Just starting out and scared

[vickiemo 6]

Hi Debbie,

I am almost exactly in the same situation you are. I turned 50 in the Fall and finally made the decision to do the Gastric Sleeve. It seems my health is getting worse every year. I went to my first consultation. The folks in the Bariatric Clinic were amazing. I didn't feel judged. When I left they gave me a list of "to dos". The first thing was to get a sleep Study. I wasn't sure I needed that but I did it. When I got the results I was shocked. I have been diagnosed with Severe Obstructive sleep Apnea. Basically I stop breathing in my sleep!!! I did it like 97 times in one hour! So I continued with that process and now I am the proud owner of a CPAP machine. It's not sexy but I'm not interested in suffocating myself. I am in my first week with it and it has been quite the transition. There are several more steps to take, but so far I am learning how I have not been taking care of myself. This process is not easy but based on feedback I have received, it is so worth. "You'll wish you had done it sooner". Do this for you. You deserve it.

[walklady 31]

I just made the decision to have gastric sleeve surgery and have a seminar to attend in 2 weeks to kick off the process. This is the scariest thing I have ever done and keep trying to talk myself out of it. I am 50, have about 125-130 lbs to lose, and am in constant pain from being so big. I know I need to do this but how does everyone get past the fear of something going wrong? Thanks for any input/suggestions you have.

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I saw one of my student's mom who looked great and revealed she had been sleeved. I got some info from her and decided to start researching it. I had never considered doing anything like that before. Seeing her look so happy and losing weight really got me kinda excited to possibly getting the surgery. My best advice for you is research and read as much as possible. Right now I am reading "The Big Book on Gastric Sleeve" on my kindle. I have also read "The Sleeved Life." I have watched many YouTube videos of people who have had it done, the good and bad. I even watched a gastric sleeve surgery on there too.

I went to the seminar on 1/10 and saw the surgeon to see what my insurance requires. I really like my surgeon and his staff. They made me feel very comfortable and were very encouraging.

Knowledge is power!

Take care!

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[Debbie9966 36]

Thanks everyone! This is what I really need right now. I know I need to do this for my health. I am more worried now hearing about the pre-op fasting. I have been cutting back a little to lose the weight my family doctor asked me to do and I am uncomfortably hungry. I am going to have to try to sleep a lot during that time.

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[kar12345 74]

It's a journey and pre op diet not too bad. I started sampling Protein Shakes early on, and it seem to help me with the transition to pre op and post op diet. All the appointments, information and tests seemed a little overwhelming at times, but take it day by day!!

[Mzdiggs 169]

One step at a time, one day at a time. When I finally decided that I needed to do this because I was taking an astronomical amount of insulin I stopped thinking about it. I said to myself that I could back at anytime I wanted just keep going through the process. One day while I was sitting in my office I got a call telling me my surgery date. I was dumbfounded but kept moving horwarḍ and not thinking about. By the time I really engaged in where is was in the process I was in the recovery room. Don't think just do.