Thinking I Am Just To Nervous To Go Through With The Surgery :(

[Izzysnanny 4]

Christine, I am about 20 mins from Albany on the other side of the river!

[Izzysnanny 4]

Better, I hope all goes well for you now you have me thinking that I am going to try a bit harder on my own too, I have a month before my surgery so I have time to try!

[shelleyrn22 78]

My blog from today:

So I had a few minutes to spare and found myself rehashing all the "what if's" of wls. It almost feels like my health and happiness are hinged on this. I guess in a way it is. In my immediate family there is a history of CAD, DM, CVA's, Colon CA, etc. So the reality of it is if I don't lose the weight, the aforementioned is what I have in my future. Not acceptable.

I've lost weight a hundred times over only to gain it right back. I don't eat unhealthy foods, I just eat too much. I exercise about 3x's per week, I drink Water, limit my intake of sodas and I've never smoked a cigarette. I'm 5'2 and about 206lbs today. My belly is about to burst out of my size 14 jeans that are too small, but I continue to wear them anyway (denial). I am sick of painful joints, back pain, being winded with activity, avoiding social events, sleeping all weekend, urinary incontinence and all the other stuff that goes with being fat.

So I was desperate... I am refinancing my first home (2yrs into mortgage) in order to pay for this. My employer has an obesity exclusion on our insurance at work... I expect they'll remove that exclusion as the company grows, but for now I'm on my own.

I could make a list a mile long of "what if's" as to why NOT to have surgery, but instead I choose to focus on the "what if's" as to why it's so crucial for me to have surgery. What if I have a heart attack? What if I am dx'd with Diabetes? What if I have a stroke? What if I get cancer? Who'll take care of my son, my mother, my niece, my employees, etc. Who will fight for what's right for the patients I take care of? Who will grow old with my BFF? The thought of all those haunting questions are much scarier to me than the "what if's" that go with surgery.

When my daddy went in to have an abdominal aneurysm removed he told a friend of his he'd die without the surgery. His buddy asked him "but what if you die from the surgery?" My daddy (always full of advice) simply told him he at least had to try.... and try he did.

I do have some concerns about undergoing major surgery in order to lose weight. It terrifies me. Change is terrifying, but oh so necessary. So why should I have surgery?

Physically - I want to be able to go for a walk or run, I want to not have huge "cankles" at the end of the day, I want to not be out of breath coming back from the mailbox, I want to be free of arthritic pain in my hips, I want to put on clothes without a struggle.

Emotionally - I want to be proud of who I see in the mirror, I want to get off the vicious cycle of weight gain & depression, I want the inner me to like the outter me.

Spiritually - I have no excuse for not going to church, except that I feel so ashamed of the weight I've put on. I know they aren't staring at me, but that is exactly how it feels. I want to be able to go to the altar and worship once again...

Financially - I love my job, but since I've put on the weight I've stopped scheduling speaking engagements (something I LOVE), calling on new accounts, visiting old accounts, speaking at meetings, etc. It's almost like I've given up on me. So the more of all that stuff I do, the more money I can make

Socially - I have no social life anymore. I hate going to anything where there is a crowd of people. I avoid it all costs. My clothes are too small, I feel horrible and I just wind up miserable. I have the most amazing boyfriend who LOVES to get out and socialize and yet he's stuck with me... at home... every weekend.

So there ya go... I don't feel like I really have a choice. It's either another yo-yo round of dieting with impending disappointment from the scales or a true lifestyle change... I'm 40yrs old and I have so much living and loving left to do. This is for a better me so I can be a better mom, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, girlfriend, boss and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

Here's to the living, loving and laughing that is yet to come!

[Stirling2002 2]

What made me chage my mind were several things. I am a very intensive researcher and i research like crazy before i put any pills' date=' Vitamins, choose hair dye, surgery etc...so i did my homework with a lot of passion on this topic. I did all my exams...endoscopy, nut..and psych...however as the day was approaching, i started getting deppressed and tried to figure out what lead me to want to cut out my stomach as a last resort of loosing weight. I analyzed that the stomach is the biggest producer of the hormone, grehlin. Even though it is produced in other parts of the body, the stomach is the biggest producer. That hormone is responsible for memory. So i didnt want to take the chance of getting alzheimers later in life. I also learned so much with my NUT that i began to think...i am such a successful business person. I am a great mother and wife and have many successes...so why cant i pt some effort in actually excersicing and learning how to eat right instead of going to the extreme of doing something that is not reversable. Alsoall the juices and enzymes will no longer be in the stomach and the sleeve is a fairly new procedure. There is not enough data to plot the results of people for more than six years. As soon as i made the decision not to get it done, i felt like a huge load had been lifted from me. Those were my reasons. I did not want to risk it. I rather challenge myself to the weight loss and put a bit more effort in learning what, how much and when to eat.[/quote']

In my research and talking to my doctor, the sleeve is newish for weight loss alone. However, removal of large portions of the stomach can be common for other illnesses. It's part one of two for the duodenal switch and is used for stomach illnsses such as cancer.

Best wishes to you. At least your bmi is smaller. Mine is 46-47. Stacie.

[atkinsoncl 62]

I was sleeved on 4/4. I completely went through the same emotions you are going through. It is very common. I actually thought about backing out when I was doing my preop diet. When I was going through all the preop classes, I was 100% certain this is what I wanted to do. As the time got closer to surgery, I thought about cancelling it. Then I had to try to reconvince myself that this will be good for me. I went through with the surgery, even though I had a complete breakdown going into the operating room. Can there be complications, sure, all surgeries have a risk of complications. BUT, the risks are not as great as being obese. In the end, I'm three weeks postop today and have lost 25 lbs. All in all, I am happy I decided to stick with it.

This is your decision and only you can make it. We are here to support you in whatever you decide. Good luck and please keep us posted!