think, but I have chosen to be completely open about the process. I have been researching and jumping through Kaiser's hoops for 4 months now, so I am trying to get my loved ones warmed up to the idea gradually. Yes, they are worried, and yes, some of them are skeptical that I'm "BIG ENOUGH" (266# and 5'0"?!?! yeah, hell-O?! I need this), but in the end- people that love you will support you. My people are warming up to the idea, and they will have a lot of time to get used to the new me. After all, I AM THE ONE LIVING IN THIS FAT BODY, tired of being invisible, tired of wondering if everyone is watching me eat, tired of not being able to shop in "normal stores". I'm 29 years old, and starting to deal with several obesity-related health issues. Unh-unh. Enough is enough. Ultimately, we each have to do what's best for ourselves, and I'm choosing to be proud of that. And now, for all the naysayers, a quote from Salt-n-Pepa, 1993: "The moral of this story is: Who are YOU to judge? There's only One true judge, and that's God, so CHILL, and let my Father do his job!" There, that should shut 'em up

Shell! Thank you for that!! You made me feel a lot better about meeting with Dr. Baggs on the 28th. Do you feel like there is anything you WISH you would've asked at the initial consultation? I have heard that the process goes very quickly with them! How much weight did you have to lose (10%?) I'd love any info from you! I see you have lost SO MUCH weight! Have a blessed day! sarah flagstaffian

OMG Kara- You were cute before...You look SO BEAUTIFUL with those cheekbones now, girl!

Knee2010, Thank you!! One thing I have committed to is following my doctor's instructions 100%. It seems like the BEST and ONLY way to minimize complications. fljovideb, I am rooting for you!! I will be so interested to follow your journey, a few months ahead of mine. Happy holidays, guys! Sarah