Journey to a new me.....

[yllwrose]

Hi there! I just had my consultation appointment last week, and thought that I would check out this support site.

I'm 28 yrs old and have hit my highest weight of 300lbs. I have already had two back surgeries and my spine surgeon recommended me to the bariatric program to lose weight. If I don't lose the weight, I have more back surgeries ahead of me.

So here I am, at the beginning of the road to my new life, to the new me.

I'm looking forward to progressing through the steps up to surgery and those that face me after surgery.

I'm also looking forward to reading about others' experiences and hopefully being able to help others with mine.

 

[wolvesden54]

Good luck! Hope things go well for you!!!

 

[Karenina]

Welcome to the group. It's a good one.

 

[AndreaK]

I know how you feel, I started my journey at the end of June this year. I went to an informational session. I had looked into the different hospital and surgeons doing the procedure in my area and picked Tampa General Hospital because they had a full program of nutrition, counseling and support groups, pre and post opt. After much work this summer gathering medical records, test, labs, stress test and this week an Upper GI, I'm now waiting for my surgery date that will probably be in the next three weeks. I'm so excited to get to the second part of this journey. Learning a new way of eating. I'm much older than you, I'm 66 but I have always considered myself young for my age. I've gained a lot of weight since my hip replacement surgery 10 years ago, and now I have diabetes. I really don't want to slow down my life at this point because I'm overweight. I still like to Kayak, bicycling, boating and would really love to walk a lot more again. I have grandchildren that I need to keep up with. I do all these things now but it wears me out and it difficult at times. I will be doing all this with less effort soon. Make this journey about you, take care of you. You will do well. It will be a good one.

 

[okieatheart]

Hi yllwrose,

I'm excited for you. I hope the surgeon has a dietician, physical therapist, and psychologist for you to go through the process. I think it really helped me prepare for the changes. I've lost 60 pounds since May, which is something I never could have done without the surgery. I'm down 91 pounds since my highest weight of 278 and I feel great. I'm so glad I had it done. I had the sleeve gastrectomy. You will probably still have some cravings that you had before (chips are a problem for me), but I only eat a few then move on and don't have them everyday! I was a soda addict and I've only had a few sips since surgery and I find that I don't crave it like I did. I drink mostly Crystal Light type drinks. If I drink plenty during the day, it helps fill me up. Also, I can't eat much at a time, so it is great. I do try to eat mostly protein, vegetables, and fruit. I was getting kind of hungry about a month after surgery and saw someone's youtube video that said she started taking her antacid medicine and it helped. The acid was causing her to think she was hungry. I started taking my Protonix faithfully and I think it helped.

I'm so happy that I had the surgery. I can bend over sitting in a chair and pick something up off the floor...woo hoo! I know that sounds simple, but those are the changes that I'm excited about as well as the weight loss. When I hold my granddaughter, I actually have a lap for her to sit on and I can get in the floor and play with her.

I'll be looking forward to seeing your progress and wish you the best!

Okieatheart

 

[Cheyenne]

Andrea, I too am an older patient, having had the surgery last June. I am 64 yrs old and I am doing well. I am so glad I had the surgery.. I had a car accident about 7yrs ago and broke my arm and my knees were slammed into the dash board. I have never been the same since. Sitting around in pain caused me to gain weight and although I had been heavy for years I had always been very active. Then I got pneumonia and I ended up with damaged lungs. I was afraid of the surgery but knew I had to do something about my weight. My surgery went great. I feel so much better... I am sooo happy this weight is coming off. I still have a long way to go but I am on my way!!! I hope your journey will be as great as mine!

I know how you feel, I started my journey at the end of June this year. I went to an informational session. I had looked into the different hospital and surgeons doing the procedure in my area and picked Tampa General Hospital because they had a full program of nutrition, counseling and support groups, pre and post opt. After much work this summer gathering medical records, test, labs, stress test and this week an Upper GI, I'm now waiting for my surgery date that will probably be in the next three weeks. I'm so excited to get to the second part of this journey. Learning a new way of eating. I'm much older than you, I'm 66 but I have always considered myself young for my age. I've gained a lot of weight since my hip replacement surgery 10 years ago, and now I have diabetes. I really don't want to slow down my life at this point because I'm overweight. I still like to Kayak, bicycling, boating and would really love to walk a lot more again. I have grandchildren that I need to keep up with. I do all these things now but it wears me out and it difficult at times. I will be doing all this with less effort soon. Make this journey about you, take care of you. You will do well. It will be a good one.