My Turn

Fly · March 2, 2011

Hi Guys,

So, I have been reading here and OH for a year now and It's finally time that I feel I should post.

A year ago, I was going through all kinds of health issues. It started when I went to the doctor for a physical and he sent me straight to the ER. My blood pressure was 210/120. It was bad. I had been having headaches and chest pains.

It got so bad that I took myself out of work while they figured out what was wrong with me. After much testing we found out that I am pre-diabetic. The cause of my chest pain was a hiatal hernia. The rest it turns out after 3 months of testing was sleep apnea. I have severe OSA with 57 events per hour and a pressure setting of 14.

At the time, my doctor recommended that I contact someone that he knew that had had VSG. I was very apprehensive especially since the surgery had been done in Mexico. I talked with this gentleman a lot and I continued to read here and OH for the past year. I will say that this is the better site.

Anyway, after a year I'm sad to say that I haven't done anything more than consider to read each and every day. Many of you I have started to feel like I know. I feel that it is finally time I join the "losers bench"

I'm 34 in 2 days, 6'0' tall and weigh 380. I've lost 100lbs to gain 150. I'm in the worst shape of my life. Things just don't get better. I'm on more medications than I care to count. I eat Advil like it's candy. I do lead an active lifestyle in ways, but my weight is really getting to me and holding me back. I can't take it any longer.

About 2 weeks ago, I contacted the original VSG person that my doctor had put me in touch with. I talked with him again for a while. He offered to put me in touch with other friends of his who had the surgery. I did. I spent hours on the phone with them. I was convinced.

I must say, it was easy convincing my family, friends, and roommates that this was the thing for me. Even with my best friend and my uncle both being doctors. They were the most skeptical last year. today they are the most supportive. They went and learned about the procedure and about my surgeon because of me. As one put it "You've got to go see this guy" (Dr. Aceves).

My girlfriend has been the hardest to convince, but now she says shes for it. She's just worried about me. I understand that. Especially not just after talking to the other VSG patients, but I got to talk to a spouse as well.

So, I made the bold move. I called Dr. Aceves office last week and told them I was ready to schedule. I wanted to do it while my girlfriend is on spring break from her job, but Dr. Aceves is out, so I scheduled the next week. My mom will have to go with me. I'm scheduled to arrive 3/23 and surgery on 3/24.

I work for an airline. As it turns out since we travel everywhere, I have a world wide insurance policy. I am going through the approval process for insurance. But, I also have the money to self pay. I will self pay. If insurance comes through before or after then great. They can pay for it or pay me back. Either way I don't care. I am choosing Dr. Aceves because from what I've read he is simply the best. Even though insurance may pay for it, I want no one else to do it. Everyone I talked to had him do their surgery and they could have gone anywhere.

For those of you active on this board, thank you! Thanks, for giving me so much info to read over the past year. It has been so very helpful. To anyone considering this that has reservations, I'll be the first to tell you that I do too, but, there are so many people that have gone before me that they can't all be lying. Perhaps they are, just wanting company, but I doubt it. I'll happily join them.

So, everyone, I'm sure I'll have many questions for you guys over the next couple of months. Please be patient with me.

And finally, MAKE ROOM ON THE LOSER's BENCH FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fly

snowfie9 · March 2, 2011

Welcome welcome! There's always room for one more.

Is Dr. Acevedos in Mexico? That was one thing I really did not want to do. Not that I think the quality of care would be less in Mexico neccessarily, I just really don't want to fly a couple thousand miles, get surgery, and then fly back wtih my stiches and everything.

There's (from everything I can tell) a very decent bariatric center about 45min drive away (I could even take a train instead of drive). That beats cramped airplane seats any day of the week. And I'll be with my family the whole step of the way.

Nina in Seattle · March 7, 2011

I wish you all the best. I'm reading and reading and probably going to go with this doctor as well. Thanks for sharing your story.

I've got a small procedure coming up that won't allow me to have the GS till June but truthfully, I'm at the point where I can't wait to get this done and begin a new life. I've read "Women, food and God" by Geneen Roth and formed a small support group of women who love her work as it will be more important than ever to learn how to deal with my emotions rather than eating over them, so that's my game plan for changing my life (I'm 300 and 5'8 and 58 years old): surgery and working on the rest with the help of a support group, maybe therapy, etc. Someone also told me that Marianne Williamsen's new book, "A Course in Weight Loss" is phenominal so I'm buying that today. Anything that adds the emotional/spritual component to this journey, will, I believe, help me keep the weight off, and at some point, allow me to live free of this insane obsession with food.< /p>

Of course, one GS surgeon who I recently saw, in order to begin the WLS discussion, asked me how many women in my little support group of 6 women, were 30-40 lbs overweight vs 100+. I told him it's half and half. He said this matched what he'd found as well. That even though ALL of us are emotional eaters, living lives that are RULED by food, it's the hormones in the stomach, among other physical factors that make the difference. No one really knows why some of us who are overeaters, only gain a little, and some a lot, but I"m sure it's any number of metabolic and hormonal differences because those "thinner" members tell me what they eat and it's not much different from the way I eat. I'm lucky as these women FULLY support me doing whatever surgery I need, and I'm very grateful for this.

Wow...didn't mean to go on that long. Just wanted to wish you luck! Looking forward to reports on how you are doing, and how Dr. A treated you.

Nina

Hi Guys,

So, I have been reading here and OH for a year now and It's finally time that I feel I should post.

A year ago, I was going through all kinds of health issues. It started when I went to the doctor for a physical and he sent me straight to the ER. My blood pressure was 210/120. It was bad. I had been having headaches and chest pains.