Just Approved! And Scared As Hell ....

[wanttobeamoore 1]

So, I started the pre-screening process in August of last year. I picked a great facility with a full staff of surgeons, dieticians and psychologists, but I took my time with it because I didn't hadn't made up my mind yet about whether or not I wanted the surgery. Well, I just got my letter yesterday that I was approved by the insurance company, but the only problem is, I STILL haven’t made up my mind. When I got the letter and my fiancé read it off "approved!" I was not happy. I should have felt happiness, right? Relief? No, I just felt pressure. Now it is crunch time and I need to make a decision.

A quick background: I am 29 years old and was born into an obese family. We were raised to believe ‘if you’re fat, it’s ok and if people don’t like you for it, that’s their own fault!’ My mom fell at work about 5 years ago and broke her leg, had to have surgery to fix it, and never able to fully recover because of her weight. PT was too difficult for her, and then she began to experience more problems, like bed sores and cellulitis. She is confined to a hospital bed at her home and we are now her nurses. My bf of 10 years proposed to me on Xmas and everyone began to get really excited about the wedding, especially my mom. She overdid it in PT, and fell again a few weeks ago. She broke her leg again. Truth be told, I am not even sure she will be able to make it to my wedding next summer.

I don’t want these kinds of health problems. My fiancé and I are also ready for kids of our own and I need to lose about 100 more pounds before a healthy pregnancy is possible. So I really need to make a decision …

I have told a few people here and there that I am considering this and have gotten mixed reviews. Of course, I am not the kind of person to let others make up my mind for me, but part of me does wonder if I can do it without the surgery. I have already lost 65 pounds. The logic I have been hearing is "why can’t you just keep doing what you’re doing?" I can feel myself chickening out. I guess I am just not 100% confident that this is a last resort for me. I have dieted in the past, lost weight and gained it back, but I am second-guessing whether or not I really gave it my all.

Did anyone else go through this stage fright before having the VGS, and if so how did you overcome it? Any thoughts at all are welcome. I am just scared. Thank you all for reading this.

[kimmy*custis 276]

I think you just answered your own question. You dont want to have the issues your mom does, you want to start a family, you have lost and regained weight...sounds like you want to do this...you are just scared...and so is everyone to an extent. It is all about what you want...what everyone else thinks doesnt matter. You just need to sit down and really think about the big picture and where you want to be...You need to be ready mentally for this and I think you are so close. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat...sheesh, wish I had done it sooner. I was a little nervous at first but the more I read on the subject I knew it was for me. I woke up after surgery and said to myself.....I was scared...for nothing! Best of luck on your decision...keep us posted.

[chitowngirl 885]

Yes your reaction is normal. Trust me when I say if you could easily be living that healthy thin life, you would be. Unfortunately some of us being healthy is a challenge and our genes are just plain working against us. I also come from a big family, and I am the first one brave enought to have the sleeve done, I can tell you for sure I won't be the only one, my cousins & aunts and inlaws are starting to ask ?'s about the sleeve.

The truth is for people like us the odds are against us, even when we lose weight on our own chances are we are going to gain it all back and then some. The one thing people on this forum always wish is that they would have done it sooner in life. This is your chance, seize it.

[mokee 588]

Please don't let this scare you. You are young and you see what your mother is going through every day of her life. My mother was very obese and in a wheel chair for over 10 years. When I was young I became very obese and really missed a huge portion of my life because of it. I am 65 now with all the health problems including insulin dependent diabetes. I am going to go through with it and I am also very scared because of my age. But if this had been available to me years ago I would have hoped I had gone for it. Maybe a lot of things would have been different. I still have to hope this will give me a better quality of life.

Mokee

[AliveAgain 283]

I am 36 and was not born into an obese family, but I have been yo-yo'ing with my weight for 20 years. I was sick of it. My husband and I want to try to have kids, if it's not too late. But I needed to lose about 100-130 pounds to be healthy enough to get pregnant, and have a healthy baby.

The first time I had to lose weight was only about 20 pounds (college). Then later in life after a bad break up, another 40 pounds. I could always get it off and keep it off for a while, but then as soon as life got hectic and hard -- it would come right back on. This last time, I gained 100 pounds in a single year. Then another 40 over the next year. This weight just wasn't coming off so easily. I'd lose 20-30 pounds here and there, then gain it all back as soon as I lost focus. And I'll say having a full-size stomach was not helping me. The heavier I was, the more I dealt with emotions with food. It's not like before when I could deal with emotions with getting outside, planning trips, going to the gym. I was in a vicious cycle and needed to get out to save my life.

Getting the sleeve was the right direction for me. I needed the tool of a smaller capacity stomach so that I could break the cycle of dealing with negative emotions with food. I wasn't a fast food person per se, we don't keep sweets and chips in the house. It wasn't about my food choices so much as about the quantity and my habits (going all day without eating, then having two portions of Pasta at dinner). Now, I'm so much the normal person it's scary. I can eat anything that is good for me, in the right size portions, and I'm exercising like crazy which is keeping my stress in check.

I applaud anyone who can get the weight off on their own -- but the bigger battle is keeping it off, for the rest of your life. I just knew with my history that even if I lost 130 pounds on my own, that I was very likely going to put it back on sometime in the next five years. The surgery gives me the peace of mind that I will always have this tool to my disposal, keeping me vigilant.