New here, Prepping for a May 2012 GBS (scared)

Dreamn806

I am 314 pounds, I started my journey 2 weeks ago at 321lbs. I lost 7 pounds by drinking only water and now it is time to start incorporating the rest of the many lifestyle changes that the Gastric Bypass Surgery required. I have to get down to 289lb, change my eating habits, and the hardest one for me is to stop smoking. I was smoking a pack a day and in two weeks I am down to 1/2 a pack. I am looking for people who will be supportive, offer advice and if they have gone through the surgery maybe be encouraging. I have attempted this once 2 years ago and chickened out. I dont wanna chicken out this time. I take 22 pills a day for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and many other health problems.
Please if anyone has some encouraging words to help keep me on track and not chicken out again it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
Marcy

kikkipoo

Welcome to the family Marcy! Congrats first and foremost on the changes you have already made. Nothing is more encouraging than seeing your own ability to succeed, both pre and post op. the more you can incorporate the lifestyle change now, the better prepared you will be after. We as pre-ops live every moment for our surgery date. It's easy to think the rest is a given and will come naturally with your new pouch. But when you wake up from your surgery and it's all said and done you will think what now? You'll suddenly realize the weight didn't all just disappear while you were under anesthesia and that there's still a long journey ahead of you. Yes, it will be the first day of the rest of your life, but just that. The first. The first of thousands more to come. Each day is a new chance at life. Gbs was a blessing for me, complications and all. I am grateful each day as I think back on my life 8 years ago today infact! 170 pounds ago I was where you are. In a blink of an eye you can be where I am. Just remember all the reasons why you want it and never give up. You and your family are so worth it!

risskie

Yeh Marcy,
Glad you have decided to make a lifestyle change journey.... and hopefully this group can help give you the motivation to keep going. My 'skinny' sister gave me 3 words to concentrate: Faith - have faith in your self to follow the plan, Focus- stay focused on the goal but primarily on the day/hour/minute at hand and the last one is Fitness - try to do a little bit more today than you did yesterday. I have hung onto FFF for now 4 months and I have been successful. I have dropped 40lbs since I started in Sept. I have proven to my Gastric ByPass Surgical team that I am a good candidate for surgery and I have my surgical date - 1/16/12... and I know I will continue to be successful after surgery.
My FitnessPal is an excellent tool in your pursuit. I track every morsel - even most teas that are zero calories. I keep a focused eye on my calorie count. I eat enough each day to not go over or cause plateauing. I wear a pedometer and try to increase my steps each day. Some days are better than others, but I try to keep moving. One of my sister's ideas was to set two cans of veges next to the phone. If it rings, I answer, put it on speaker and I pick up the cans and exercise my arms through the whole phone call. Sometimes its a short call, but when my mother calls, it can be near an hour of 'working those cans.'
Stay focused Marcy, set short term reachable goals. Know that, as humans, we will make mistakes. But you can't cheat yourself. Decide and commit. We'll be right here for you.:flowerforyou:
Christine

GrammyDiane

Marcy,

First off, congratulations for making the decision to go through this process and take charge of your health. You CAN do this and you MUST do this for your well-being. You are already making great strides, keep up the good work. You'll have moments when you second guess yourself but don't let those moments override any of the thoughtful decisions you have already made. You'll get wonderful support on here and take advantage of every support group you can attend where you live. As others have said, try to do just a bit more each day and you'll be surprised at how fast your progress will add up.

Personally, I went the lap-band route but I don't have any major health issues other than sleep apnea. I have 3 relatives/friends who have had GBS within the past year and each of them had many health issues. They have done wonderfully; are down tremendous amounts of weight, off many medications - (especially meds for diabetes), and feel soooo much better.

Stay strong and reach out for all the support you need!

Fondly,
Diane

tessanne10

Congratulations on your decision. It is not an easy one to make, but the benefits from it far out weigh any of the cons to it. Like yourself, I haven't had surgery yet and I am still jumping through the hoops to get there, but it is worth it.
Keep a food journal and write down everything that goes in your mouth, this will really keep you accountable not only to your surgical team, but also to yourself. Sometimes it's real easy to eat more without realizing it if your not writing it down or measuring everything out.
I was at a surgical support group last Monday and a man who is also planning on surgery had to quit chewing tobacco, he went from tobacco to mint packets that go between the cheek and gum like chewing tobacco would, but there is no tobacco in it . The way he described it was it is real mint the same type of packaging as tea. He said that it can be bought at the tobacco counter, it comes in a little can like chewing tobacco. He said it was real helping him with the urges he gets.
Make sure that you surround yourself with plenty of positive people around you.
I highly recommend going to the surgical support group, because the people you will meet have either already went through it or are going to go through it, like yourself.
Remember to count everything you do as some form of movement and exercise. That means everything from doing dishes, going up & down the basement steps, to just walking around your yard for a few minutes.
Please know that I am behind you 100% as is everyone else in this group, They are great people.

Dreamn806

Thank you for the encouragement! It means so much to finally have someone who is walking this same journey as me to support.... To a new friendship!

Marcy

Dreamn806

I look forward to the many blessings as well... I am saying strong this time... I want my health back but most of all I WANT MY LIFE BACK!!! I feel like I gave my life such little notice til all the medical problems started... if I had just taken better care of myself I kept thinking... Then I started my journey to a healthier life style and With the Grace of God I will succeed!

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Marcy

mchope

You seem to be on the right track, I am sure we are all here to support you. Congratulations on what you have done. Just keep on checking in, get positive support wherever you can, and let go those who hinder you. Remember you are the one that is important. Bottom line if you want to live. You can do it.

skatermom503

Of course, you're scared. That's totally normal. I was lucky and only had a couple of weeks warning of my surgery date. It is hard losing weight before surgery but it's important because it will help prevent liver injuries and make it easier and safer for the surgeon. I lost my pre-op weight by drinking costco chocolate protein shakes every day and then treating myself to one breakfast or lunch out every weekend. I had to lose 59# pre-op so i know you can do it. I don't smoke but I know it is hard to quit and cutting down to 1/2 pack already is impressive. Keep going. Think of all the money you will save. You can use it to buy the smaller clothes your gonna need soon.
I started out at 395# in June and had my surgery 10/2011 so I'm still pretty new. I have had several "what have I done?" moments since surgery but I've learned that that is normal too.
Make sure you have a good surgeon and do what they tell you. You can do this and you'll do great. It was my first surgery ever (I'm 58) so I was scared but sailed through it and haven't had any complications. Just focus on what you want and you'll get it.
All the best!

freakingenius

congrats on finding your motivation! it is a hard journey, both physically and mentally, but it is totally worth it! you will need the same effort and motivation for quitting smoking and losing weight. focus on conquering those hurdles one day at a time! do you have a quit smoking hot line in your area?

im a former smoker, so i know it is a hard thing to quit cold turkey. set small goals and timelines. for my last goal, i literally broke every cigarette in my pack in half. i would throw the first half in the toilet just so i couldnt say Oh Ill only have half... and end up smoking a whole! by the time i was down to 2 a day, i lost the taste for them and they began to stink. i was gaining back my senses of taste and smell.

jazzie2421

Congratulations on taking the first step to the rest of your life! I had my GBS on 3/31/05. I weighed 290 lbs, didn't have any of the health problems but every joint in my body was in incredible pain all the time. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. In a year I got to my goal weight.

I maintained my goal weight for 2-3 years. Then I started stressing about life, love and my pursuit of happiness and started eating all the wrong foods. I woke up the other day from my daze and found that I had gained back 60 lbs, and immediately decided that I was going to start working that weight back off. I was going to wait until after the holildays, but why wait?

GBS is not a magic bullet. Its a TOOL. If you don't use the TOOL then you won't lose the weight. It is something you'll have to work with everyday for the rest of your life. But everyday for the rest of your life you'll have the TOOL available to you to be successful. Those who aren't successful are generally those who don't follow the rules. Follow the rules that your doctor sets forth and you'll do fantastic. It looks to me like you're already on the path to success.

TL0105

Hello there...I am new on this site as well and have just completed all my "pre-requisites" for RNY Bypass...at this point, waiting on a surgery date...I turned 40 last January and had always told myself I would be "fit by 40" and instead, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar...I will not let this opportunity pass me by again. I hace seen so much positive reinforcement on this site - I look forward to the journey ahead, and look forward to sharing my journey with those with the same hopes and aspirations.

Health_Gal

For anyone who is contemplating WLS, remember there is always the possibility that the pre-surgery diet may allow you to lose enough weight that you don't have to go through with the operation. I know a few people that actually happened with. They cancelled the surgery, and continued to lose weight through exercise and keeping their calories down. They don't look like bikini models, but they have been able to keep their weight in reasonable range for their height and body type and they are happy with their decision not to have WLS.

So even though you've decided to do this and set a date for surgery, please keep in mind that there's always a possibility that you can reach your weight goal without having to go the surgical route.

bobbunn

Marcy,

I can relate to your issue with having to take pills for all kinds of health issues. Before my surgery in early November I was taking the maximum dosage of Metformin for blood sugar (850 mg three times a day), and 80 units a day of Levimir (slow release insulin). I also had two kinds of blood pressure medication, and a pill for cholesterol.

It's been nearly two months now since my surgery and the medications have been dropping off. I haven't taken Metformin since the surgery and I am down to 5 units of insulin, which should drop off completely in the near future. I only take one medication for blood pressure now and my doctor thinks that will go away when I start exercising regularly at the gym (a new one opens next week in my neighborhood).

I was originally going to go for the lap band but my surgeon said I had an 80% chance of getting rid of my diabetes with the bypass. I'm so glad I went that route. I was getting nervous as my surgery date came closer, but I knew it was something I had to do for my long term health.

Keep thinking about the big picture and everything you will accomplish with your healthy lifestyle. That's what has helped me.

--- Bob ---

sassyitalian3545

Marcy,
Congrats on making the decision to have the surgery, I was a 4 pack a day smoker when I decided to have the surgery, when the Dr. told me he would not even talk to me unless I quit (Military DRS.) I threw away a pack that I had just paid $4.59 for and have not touched them since. Previously I tried Chantix (bad bad bad stuff), the patch, gums, step down methods you name it I tried it which I did the same thing on the diet yoyo, YOU are the only one that can change your life, everyone ( friends, drs, family) can give you the tools to help you but YOU are the only one that can change it. Once that stuck in my head I realized I had lied to my husband when I said "I DO for the rest of my life" every time I took a drag off that cigarette I was killing myself so I was shortening my life by a day therefore taking a day away from my husband and kids. Then along comes my first and only grand child, I could not imagine not being in her life it was a enlightening wake up call. Believe me I get stressed (my reasoning for smoking and not to gain anymore weight) but then I realized 2 things, God does not put anything on us that we can not handle, and stop sweating the small stuff. I hope my some chance you reading this it will help, I have lost 114# in less than a year, no more medication (other than the ones for the RNY) I can breathe, get in the floor play with my grand baby (which is the best thing ever). I still have my after meal cravings all I do is get a toothpick (plastic ones) and chew on them and before I know it my craving is gone. I am here if you need to talk or need to vent.. Good luck and God Bless!
TB