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The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step... (Lao Tsu)

AmericanBrandy

AmericanBrandy

Member
...and I just took it!
Hi everyone! My name is Brandy and I'm a noob. :D
I live in Northern Va - the Capitol region, my front porch is almost exactly 20 miles from the White House front porch! Yesterday I met with the Bariatric surgery team at the National Military Medical Center - Bethesda, where I will be having my surgery, eventually. I have to take a few steps to get there but I'm looking forward to the journey.
About me: I was born and raised a military brat and was a military wife for 20 years - I spent 1/2 my life overseas so I have many adventures to tell! I have a nearly 21 year old son who is a junior in college (BOOMER SOONER!) and an amazing ten year old son who has high functioning autism, with my ex. My SO and I have a gorgeous two year old Princess together.
I have struggled with my weight ever since the birth of my first son 21 years ago. Now, I'm turning 40 this year and I'm already on Lipitor, have a c-pap machine for sleep apnea and I'm on daily aspirin therapy. Oh yeah, and I've lived with the pain of fibromyalgia for nearly 16 years now. I have a wicked medical family history and I'm headed for the slippery slope of my elders if I don't get healthy - quickly!
Which, of course, brings me here, to this forum! I'm eager to explore it, learn from the experiences of others and, most of all, make new friends!
I very much look forward to getting to know all of you, and your stories and sharing mine with you!
Brandy
 
Welcome to the forum, Brandy. I, too, did not gain my weight until I was an adult. In my case I started college at the age of 32 (when my oldest kid started high school) weighing 140.
Six years and 2 degrees later, I weighed over 200 pounds. I think it was the junk food, beer, and chocolate chip cookies that was my diet for 6 years!
Lots of family history of obesity, so I didn't think much about it until I reached Social Security age and realized that 100 extra pounds wasn't going anywhere.
My biggest fear is diabetes, which, cross fingers, I don't have yet.
PS I have an autistic grandson, but he's not very high functioning-- no speech, still in diapers at age 10.
 
Karenina said:
Welcome to the forum, Brandy. I, too, did not gain my weight until I was an adult. In my case I started college at the age of 32 (when my oldest kid started high school) weighing 140.
Six years and 2 degrees later, I weighed over 200 pounds. I think it was the junk food, beer, and chocolate chip cookies that was my diet for 6 years!
Lots of family history of obesity, so I didn't think much about it until I reached Social Security age and realized that 100 extra pounds wasn't going anywhere.
My biggest fear is diabetes, which, cross fingers, I don't have yet.
PS I have an autistic grandson, but he's not very high functioning-- no speech, still in diapers at age 10.
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Hi, Karenina! Thank you so much for the welcome! =) My family history is rife with obesity, heart attacks, tumors/cancers, blood pressure problems, strokes and diabetes. Like you, my biggest fear is diabetes at the moment because I'm "pre-diabetic". That, and my liver is apparently a bit on the chunky side, lol.

I realize I am so very lucky that my son is high-functioning - he's VERY much like Max on the tv show Parenthood and I imagine he'll grow up to be like Sheldon on the tv show Big Bang Theory. He can be...challenging....but he's verbal now (used sign language until he was 4) through lots and lots interventions, therapies and treatment. Life is a daily struggle for him and just one of the reasons I am doing this surgery is that he needs me to be healthy and to be able to help him for quite some time, even into adulthood. Unfortunately, his dad enjoys being a weekend daddy but isn't invested in treatment/therapy, education, etc. so I'm all he's got, in that regard.

Anyway, thank you again for the warm welcome. And congrats on going back to school and earning two degrees!!! Fantastic!!
 
hi brandy, i too am a noob. i have read many posts and done a lot of research. i am in my early 70s and just took my first step also. i met last night with my surgeon to be. he held his seminar last evening. there must have been 50 potential patients there. when i first began this journey i was told to call my insurance and ask certain questions. i asked those questions and got no satisfaction. but through due duligence i finally got an answer from a nutritionist whose first seminar i attended. she finally got me the answers i needed to know that i can get the surgery i needed. i started all of this process last july. i started to diet because i figured if i cant have the surgery i must do something to get my weight down. i started at 263 and am down to 246. i was down to 242. so you can see that the trending upward is already starting. i have sleep apnea,diabetes ll, cardiovascular disease. i am having this surgery to add more years to my life. if it does even half of what they say regarding the aforementioned medical problems,the wl will be a bonus. i am excited and moving forward. i have some friends who support this and some who do not. but that is life. it is my decsion to make and after last nights meetin i am moving forward. the good thing about this is that my daughter has decided to have the plication and will probably have the surgery before i complete my process. she weight exactly the same as i do.
 
Hi polo4058, and welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are well on your way to your goals of better health. what is a noob?
 
Brandy-Welcome to the forum and congratulations on considering WLS. It is a journey indeed. All of the pre-op testing takes a long time and can sometimes be frustrating. I found the blood draws to be the most uncomfortable but only because I am a difficult draw. On the plus side, once they found a good vein (took 5 or 6 tries) they were able to take enough to fill all the vials without having to poke me again :)

I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures as a military brat and wife. When I was 19 I wanted to join the AF but had to lose weight in order to qualify. Although I managed to lose most of it I couldn't quite make it :( Both of my brother's served in the milatary as did a lot of my relatives. For some reason no one wants to talk about their "adventures" *LOL*
 
Welcome aboard Brandy. I'm a noob too. Nice to have someone along for the ride with me.
I too have a lot of military in my background. Chat me up sometime.
 
polo4058 said:
hi brandy, i too am a noob. i have read many posts and done a lot of research. i am in my early 70s and just took my first step also. i met last night with my surgeon to be. he held his seminar last evening. there must have been 50 potential patients there. when i first began this journey i was told to call my insurance and ask certain questions. i asked those questions and got no satisfaction. but through due duligence i finally got an answer from a nutritionist whose first seminar i attended. she finally got me the answers i needed to know that i can get the surgery i needed. i started all of this process last july. i started to diet because i figured if i cant have the surgery i must do something to get my weight down. i started at 263 and am down to 246. i was down to 242. so you can see that the trending upward is already starting. i have sleep apnea,diabetes ll, cardiovascular disease. i am having this surgery to add more years to my life. if it does even half of what they say regarding the aforementioned medical problems,the wl will be a bonus. i am excited and moving forward. i have some friends who support this and some who do not. but that is life. it is my decsion to make and after last nights meetin i am moving forward. the good thing about this is that my daughter has decided to have the plication and will probably have the surgery before i complete my process. she weight exactly the same as i do.
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Hi, Polo! Thank you so much for the welcome and for sharing your story with me! Congrats on the weight you have lost so far! You have mentioned two of my fears/concerns I share...one, one of my surgeon's requirements is that I lose 10 pounds prior to surgery. 10 pounds doesn't seem like much but when you have Fibromyalgia, losing ten pounds can be excruciatingly difficult. I'll get it done but it's definitely going to be one of my hurdles to overcome for this surgery. Two, I have yet to tell any of my larger circle of friends...only my immediate family and super close friends know and I;m not sure when I'll decide to share with everyone else. I know the questions will come as soon as my slimmer photos show up on Facebook. I'm waffling with how to handle it because I know some people will not be as supportive as others.
It's great that your daughter is also having the surgery, you'll be a fantastic support to each other! =) Thanks again for welcoming me! =)
 
Pat99 said:
Brandy-Welcome to the forum and congratulations on considering WLS. It is a journey indeed. All of the pre-op testing takes a long time and can sometimes be frustrating. I found the blood draws to be the most uncomfortable but only because I am a difficult draw. On the plus side, once they found a good vein (took 5 or 6 tries) they were able to take enough to fill all the vials without having to poke me again :)

I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures as a military brat and wife. When I was 19 I wanted to join the AF but had to lose weight in order to qualify. Although I managed to lose most of it I couldn't quite make it :( Both of my brother's served in the milatary as did a lot of my relatives. For some reason no one wants to talk about their "adventures" *LOL*
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Pat, thank you very much for the welcome! My pre-op checklist isn't as long and drawn out as I thought it would be...I'm hoping I can get all the requirements done so I can have my surgery in January, right after the holidays.
I'd love to share some of my "adventures" with you, any time..and I'll try to share as I move through the forum, too. My adventures as a "dependent" aren't nearly as exciting as the adventures the active duty members have, though. Most of my adventures are about living overseas. I have lived in Guam (2x), New Zealand, Spain (2x) and Japan as well as traveled overseas quite a bit. As for the US, I've lived on all three US coasts and landlocked Oklahoma, as well.
Thanks again for the welcome, I look forward to getting to know you! =)
 
mergatroid said:
Welcome aboard Brandy. I'm a noob too. Nice to have someone along for the ride with me.
I too have a lot of military in my background. Chat me up sometime.
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Thanks for the welcome, Mergatroid! I'd love to chat sometime! I see your surgery is right around the corner, you must be really excited!!! =)
 
Hi Brandy, Welcome. You don't have to tell anyone you don't want to about your desicion to have WLS, it is a personal decision and not every one needs to know, especially those that might not be supportive to any choice you make, they will know that somethings changed about you when you start getting thinner and your energy picks up and then you can decide to let them know or not. So keep those that support you and are closest to you in know, they will also be some of your best supporters when you get out of surgery in the hospital. :cool: Tom
 
I agree with Tom. Don't feel compelled to tell everyone you know you are having WLS. Right now I am telling no one except the people I live with and I will tell my boss when my surgery is scheduled. I've heard there are 2 kinds of WLS patients--those who want to shout it out from the rooftops, and those who want to keep the information private.
 
Karenina said:
I agree with Tom. Don't feel compelled to tell everyone you know you are having WLS. Right now I am telling no one except the people I live with and I will tell my boss when my surgery is scheduled. I've heard there are 2 kinds of WLS patients--those who want to shout it out from the rooftops, and those who want to keep the information private.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the advice, Tom and Karenina! I'm usually an "oversharer" on Facebook because so much of my family lives so far away and it's how we keep up with each other but on this issue, I'm just not ready to field the questions and comments - I still have so many questions myself! IF I choose to share with my other family and friends, it will likely be the day before surgery or the day right after, lol. That's IF I decide to share. I'm on the fence about it and just willing to play it by ear for now and tell others whenever it feels right. if it never feels right then that's ok, too! =)
Thanks again, I really appreciate the welcome, the support and the advice.
 
Hi, AmericanBrandy,

And Welcome. As the others have said, tis a very personal decision.

My son (mgb 08-10-12) told:
1. me (10 hours away)
2. his live-in-lady
3. his lady's immediately family - somebody had to watch the farm while they were gone for five days
4. his boss - necessary for time off and explanations as to why he would be unable to haul himself up into the cab of his 18 wheeler repeatedly for a couple of weeks.

He did not tell:
1. his children (the youngest is 16 - 5 hours away)
2. his stepmom (5 hours away)
3. his half-siblings (5 hours away)
4. his friends, either local or in other states
5. his co-workers.

Although it is early days yet, he is confident it was the right decision for him.

Whatever decision you make, I hope you are at peace with it. It will be the right one for you.
 
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Hi Brandy,

I am also a noob!! I had my seminar last month and am starting the the requirements by my insurance to get the surgery covered. I have to do a 6 month physician supervised diet program. With my BMI being at 42 the doctor feels it would be still "safe" for me to lose around 25lbs in this 6 months. My BMI would still be high enough that they shouldn't deny me my surgery. Also it puts me at a healthier weight to have the surgery! I'm in my second month. Last month I lost 5 lbs. I love reading the stories and learning as much about the surgery as I can. My husband and Mother tell me I obsess over it, but I feel you could never be too educated. And with as long as this surgery has been around, I feel that each and every trial and tribulation has been gone through by SOMEONE. And I feel it would be better to know if I run into something, Hey I read about somebody else saying they had this. Call me a nerd but that is the way I am!! Good luck on everything and keep us posted!!
 
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