Nicci

I have been praying about this daily and I don't feel like I have found the right answer, would you pray with me?

I'm a vertically challenged person, standing at a whopping 5'3", but I make up for it horizontally (lord do I ever!) tipping the scales at 321 lbs!!! but I did want to comment on these 180 lbs people having the surgery. First of all I don't think they even need it at that weight! I mean seriously what are they thinking?! Secondly I wonder if they all are private pay because they dont, or shouldnt anyways, meet insurance requirements. And lastly do you suppose that these 180 lbs people are the ones that have more complications with their sleeve, simply because it was an un-necessary surgery in the first place? I honestly wonder about that but never have the gull to ask them.

Me too, scared that is (even though I want it so badly!!!). For the last few days I have been following a thread that has me teetering 50/50 on if I should follow through with this or not. You should read it....or then again maybe you shouldn't read it given that you will be going under soon. Its called something like "My story, the one you don;t want to hear about but should" or something to that effect and it is by Iggychic

What made you decide to go to Mexico for your surgery, did insurance deny you? If so what was your starting weight when dealing with the insurance company?

Good luck hun, keep us posted....I am excited and nervous for you!

Good luck hun! Please update us as soon as possible :-) Hugs and prayers to you this day!

Were you scared of the surgery at all? PLEASE keep us posted, I am pre-op and need to hear all the truth about this surgery that i can. Would you mind if I added you as a friend?

Catyroses, now that you have had the surgery what would you say to someone who is considering having the surgery? Is there anything you would add to this list that everyone else posted? What did it physically feel like the first few days/weeks after surgery?

As far as the blood thinner shots go, I have found that the tighter you pinch the skin with your opposite hand the less it hurts (I'm a CNA and med pass certified so whenever I give IM injections I always pinch up the skin and my patients say it hurts less this way because the actual act of pinching distracts their mind from the stick of the needle). In April of 2012 I had ankle surgery and I used this same method with my lovenox injections (another blood thinner) and I have to say I do believe they are right. The couple of times I didn't pinch up my skin hurt like a son of a gun!

I'm looking forward to..... Being able to cross my legs. Being able to walk in to any store and buy some pants off the rack. To not being a disappointment to my 6y/o daughter who cried when she was told she looks like her momma, simply because her mom is fat. To being able to ride any ride I so choose at a theme park/fair/carnival. To being comfortable in my own skin and not feel as if others are judging me because of my size. To holding my head up with pride when I put on a bathing suit in front of people. To being able to see my girl parts without lifting my tummy and looking in a mirror. To having a good sex life (don't get me wrong it's alright but it could and would be a whole heck of a lot better if there was less of me) (the list goes on...I don't think you REALLY want me to continue, lol)

I need someone to figuratively hold my hand through this process and help me keep myself from chickening out. I know this is in my best interest for the long haul but I'm terrified as I read two horrible journey's today...one of which it sounds as if the woman is still fighting for her life nearly 2 and a half months later :-( I have 3 fairly young kids, my twins will be 6 in November and my youngest just turned 3 at the end of September. I was raised in Illinois but I now reside in Wisconsin.

I quickly jotted down a few of my personal thoughts for the pros and cons of this procedure and this is what I came up with, your feedback would be warmly welcomed! :-) My reasons for wanting surgery: 1) I want to play with my kids, active play not passive play. 2) I want to be able to take my kids to amusement parks/fairs/carnivals and actually be able to ride the rides with them. 3) I'm tired of my being a disappointment to my daughter, nightly she tells me she wishes she didn't have a fat mom :`-( 4) I want to live for as long as possible (no I don't have any health issues at the moment but it could be a matter of time until I do given my current weight). 5) I would love to be able to walk in to any store and buy pants off the rack! 6) I want to be more easily active 7) I want to be able to see my feet without leaning forward (I'd love to see my girl parts without the use of a mirror!). 8) Just once in my life I want to look as beautiful on the outside as I am on the inside (selfish I know but I would be lying if I didn't say this is a desire of mine). 9) I want people to judge me based on my character/heart instead of on my appearance. 10) PCOS could potentially be cured by this procedure (not that I want any more kids but it would be nice not to have to hassle, daily, with the wonderful facial hair). 11) I want to be able to sit at a booth without surveying it as I approach, guessing as to which side is bigger so that I can sit on that side. 12) I want to be able to let people take my picture (which I have not allowed in nearly a year). Reasons why I don't want the surgery: 1) Possible Death-->My biggest fear in life is death. I don't want to die, I have entirely too much to live for! 2) Serious complications 3) I'm a chicken S#*!

I'm from Beloit, WI but my surgery will be in Madison

Thanks guys. I too have PCOS and in fact had to go on infertility medication for the baby that I lost shortly after birth and for my twins (my youngest was a HUGE surprise since I had to try so hard to have a baby previously and was told by every specialist I would never have a child on my own with the degree of PCOS I have....It's safe to say they LIED!!! lol). I am just looking forward to the possibility of the evil facial hair going away some what, it's a PITA to have to pluck my chin daily and cream my upper lip once a week :-P I have tried every thing under the sun to lose weight to no avail. Of course having PCOS makes it much harder than what it is for the average person. I have been heavy my entire life and been sent to this endo and that dietitian always looking for a reason for my size because I was always super active, actively involved in every sport from karate to gymnastics to ballet to softball to tennis to basketball to track to the swim team (the list goes on). I even, at 4 tender years of age, was in Childrens Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL for a weeks time. The children around me were dying of cystic fibrosis, leukemia etc and here I was, for all intents and purposes, a healthy child. Then at, oh IDK, 9y/o I was sent as an out patient to the University of Iowa childrens hospital (again endo dept) where low and behold they found me to be in perfect health aside from my weight. I have done the South Beach, I have done the Atkins, I have counted my calories, I have tracked my food (religiously and HONESTLY), I have even been on weight loss medication (which worked great but the moment the doc stopped giving it to me was the moment I put all the weight back on and then some!). This is my last resort....I am doing this for myself, for my kids....but am I being selfish by wanting just one moment of my life (hopefully for the rest of my life) to be average to slender in size?

Keep us posted as things progress!

BTW the last time I was in the 190's I was 11y/o and in the 6th grade :-(

I have to admit I am quite emotional when it comes to the idea of ever being in the 100's again, needless to say what you just wrote to me brought tears to my eyes. My tiny (literally 90 lbs soaking wet) grandmother had her first heart attack when she was 42. My grandfather has high blood pressure, my mother has horrible Rheumatoid Arthritis, My father, although I believe his and everyone on his side of the family with health issues is related to drugs/alcohol, has diabetes (however his over weight brother who was never in to drugs also has type 2 diabetes from being so large). The only thing I have at this point is polycystic ovaries, minor asthma that only seems to act up when I am sick, and of course my ankle that I had 2 screws put in back in April of this year. I must also say thought that I was terrified when I awoke in the recovery room from my surgery in April because my heart took off racing, I believe it went up to 142, and as my nurse was rushing around in a panic I managed to get the heart rate under control on my own without any meds.....but the fact that it took off like that scares me a little. I have had 7 surgeries in my life (starting when I was 6, an appendectomy, T&A removal, leap procedure, closed ankle reduction, ankle fusion, gall bladder removal, then another ankle fusion when the first one didn't heal as planned.) and been put under two additional times when they were trying to find out what was wrong with me (they performed ERCP's and finally found the stupid gall stone stuck in my bile duct after I had my gall bladder out in 2005 and my condition still wasnt improving). I think I have always been scared before any surgery I have had and worried I would die...so this shouldn't be any different for me, right? I came out of all those just fine and should do the same here :-)

I have avoided all fair/carnival rides for years now out of that same fear...or the fear that I am so fat I will cause my "car" on the ride to bust off the hinges :-( But I'm looking forward to my skinnier days when I can reward myself with an amusement park ride :-)

That is an awesome idea girl! I haven't allowed anyone (myself included) to take a picture of me in over a year now....but maybe I should so that when it is all said and done I can see just how far i have come!

What has been the hardest for you so far and did you ever worry about any possible complications? I guess i'm a worrier because thats all my pre-op mind can think about is the numerous things that can go wrong....it doesn't help that I just read two stories today that the people involved have almost died and one of them was sleeved back in August and is still in and out of the hospital today :-/ I'm having doubts now if this is something i should do, after reading their stories. Do I risk it all and have this surgery so that I can be more active with my 3 little children (the twins are 6 and my youngest is 3) and take them to six flags or disney and actually be able to ride the rides with them, or do I just continue to live life on the sidelines and play it safe? Sigh....decisions, decisions :-/

lol yes I meant Laproscopically..... I was just being lazy :-) I'm hoping not to go the long open incision route if at all possible.

I believe I am going the lap route

I wonder how long it would take someone who is a CNA (certified nursing assistant) or someone who works in retail and is on their feet all day?

I will be sleeved possibly late March or early April

You should learn to love you first and foremost! If he leaves you because of your new size then he can kick rocks because he clearly wasn't the right one for you. Love is blind, it doesn't see the numbers on a scale :-) When you love you, no matter what the numbers say, others will love you too! Keep your head up sugar and don't worry about the what if's. All we have is the here and now, tomorrow isn't promised and yesterday is history....you remember that, ok? And keep us posted! All the uplifting thoughts and energies I have are being sent your way. {{{HUGS}}}