Tracy Jones Gage

Tomorrow will be 5 weeks since my sleeve surgery and I couldn't be happier with my decision. It wasn't a particular event that pushed me into making the decision - I was just tired of being overweight and I wanted to be more active with my kids. There were other things too that contributed over the years - not getting a promotion, taking forever to get over a back injury, not feeling healthy... so many other things. I knew that my insurance wouldn't cover the surgery and after selling our house and moving, I had the money I needed and there were no more excuses for not just doing it. My husband was super supportive when I told him I wanted to have the surgery. He told me he loved me just the way I was but if I wanted to have the surgery he was behind me 100%. I was super psyched to go in for that first appointment on 9/18/15. My surgery was scheduled for 10/1/15 but when I had the pre-op lab work done, my thyroid was way out of whack and I had to go see my PCP to get it under control first. I was crushed but trusted there was a plan in place and there must be a reason. I also had to get cleared by a cardiologist. It took 6 weeks to get my thyroid back under control and I am so thankful that I also got my heart checked out (my aunt died 2 years ago from a massive heart attack at 57 so I've always been scared it could happen to me). Finally, my surgery was rescheduled for 11/24/15. I went into surgery mid-morning and was home by 5pm the same day! I was a little sore the first couple of days but by day 5 I had stopped taking any pain meds and I was getting Protein in by way of broth with Protein powder. I was so happy to move to stage 2 and get to have soft foods! I haven't felt hungry at all but I do miss some foods but not enough to put them in my mouth. Christmas was interesting and challenging. I hosted 25 people at my house (potluck style) and it was hard not to stuff myself, of course, after about 4 or 5 bites of anything I'm completely full. I've learned my lesson too eat slowly and stop as soon as I start to feel full. I'm happy to say that I haven't struggled with gas or acid reflux and I haven't thrown up at all. I weighed 305 when I first stepped into the doctor's office, weighed 285 on the day of surgery and I'm at 260 now. I've already had to buy new pants and a new bra is next on the list. I'm thrilled to see the weight coming off. My husband and I are joining a gym this week and are going to start working out together! I'm beyond happy and so thankful.

Hang in there. I'm at week 5 after surgery and now that I can eat some things, the one shake I have for Breakfast is not too bad. I have no hunger at this point either and I'm taking full advantage of it!