irishmama2004

THey really can be but then when you get a good one it is so great. I am a nurse and I work with my OB in the hospital. She is as excited as any of my other coworkers. My PCP has been cheering me on. His attitude is whatever it takes to get me this surgery and my surgeon and his team are so wonderful too. I fell like I have a million questions and all of these little issues and I am so type A and these people bend over backwards to help. That said I have had long relationships with other doctors whose only advice was lose weight on your own and receive no support. tHis has come from orthos, dermatologists, a dentist even! So I know what you mean.

Wow! 30 pounds. I can't wait, I can't wait.

Just read this whole thread. Wow. I mean wow. I am a long way from there but just to think of the possibilities and the things I have to look forward to. Thank you!!

Spent one hour swimming in the pool today. I swam all through high school and miss it so much. After some of the weight is gone I am going to take an adult lap perfecting class and really get back to being able to call myself a swimmer. Anyway, today I managed 40 laps in 45 minutes with 15 minutes of water walking in the end. 40 laps used to be a good warm up and cool down for the real training in the old days. Ha! When I got out today it felt like someone was making me walk around in a lead suit. it took several minutes to be able to stand all the way up. That was an eye opener. I walk around with a heavy lead suit all the time. No wonder there are days where I don't want to get out of bed or go down the drive to check the mail.

Cheri-That is so true and I had not thought about that. Yes, my husband has forked over money for gym memberships, trainers, countless WW fees even when I wasn't attending. He has seen me say "This Friday, no more" or "starting April 1 I am going to..." so no one can blame a little skepticism. Tom is incredibly supportive but sometimes I see a little doubt or maybe sense the hesitation and I think he isn't being fair but I think I probably owe him that for all that he has has supported over the years.

hello, I am totally new to this forum. Wish I had found it months ago... I will have my 7th visit with my family doc on April 26th. After that all of my paperwork goes over to my surgeon's office and they send it out for insurance approval. (BCBS of AL). The coordinator tells me this takes 10 to 14 days. Assuming I am approved I meet with the surgeon, so now we are looking at let's say May 17th. Then we schedule and hopefully I can be sleeved by the end of the following week. Does that sound realistic? Anyway, my whole extended family is going to the beach for my grandmother's 90th birthday and my parents 50th birthdays. We were supposed to go in late July but my sister is now pregnant with twins and cannot travel then so now it looks like June 21st we will be away. Now, as beach vacations go absolutely nothing will be expected of me. We will have a full kitchen and do not plan on eating out so my diet can be well controlled. I am okay with trying to get to the beach for just a couple of hours a day and if that is all I accomplish than that is okay. My husband may take the kids to a water park one day. Just being with my family is all I need. In fact, I can keep my grandmother company back at the beach house mostly. I will have lots of help from a big group of people who love and support me. So does this sound realistic? What if my surgery isn't for another week? if I have to go to the beach on the 21st what is the latest I can realistically have the surgery? At what point would you put it off? I really appreciate any and all feedback.

That is all my visits really were. I mean he would talk to me and ask me what I was doing to lose weight. The first few months I actually gained a couple of pounds each month but my grandmother died after lingering for a long time and my family was at war over her will and how she should spend her last days etc, then we also had a trip to WDW and NYC and the holidays. Knowing it was my last holiday season to eat was rough. He wasn't concerned but wanted to know what was up.

My surgeons office gave me very specific guidelines about how my visits with my family doc should go. They gave me 7 forms he should fill out-one for each visit and a auto form letter that my doctor filled out and sent back to the surgeon. My visits had to be monthly for 6 months and the last apt could not be before 180 days from the first.

Hi all, I am new to this site but not new to this process. I first started researching weight loss surgery a couple of years ago and then found myself pregnant with my third child. I put the idea out of my head completely. While breastfeeding that child I gave my all to weight watchers and had the first somewhat significant weight-loss of my life. I went from 355 at the end of my pregnancy to 279. It felt great to have people finally tell me I looked good. I couldn't wait to go places and have people react. Then the holidays hit and I slowly gave up and wound up back to a non-pregnant high of 341. So in the fall after seeing yet another coworker go through surgery and start dropping weight like a bad habit I began to look at surgery again. I was intrigued by the relatively new VSG. The only surgeons in this are that have been doing them had only been doing them for a little over a year. I liked the idea of a less invasive procedure because I had a complication of sinus surgery in 2002 where I would not stop bleeding. Since then I have had my GB out with no problems and three children so I do believe it was a surgical anomaly. Anyway, I went to Dr. M's seminar in October and then had my appointment with him the next week. I need to do 6 months of physician monitored weight loss and so far have lost very little. I have one appointment left but I have put myself on the shakes diet with a lean cuisine or small dinner. This is a killer right now. But it will all be worth it in the end. Hoping for a surgery date in May. And really trying to make it to a beach vacation the last week of June. Anyway, I am so grateful to this site and seeing real people go through this. The local support groups are mostly bands and RNY so it is nice to have a place where sleeve is the norm. Good luck to you all. Your successes keep me focused.

I took my husband to the seminar that my surgeon holds monthly. You cannot argue with the facts in his slide show. What your husband may really be saying is that he is scared or worried for you or that he is intimidated that you may really be successful. If he gets the facts and is still hesitant I think you will know to read between the lines. Good luck! Glad you have other support if he does not come around.

I should add that the beach is about 8 hours away. So I would be away from my medical people but near great hospitals.

I bought a seatbelt extender on ebay Great investment. Plus when I know for sure I won't need it anymore I can probably sell it for about what I bought it. Very discreetly put it around myself and it worked great. I flew airtran and the seats were fine. I read somewhere that they were among the biggest of domestic flights. I did get a last minute offer to upgrade to BC for the way there and I booked it. I believe it was $25 for my daughter and I each. That option was not available on the way home. I was 5'9'' and 340 then.