New member

MyTime2Change
on 8/2/16 8:52 am

 

Hello everyone,

 

I am new to Obesity Help and wanted to greet everyone. I have reviewed several of your posts and have already found helpful information in them; thank you for sharing your experiences. 

 

I'm a married mother of five and I have been dealing with my weight for quite some time, but the last 10-15 years have been the most challenging. I have decided after much research and much procrastination to take action to take charge of my health and my life. I have decided to pursue self-pay gastric sleeve surgery in Mexico, and hope to get it done this fall, God willing. 

 

A lot of what has prevented me from seeking the surgery all these years was denial. I felt that if I just I applied myself I could "do it on my own without surgery." I maintained that state of mind for years, yet nothing changed in my life. I've since realized how much I have been gaslighting myself. There is NO shame in seeking help for this condition. I slowly came to this realization once it began to dawn upon me how much better I was getting as a person by treating my depression and other issues and how I would be concerned if a person with a psychiatric disability/mental illness was determined to "do it on my own." Should we take initiative and be an active part of the process? Yes. But we cannot let a mindset like that reign if it prevents the process from even getting started!

 

Nothing will change unless we make it change.

 

I welcome any/all feedback from you all, as I personally know no one whose ever had the gastric sleeve; only the bypass and lap band. And I seldom hear much from our people - not that we aren't having the surgery, but I have mainly come across posts from white people as opposed to people of color. I'm not discounting their perspectives, but as a black woman it's helpful to me to know more about what other people from my background have experienced. 

 

Thank you. 

Elliot413
on 8/4/16 7:21 pm
VSG on 07/12/16

Hey there,

I am a father of three, and have struggled for years.  I got the sleeve on July 12th.  I was self-pay (loan), but chose to do it in the states.  I am recovering well and have lost 31lbs since the surgery.  I have a lot to share in general and from our background.  Feel free to message me anytime. 

MyTime2Change
on 8/9/16 2:32 pm

Thank you for your reply! I am ready to make a change, and grateful to learn whatever I can. I will definitely be reaching out. :)

kyzze
on 8/4/16 10:37 pm
VSG on 12/29/15 with

You've made a great decision! I was sleeved December 2015 and am already just 6 pounds from my goal weight! I am so happy that I did this and I am sure you will be too. I agree with what you said in your post, there is no shame in seeking help. We women of color always always put ourselves last and we suffer for that, so it is good that you are taking the initiative to do something for you. Since having the sleeve, I feel so much better about myself and I just feel better in general, no more hip or back pain, not feeling sluggish anymore, it is so refreshing! Let us know how things go and I will give you encouragement along the way. On Facebook and Instagram there is a site called Black Women Losing Weight and they sometimes feature women who have had weight loss surgery that might be helpful to  you as well. I hope everything goes well.

Kyzze

 

MyTime2Change
on 8/9/16 2:36 pm

I appreciate the encouraging words! I will look for that page on Facebook today, lol. I'm ready to feel more energized and to stop holding myself back from things. I wish I had made this decision before now, but better late than never!  Thank you so much for the encouragement. 

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