4LgrLife_53

Hello to all: I have been battling my weight since I left active duty military service. (I was in great shape in the service, but had depression issues and just didn't care about life for many years afterwards.) Once I regained some of my self-esteem back, I tried many, various diets and spent hundreds of dollars on health club/gym memberships and personal training sessions, all trying to lose weight and tone up the ever-increasing amount of flab. I am a non-smoker and do not partake in street drugs or alcohol, but one of my vices was soda pop products (I could easily polish off a six-pack of Dr. Pepper in a day). I've since weened myself off the soda pop, and taken to water and water with lemon slices in it.
I looked up bariatric surgeries more than once, but each time I talked to my doctors at the VA Medical Centers, they said I didn't meet the criteria (even though I've found out now thru my research that I DID MEET THE CRITERIA).
I am currently awaiting gastric sleeve surgery. I have already attended the 3-hour seminar, I had considered lap-band surgery prior to the seminar, but decided the gastric sleeve was a better option after attending the seminar (my surgeon agrees!). Did the psychological testing and my first pre-op visit with my surgeon. Because of physical conditions, my surgeon said that my Medicare and Medicare Supplemental Plan F will cover the costs of the surgery. So far, so good! I have upcoming patient education and dietition appointments. I found some cool weight-loss surgery cookbooks and downloaded them into my Kindle. I also purchased Alex Brecher's book on the Gastric Sleeve surgery.
The final straw that got me on this road to bariatric surgery was all the pictures my friends take of me while attending functions and I look like I'm 10 months pregnant! Of course, this would be complimentary if I was (in a way), but being over 55 years old it is just the opposite. It's depressing and I hate to have my picture taken anymore. I've already lost my parents and one sibling, with one other sibling fighting for each day's life due to weight, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. I do not want to die like that. I would like to be able to say that I outlived many women in my family, and hope to live a long, full life to see my grandchildren finish growing up and have families of their own.
I have numerous health issues, including obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and osteoarthritis, while teetering on the edge of diabetes. I had a couple of nasty falls last year and broke several bones, including severely breaking one of my ankles and nearly breaking the other. Although well healed, the excess weight and my high blood pressure (even though I'm on medication) makes it very hard to exercise or even walk any long distances. Every night I go to sleep wondering if I will wake the next day due to being overweight and these related health conditions, even with using a CPAP machine.
I'm determined the surgery will be a great start to a long-term goal of getting the weight off and keeping it off. I understand it is a "tool" and not the cure. I'm hopeful and excited about the future, but starting to have some anxiety about the risks or complications associated with the procedure. I guess everyone has this anxiety to some degree. I have had surgeries in the past and come thru them just fine, including when I had my gall bladder removed almost 10 years ago. Based on a book given to me by the bariatric center and books I've bought, I picked up a food processor and chopper so I can puree my new diet foods. I have already stocked up on many of the low carb, protein-rich foods and shakes in preparation for the procedure and working to get trigger foods out of the house beforehand too.
I am hoping to be able to start buying smaller clothes, especially a new swimsuit I can wear to go swimming--which is one of my favorite exercise routines, and no longer feel like I'm being stared at like a beached orca whale when I get out of the water.
I look forward to this new journey and chatting with people here on the discussion boards.