GreatGoddess

It should make you feel good and very proud! Thank you for sharing. Your story is very inspirational 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 It's hard for me to feel proud, I was always told it was a bad thing and I had nothing to be proud of. However, I am trying. I'm still in shock that people think my story is inspirational.

Hello, I was asked to introduce myself here. I'm GreatGoddess, I'm not ready to tell my real name. I had the gastric sleeve done August 15, 2017. My heaviest weight was 398lbs. When I saw the surgeon in January of 2017 I was 396lbs. When I had surgery I was down to 326lbs. I now weigh 174lbs. My surgeon is Dr. Wanda Good and she and her team are absolutely amazing. She's in the city of Pasco, Washington. I travel 90 miles to see her. It's all worth it. I've listened to everything she's said to me and what the dietitian has to tell me and I've done as I was told. I'm very involved in my menu planning and I do all my cooking. Exercise is a little hard at this time because I live in a basement and it's freezing. Plus I'm poor and cannot afford a gym membership nor do I have a way there. I've been over weight most of my life and it had gotten to the point where I thought I was going to have a heart attack just going up the stairs to make a meal for me and the parents. One of my doctors was very concerned about me and kept asking me about WLS. When I finally told yes I would like to have it but can't afford to go over the mountains to see the surgeon and everything, he asked me what was wrong with the surgeon in town. I had no idea there was someone in town. When I got to meet with Dr. Good I found out she was moving at the end of the month to Pasco which is 90miles away from me. However, it was still closer and far more cheaper in gas than Seattle. So I stuck with her. I'm so glad I did. I'm now in a size 14 and still losing weight. I'm an artist, I draw fantasy art, fairies, elves, dragons, occasional mermaid or unicorn. Now that my arms are lighter I want to get back to painting. In May I've signed up for a 5k walk. I'm going from being a recluse to wanting to be out and about and making friends. I'm even going down to L.A. to see my cousin and her husband in April. It's like life has opened up for me. It feels good.

Thank you for the welcome. I'm going to try to get into being in here. Sometimes I'm not that good about it. But I can't always get to my support meetings so I want to get support any way I can.

Thank you for reading it. It sort of makes me feel good.

Oh is it really inspirational? My surgeon said the same thing. Although I have one word of advice, don't wait until after the surgery to take your surgeon and nutritionist's advice. I've found that my theory of embracing the WLS lifestyle before surgery has give me a lot of help. I bought cookbooks and I go recipe hunting now. I just decided before surgery the only way I was going to survive after surgery when I was in it for life and there was no turning back, was to dive right in before. Started eating the way I would after surgery when I was back on solids. Drink water the way I'm suppose to, take those vitamins. And ask the questions I needed to ask so I mess up before it would hurt me. My surgeon said that was one of the smartest things a patient had ever done. I have no idea if she was telling me the true. But I liked that she said it.

You are so right about everything here. I don't miss caffeine coffee at all, but I missed the taste of coffee. I drink decaf now and not even everyday. Just when I miss the flavor or I want something hot to drink in the morning. This all becomes second nature and you forget how it was before. Or how hard it was to learn. My surgeon waited almost 8 months before giving me a surgery date. Not that I wasn't doing good at losing the weight and making the goals they made for me. But since I was getting two surgeries done at once she wanted my BMI down a little further.

Ahh, okay, I see where you're coming from. Insurance is always weird, but I've talked with other people doing WLS and they were like me, the doctor's office will do what ever it can to get them to approve it. So long as they don't have to lie or cheat. The mental part of it, I was scared too. I have depression and anxiety and a touch of PTSD. I really wasn't sure they would go for this. My psychologist wanted this for me and felt it would help me in the long run. My surgeon's in house counselor felt I could do benefit from it too. As for what they ask you to do. They don't ask you to change your habits overnight. Baby steps are your friends. They told me no caffeine as a pre-op. I was drinking 4 cups of coffee a day. But they were fine with me taking baby steps down to nothing and in the end I was caffeine free for three months before surgery. And at some point after surgery you can go back to it. You may not want to but you can. Some of the things they ask you to do is not forever. Others are. How you eat will be a forever thing. Taking vitamins is another forever and drinking lots of water. You get use to it. They make their judgments based on what you show them you can do. Yes, I have a mental health problem, but I take my meds and I see someone twice a month. They view that as a plus. I was nervous because I had never officially done a diet program. But I did them with my mom while she was signed up for them. And I tried to eat a low fat diet on my own. Shockingly they took that as me trying diet plans. Unless you are completely unwilling to work the program and stick with it, they doctors and their teams are happy to work with you. I really hope that helps.

I was really nervous too when I first started thinking about this. Sadly my first attempt didn't go over to well. However, I wasn't as determined as I was the second time. The first time I was scared and my parents who were my support, didn't support the decision. They made it so hard on me and in the end I just couldn't afford it. The second time they were scared they were going to lose me and the travel time was much less. So the class, you have nothing to worry about. It's a lot of information but they want you to make the right decision. They want to help you. I suggest you take a notepad and a pen and take some notes. It sounds like you probably are not the type to ask questions, that's fine neither am I. But right some down for when you see the surgeon and just give them the paper. It's less stressful that way. Try to take some deep breathes and try to know why you want this. And then focus on that reason. I was terrible anxious and even went into anxiety attacks here and there. A good surgeon will take their time and address your fears and nervousness. They don't want you to do something you will regret. You've got this, but just remember to breathe. And good luck.