SarahSleeve

Thanks for the responses! I'll have to grab some Stevia or erythritol. I did try Stevia a few years ago and didn't care for the taste, but I don't remember if it gave me a headache. Glad I've got a few months to work out these details

I've signed up with two local hospitals to get information on their programs and I have my first meeting on Friday. This one says that in addition to the doc appts/labs/tests, they require three support meetings (offered once per month) plus a 10lb weight loss. So onto my question. If I stick to the schedule and go once per month I could feasibly be done the requirements by mid-July. How soon after you completed all the "stuff" did you get a surgery date (presuming the insurance was quick - I have Harvard Pilgrim and read they are pretty quick)? And how much help did you need at home, i.e. how limited was your activity? I was aiming for a Sept/Oct date but if they offer me an earlier one I'm not sure if I could take it with two kids home during the summer (hence the Sept/Oct plan). Granted they are 8 and 10 so they aren't fully reliant on me, but they do like to keep active Just looking for some feedback. I know I'll get a lot of information over the next few months and it'll likely end up being better to wait until Fall, but I figured I'd see what you guys thought of the process Thank you!!

I intend to, thank you I'm sure there will definitely be stuff that comes up I never considered, even with all the reading/researching I've been doing.

Nope, married for many years now Plus my Mom lives in the same town as me and plans to come over daily to assist as needed.

Oh how I hate the "OK" after telling him how you feel about something! And when you ask what does "OK" mean, all you yet is it "it means I get it" lol men we really are not from the same planet. I hope you do get the support you need and that it all works out for you too. P.S. Tell me you are Canadian we need to be friends? Not Canadian, but geographically close (I'm in New Hampshire, about 4 hours south of the border). Men really do see things differently. I just hope I get more feedback later in the process and he's willing to help me when I need it.

Thanks Sent from my Nexus 5 using the BariatricPal App

This one is going to be big for me through this process. My Mom will be supportive, as will my husband; but I don't plan to tell too many other people (if any). My ILs are SO judgmental it's ridiculous and I know they'd be like "Wish I could take the 'easy way' out" (yeah, they're also overweight and see this kind of thing as a cop-out.) Because having most of your stomach removed permanently is easy. Bah. I also live in a "skinny" town. I am always the largest one when I get together with friends, have been since I moved here 10 years ago. No one seems to mind/care, but I do, and I'm not sure what to expect once I start losing - whether things will change at all. I'm just trying to focus on the positive reasons to do this. If I lose friends along the way, it means they weren't really friends to begin with I suppose

I'm sorry you feel like you aren't being supported I worry a lot about my hubby not being as helpful as I need as I get started on my journey. I had a big conversation with him on why I wanted to do it, that I'd need his support, etc etc and his response was literally "OK". That's it. I mean, I guess it's better than no response (which is what I got when I brought it up 2 years ago). But I put a lot of thought and research into this before I decided on actually going through with it, so I think I was hoping for more. Eh. I hope things improve for you!

Good luck!! Sent from my Nexus 5 using the BariatricPal App

You look fantastic, congrats and thanks for sharing! Sent from my Nexus 5 using the BariatricPal App

****I will likely be adding random posts to this thread to keep myself motivated and on target as I get this process rolling. No worries if no one reads/responds, but I need to put it somewhere and it needs to be more public than a journal for me to feel that it's real.**** I've been on this site all weekend. Reading about people's journeys, looking at the before/after threads (which are incredibly motivating and wonderful), looking for any negatives people have had. I can honestly say I am truly ready for this. In the past I'd read a few negatives and be like "nope, not going to risk it!" and move on to my yo-yo cycle of diet and weight loss/gain. This time, I am thinking "worth the risk". I am too young for this to be my life. Being too tired to go for a long walk/bike ride with my kids and when I do, feeling it for DAYS afterwards. Having knees that creak when I go up stairs. Being winded after a walk to the mailbox!! I'm just now starting to realize just how unhealthy I am. Being that I didn't have any major medical issues before I was diagnosed with high blood pressure last year (besides hypothyroidism, but that's not going away regardless of my weight), I never really though I was "that big" or unhealthy in general. I'm now beginning to accept just how large I truly am. You'd think the little number 20 on my pants would be enough to tell me that, but I guess I just saw what I wanted. I've read that people my size can hope/expect to lose up to 100lbs the 12 to 18 months if I'm careful and stick to the rules. Last time I was that weight was high school, and that was only because I'd basically starved myself for several months before a school Disney trip. I looked good! I still thought I was fat. Hindsight, I know. I'd LOVE to be that weight again. I've been 220+ since before i got married back in 2002. This is not who I want to be. This is not me. I'm ready to make a life-altering change now.

Thank you for the replies! I know I have a very long journey ahead of me but just knowing that I'm 100% ready and there are others I can turn to when I have questions makes me feel like I really can succeed! Here's to being healthier and happier by this time next year