Timmers

Hi all. My name is Tim and I am new to this forum. I'm a 51 year old man, a husband, and a proud father...and I'm also obese. When my daughter, Mia, was born three years ago, it was a wake up call. I weighed 368 at the time and had just discovered I had diabetes. One day, while looking into my daughter's beautiful brown eyes, it just sort of hit me that unless I made some major changes in my life I wouldn't be around to see her get married. I got a lap band in 2010. I've gotten down to 323 but can't seem to get below that number, partly because of some complications witht he band. I'm now looking at gastic bypass. It is probably more appropriate for me because of its effects on diabetes and also because of the dumping effect (I love sugar way too much and this type of negative would be a benefit to me). My gatric bypass surgery is in 2 days, I've been reading a lot of the different forums to get as much first had post-op info and knowledge as possible, and I have to say that I am now much more nervous about my gastric bypass surgery than I ever was about my lap band, largely because of all the horror stories left by post-op patients. Reading about all their problems and complicatons really has me scared. While reading all this stuff I tried to be mindful that those who have complications are probably way more likely to be vocal about their experiences than those who have been problem free. That said, I'd like to hear some words of encouragement from those of you out there who have had gastric bypass and are happy with the results. Did the benefits outweigh the negatives? Does anyone know any stats on what percentage of patients have complications? I feel like I'm doing things right so far. My doctor is 5-star rated so I'm off to a good start. Perhaps I just need a big collective hug of reassurance because I'm just really geting nervous.

Yes. I am home now. Had the surgery on Friday morning aroun 7:00AM. It took 4.5 hours. Stayed at the hospital overnight. Came home Saturday morning around 6:00AM. I've been getting water and caffene herbal teas (brewed then cooled) in without any problems. Tomorrow is the first day I can have almond milk, soy milk and such and I'm really looking forward to the change in flavors (never been a big tea guy).

Had surgery as planned. My doctor said everything went extremely well. The only complication is that I'm apparently allergic to surgical tape (lol). So far so good. If I had to pic a worst part about it there are two: A) the completely unneccesary mental anquish I put myself through beforehand, and the hospital bed which wasn't comfortable in any position. I've been up walking since the day of surgery and each day it gets easier and easier. I'll be moving to the post-op board now so I'll see you app there. Thanks again for all your support.

My surgery is today, December 28th, in just a few hours in fact. As I'm getting ready to head out to the hospital I find that I'm nervous (as I would be with any surgery) but also very excited by the promises of a much improved quality of life. Up until now I've been surviving life but not living it. That's about to change. Thanks to all of you for all the support and encouragement. It has made this journey so much easier just knowing that so many of you have felt and successfully dealt with some of he things I've been going through lately. See you all on the other side...meaning post op and food forums and such.

A sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone for all the comments and advice. It is very comforting to hear all your positive thoughts. I don't really have any extended family and I think I just really needed some reassurance that I am doing the right thing. I'll admit that there are still some aspects of this that I still feel very hesitant about but after some soul-searching I think that my biggest issue - and I feel so stupid for saying this - is having to say goodbye to Fat Tim. This might seem like a strange comparision but in some ways I feel like the me I've always known is dying. Well, at least that's how I was feeling until just recently. Your personal stories and encouragement have helped me realize that it isn't so much a death as a rebirth of a new, better, heathier me...kind of like how a catapiller turns into a butterfly...Still the same but different. As i write this I'm only a day and a half away from my surgery. It is still hard for me to imagine anything but me in this fat suit...but I know the new Tim is just on the horizon and I'm really anxious to have him become a part of my life.