Starting The Journey

krissymae88

Hi everyone,

My name is Krissy and I just wanted to say that I really love this group! I have just come to the personal decision that WLS is going to be a necessary tool for me to achieve the healthy life I want in the future. Reading through the past discussions of this group is really helping me feel secure in my decision and the support I am seeing in the posts is beautiful!
I have an info session and my initial consultation with my doctor next week...so I am very early on in my journey. I am trying to stay realistic and I do not expect to be approved right away. I am most likely going to have to do a 6 month diet with my doctor first...which is frustrating, but I understand why that is helpful and necessary. Overall, I just want to start the process and trust that everything will turn out the way it is supposed to.
So anyone who would like some more pals, please add me! I'd love to share in the support and encouragement of this group. Also, if anyone has any advice on how to keep my patience and stay positive in this early stage of the process, I would love to hear it

hockey7fan

If you have already been following a weight loss plan of some kind, you might see if your doctor will write a letter stating that. I had been logging on MFP and following Weight Watchers and while my doctor wasn't supervising it directly, she wrote a letter to the insurance company that I had been doing it and had not been successful and she felt the surgery was the best option for me.

Just keep the end goal in mind. Make sure you find out what all of your insurance requirements are - one of my insurance requirements was that I had to have a mammogram! I also had to have a bone density test, EKG, chest X-ray, H pylori test, endoscopy, pregnancy test, psychiatric evaluation and sleep study. But it went really fast.

The time prior to the surgery will get you used to changing eating habits and your relationship with food. Get rid of the junk and start focusing on summer fruits and veggies. It's a head game as much as it is a physical game if not more.

Good luck and keep us posted!

sinderstorm

Good luck! I tried to go through my insurance, but because they only pay a certain amount of the "contracted rate", it actually worked in my favor to pretend I didn't have health insurance and take my surgeon's self pay package rate. But I still had several months that I had to wait and save up the $$, but it is one of the two best investments I've ever made. The other being IVF to have my kids

Use your preop time to work on losing as much as you can. Every pound lost before, gets you one step closer to your final goal. Read, go to support groups, and read some more. I love my support group- it is a 2 hour drive so I don't make every month, but it is full of fantastic advice, and statistically people who attend have better results.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like.

rpyle111

Now is the time to start! My long winded advice is in a topic called "Six month ramblings" but the short version is to start the process with your six month prep. Don't sweat the time, use it to get used to the habits and behaviors you will need post-surgery. If you need to lose much more than 100 pounds, lose as much as you can pre-surgery so you can have a chance to hit goal in the nine month post surgery honeymoon period.

Eat well, start exercising if you as not already and hit the plan as had as you can. Buy into your program and follow their rules and you will do great!

I am less active here, but feel free to

ssbeadlady

I am also just starting out. I sent you an email in hopes we can be friends as I am doing this alone and need all the friends I can get. Anyone else feel free to send me a friends invite.

RENAEJAE

Best of luck to you. As rpyle111 mentioned - use the time to get used to the habits and behavoirs that will help you be successful. My advice is to be as pro-active for yourself as possible. The weight loss center is willing to help those that help themselves the most. I was very on top of the program and called frequently to move my appointments up whenever there was a cancellation. It took me 6 months to get everything done, but during that time I exercised, ate right, logged everything on MFP and lost 50lbs. They booked my surgery right after those 6 months. I am only 3 weeks post op and finally feeling like myself. It was all worth it. Good luck. Friend me if you'd like.

garber6th

Ditto what others have said about making the changes before surgery. I lost 70 lbs prior to surgery - it took 9 months for me to finally get a date, because my insurance required a minimum of 6 months in the program before they even started pre-surgery testing. I believe changing my habits before helped me recover well and be successful. Also, do exactly what your surgeon and his team tell you to do. If any issues come up, always remember that your team is just a phone call away. Good luck to you!!!

greenbaymichk

Agree with what everyone else has said - the more healthy changes you can incorporate into your life BEFORE surgery, the more successful you can be. The surgery is a tool, not a magic bullet! Good luck with getting everything arranged and on your way.

krissymae88

Thanks so much everybody for all the kind words and advice and friend requests! I thunk you all are right, I should get as much out of my pre-op time as I can. I'm definitely ready to start making those gradual changes. I met with my primary doctor today and she's completely on board and I have an appointment for my assessment with the bariatric team in a few weeks. Yay!

mskimpel

I am excited for you on making this life changing journey . I been on pre-op diet since May 13 and have surgery August 13 So I know how you must feel getting the ball rolling . Best of everything to you .

krissymae88

mskimpel wrote: »

I am excited for you on making this life changing journey . I been on pre-op diet since May 13 and have surgery August 13 So I know how you must feel getting the ball rolling . Best of everything to you .

Thank you! Best of everything to you too! It must feel so exciting for you to be getting close to surgery. Looking forward to hearing more about your journey

joysie1970

Congrats on making that big decision - I lost 120 lbs before meeting the surgeon, I had maintained that for five years and couldn't lose another ounce and then started to gain again...for the umpteenth time in my life...best decision ever in my life was getting the sleeve, I had the six month wait too but it passed in the blink of an eye! I am three months post op and feeling better than ever Welcome to the club!

Trayjay33

@krissymae88 congratulations on your decision to have surgery. The best advice I was given in my start to get approval for surgery is to document my attempts at weight loss as a previous poster mentioned. This includes membership to a gym or a diet club of any sort. Also you can get get going with standard testing in the meantime such as Cardiology, Pulmonary, etc. The time will be here before you know it.

ssbeadlady

mskimpel wrote: »

I am excited for you on making this life changing journey . I been on pre-op diet since May 13 and have surgery August 13 So I know how you must feel getting the ball rolling . Best of everything to you .

I just started my journey on June 17th. I am still learning the terminology so I am some what confused.
May I ask why you have been on the preop diet for so long. I thought the preop diets which are usually liquids was 1 or 2 weeks not 3 months. Is it really a preop diet or a supervised diet?

rpyle111

ssbeadlady wrote: »

mskimpel wrote: »

I am excited for you on making this life changing journey . I been on pre-op diet since May 13 and have surgery August 13 So I know how you must feel getting the ball rolling . Best of everything to you .

I just started my journey on June 17th. I am still learning the terminology so I am some what confused.
May I ask why you have been on the preop diet for so long. I thought the preop diets which are usually liquids was 1 or 2 weeks not 3 months. Is it really a preop diet or a supervised diet?

Good question. Personally, I call everything from first consultation to the surgery the pre-op diet or pre-op phase. The immediate liquid diet a week or two prior to surgery is the liquid diet (again, for me). It certainly can be confusing.

Rob

ssbeadlady

Oh I see now how some people are thinking. Thanks for the explanation.