Hopefully On The Gastric Sleeve Journey

[Tif 2.0 141]

I can't believe this I am approaching the 5th appt of my 6 month medically supervised diet. It seems like I've had a never ending calendar of appts to get this far.

I am nervous and excited all rolled up in one. I'm not even that nervous for the surgery. I'm more nervous that my insurance company is going to deny me. I honestly don't see how but you never know.

I am so tired of being fat. I mean REALLY tired. I have a 5 year old son that took me 10 years to conceive and I can barely keep up with him.

My family history is rife with diabetes and I don't want it. My grandma passed away at 52 and my mom is dying a slow and wasting death from diabetes.

So far though, other than sleep apnea I've been able to keep other co-morbidities away. Blood sugar is fine, BP is fine, Cholesterol is fine, etc. I want them to stay fine. The only thing that isn't fine is my weight. I could lose 1/2 my body weight right now and be a normal sized person.

I went to the informational seminar in August and found out my husband's insurance will cover the surgery. Originally, I went with the intention of getting Lap Band, however, during the seminar I liked the sleeve more. Until then, I had never heard of it. I've had to do a sleep study, EGD, Nutritional Visit, Psych Eval, 6 month medically supervised diet. I still have 1 more set of blood work labs to do and a chest xray of which I will be doing both next week. Then I will have my last followup diet appt the 1st week of January. Everything will be submitted and hopefully approved. If everything goes well and as planned I could have my surgery as early as Jan 27th. It seems like such a long journey from August, but I am so ready.

I am ready for the next part of my life to begin.

[Lissa 2,631]

Tiffani, Congrats on choosing a healthier life for yourself. I have a family history of diabetes as well, including a son who has Type 1 diabetes. My father, paternal grandmother, maternal aunt and uncles, and several other family members have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. I was pre-diabetic myself prior to surgery, but I've been told that particular condition is resolving quickly with my weight loss.

Watching the toll diabetes takes on others is a strong motivator to have the surgery, isn't it?

It looks like you are jumping through the insurance hoops, so they should approve you when the time comes to submit. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, but I think you're going to do fine.

Good luck with your journey!!

[Tif 2.0 141]

Thanks Lissa! Diabetes is the clincher for me. I'm 37 and I am determined not to follow down the same path my mom. My grandma had Type I diabetes. My mom is Type II and for awhile she controlled it through her diet but then she just stopped trying to control it and figured she could eat whatever she wanted and double up on insulin.

My great aunt passed away 5 years ago from kidney failure. I was holding her hand in the hospice (The same one my grandma died in) when she took her last breath. The last 5 years of her life were horrid. It was so debilitating. Her father, my great grandfather had both of his legs amputated.

My biggest fear about the surgery is not the surgery itself, it is the insurance approval. I've done Jenny Craig 3 times and each time I get to a certain point and then my body just does not want to lose anymore than that even though I could stand to lose at least another 60 lbs after that. I have no problems going to the gym. In fact I go everyday on my lunch for 30 minutes, on Thursday evenings I go for another hour while my son is in karate and Friday, Sat and Sunday I go walk for an hour and a half on the treadmill. I think just that I am able to do that has at least kept most of the co-morbidities away, except for the sleep apnea.

I know how and what to eat. At my son's most recent well check visit, his pediatrician asked him "What do you like to eat?" My son's response "Carrots, Broccoli, Ants on a Log (Celery w/peanut butter and raisins), Salmon on the barbecue, string cheese and some stinky cheese but not all stinky cheese, apple slices, grapes and strawberries and steak" I was FLOORED. I couldn't believe he didn't say chicken nuggets, pizza, corn dogs, etc. This was his first visit to this pediatrician so I had no clue he was going to ask R that so I didn't coach him at all. LOL! The doctor asked if he liked soda and he said, "I don't drink soda because it's not healthy." We have soda in my house for my husband. I stopped drinking it in August for the most part when I started on this journey. Occasionally I will have 1/2 of a coke. I told his pediatrician that when I plan the menu for the week, I always let R have one night where he picks what we will have for dinner. Sometimes it will be pizza and carrot sticks, other times it will be pork chops and broccoli. My parents always bought the cheap processed food and forced us to eat everything on our plate or we'd get spankings for not finishing our food. It is so ingrained in me that I physically have to stop myself from eating everything on R's plate if he doesn't finish. I NEVER make him finish everything on his plate, except for veggies. If he says he's not hungry, I don't make him eat but he doesn't get anything else the rest of the night. Usually about 30 minutes later, he'll come to the table and eat the rest of his food. He's a husky kid so I'm not afraid of him wasting away. LOL!

I just want better for him and I want to be around to guide him along the way.

[Paola 62]

Hopefully we will both soon be on the loser's bench. My family tree is also full of diabetes, and other medical issues like hypertension and high blood pressure. I have been over 200 pounds since I was 12 years old! I used to yo-yo diet alot, but I'd always gain it back. I have faith that vsg is going to help me lose the weight and keep it off, and I am sure it will do the same for you!