SandeeD

Thanks a lot!

What can I expect???

What can I expect???

Thank Butterthebean, much appreciated:)

Congrats Team Barbie! BTW, your hair is EVERY thing, just GORG!

I got all excited over nothing and then I married him:)

I guess I'm used to the smell. My ex-husband is a body builder and ALWAYS smelled like broccoli, egg whites and chicken breast! Probably one of the reasons he's my EX lol

It just occurred to me this morning that if they are removing a large portion of your stomach, and the surgery is done via laparoscopic surgery (small incisions) how is the excessed stomach removed from the body? I just read an article that says it's removed through your mouth, is this true???

I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed this morning with all of the pre-op appointments that I have to complete. In addition, with all of this Obamacare craziness, since I pay for my own insurance, I don't know if I should stay with what I have (which is sky high) or try to change over to something more reasonable BEFORE of AFTER I have the surgery. Decisions...decisions.... What if the surgery doesn't work? What if I still have all of the health problems that I had before the surgery? I'm already a worry wort so now I'm 10x worse:(

Thanks ladies! By no means did I expect any of this to be easy peasy lol I'm just one of those people who think A LOT, so I just need to pump the breaks for a minute and take it a little at a time...this too shall pass.

Thanks thick, that's the article I read too:)

Hi ThickNThin, my surgeon is Dr. Boynton, in the same office as Dr. Neff:)

Thank you everyone for letting me know that the through the mouth grossness is not the norm! lol I definitely spend too much time on the internet:)

Oops pressed send too soon! Lol Anywho, the jerky was fab. I seasoned it with steak seasoning for this batch. I scored it for easy cutting before putting in in the oven. Definitely easier to chew for those who don't like meat stuck in their teeth and easier to digest. Gonna make beef for the next batch. You can also freeze individual servings. Will definitely be a go to for post op diet and to keep in my purse for quick protein on the go.

Ok, so I finally made the ground turkey jerkey last night and it was YUMmy! Will definitely be a go to

I felt that it would be irresponsible not to tell those closest to me about this journey. Because I'm a very emotional person and would probably cry if I tried to express myself verbally. I wrote a heartfelt letter explaining what I'm doing and why and emailed it to those in my family that are closest to me (mom, brother, sister, sister-in-law and niece). In the letter I invited each of them to talk to me individually if they had any questions. Surprisingly, without judgment, they each gave me 1,000% of their support. Basically, they have all seen me suffer over the years, and have seen my health take an extreme decline specifically over the past 3 years to the point now where I can barely walk (osteoarthritis, nerve damage of the spinal cord, high blood pressure, asthma, high cholesterol, etc.), so they are relieved that I've decided to take charge and do something about it. So my question is, how did you all handle telling people?

Cool, let's definitely keep in touch!

OMG...I'm in Camden County, Lindenwold (border of Voorhees and Stratford). My doctor is Dr. Christopher Boynton (Surgical Specialist of NJ), in Lumberton (Burlington County).

L, I totally agree. I see you're in NJ, I'm in NJ too. What part of the state are you in if you don't mind me asking?

Makinithappen2013, I'm super excited FOR you!

Thanks Makinhappen2013. Although I'm at the very beginning stages and haven't been approved yet by insurance, I know my close circle would probably have freaked out if I told them closer to when the actual surgery is going to take place. I'm letting them know now so they have a while for it to seep in, and they can be a part of the entire process. I feel like a weight (no pun intended) has been lifted from me and I can check that off of my to do list! lol

Thank you all for your openness (JoatSaint, loved your video! It's absolutely a very personal decision. I've always been an "open book" kind of person, so not telling my loved ones was not an option for me, but again, I was pleasantly surprised at how ok they were with it. I didn't tell my father because he is in another state and I don't see him often, AND, he worries too much. I'll tell him afterwards.

After about a year of contemplating WLS (and 10+ years of battling with my weight) I'm now starting my journey of getting my life back and lightening my load in many areas of my life (pun intended). I have my first appointment with the surgeon and nutritionist on Thursday, 10/17/13 and I'm an emotional MESS! I'm scared and excited both at the same time, it's crazy! My niece (who is a hair stylist) had to talk me from the edge about an hour ago because my latest "thing" is what about hair loss? She said, "Auntie, you getting healthy and having you around for a long time is more important than you losing some hair. I can fix that, I can give you some hair and it will be beautiful, it's what I do, but I can't get another YOU and I need you! If you lose your hair, I'll cut mine too! Just pray on it and don't worry about stuff that hasn't happened." Well, after that I cried and laughed at the same time. Cried because it meant a lot coming from her (she's like the daughter I never had), and laughed because I could picture both of us with heads shaved looking like twins! lol Anybody else going through this roller coaster ride, or am I alone in my feelings???

Ok, so I had my first appointment with the surgeon and nurse today, and I'm on my way to getting sleeved! I'm super excited:) I actually weight 3 pounds less on their scale lol I have to do 3 months of a supervised program and I thought it was 6 months, so I was happy about that. Lots of stuff to do, appointments, etc., but it will be worth it the end! Yay me! lol

I'm an ESL instructor, so I totally understand...drives me nuts! lol