Newbie on the road to a life change! *Warning-Long post*

Hi ya'll, I'm Chris and have been lurking here for the last few days trying to glean as much information as possible so that I can make good decisions. Thanks so much for having this forum so that we can get questions answered in a non-judgemental way. 


I am currently 350 lbs and hope to someday be down to 200. I haven't been below 250 since my junior year of high school. I am starting this journey with full support and blessing of my parents, friends and immediate family. I have three cousins who have recently undergone WLS with great results. Five years ago when I was 300lbs I was hiking, going caving and living life like someone who was 220lbs. Unfortunately several life events removed me from those things and my weight began to increase. I have since come to realize that I have a love affair with eating. I do and have always eaten the wrong things purely because I like them. I suppose I had an invincible mentality until one day I realized that I was 150lbs overweight and not having as much fun as I used to. For me food has always been about happiness. Anytime the family gets together it's over a huge meal. (Probably why 4 of us are have had/ are having WLS. lol) I am ready to begin this new journey and get back to living AND loving life the way that I used to.

 
I went to the initial seminar on Monday, May 9th at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, TN with Dr. Christopher Sanborn hosting. He seems to be a very pleasant man with a good ability to relate complex medical information to the layperson. I was very fortunate to be able to schedule my initial consulation for the following day. I met with Dr. Sanborn and had a great consultation. He really helped to put my mind at ease over several questions that I had. He put in orders for me to have blood work, an upper GI and a sleep study prior to our second consultation. I was able to schedule the upper GI and lab work for Thursday the 12th.

I received a call from Dr. Sanborn's nurse today and my upper GI and labwork came back and all is in order. I have a sleep study scheduled for June 6th and consultations with the nutritionist and psychologist scheduled for June 7th.

I am ready to get this process underway and as of now am hoping for a surgery date of July 28th or August 1st. I am a self-pay so there are no insurance hoops or regulations for me to play by. Does anyone see a reason (barring psychological problems) that I wouldn't be able to proceed with that early of a surgery date?

Thanks for all of the support and I can't wait to be able to post weight loss updates.

I was self-pay and had my surgery in Mexico on January 6, 2011.  I scheduled it on December 6, one month before.  I would think that there wouldn't be any problem with you scheduling your surgery for on or around one of those dates.

Good luck!!

Hi Chris.   Sounds like you're doing your homework and planning on following what the experts tell you.   That's all I'd advise.    Welcome and looking forward to hearing more from you.

Nope, I had my initial consult on March 24th and am scheduled for surgery on May 23rd, this coming Monday... your timeline sounds realistic to me :-).

Best of luck with jumping through all the hoops... it's a long process, but from what I hear, well worth it (can't wait to find out for myself).

Welcome to the board!

Sounds like you have all your bases covered! Good for you!! Wish I could have been self pay, I had to wait 7 months for all the nonsense but as long as your head is in the game you should be fine. I am almost 6 weeks post op and can't wait for everything. I am down 30 pounds and lovin' life again, just wish I had done this many years ago!
Wish you the best and we are here for you as you jump through the hoops and land on the loser's bench!!

Wow - we have a lot in common. Looks like we have about the same weight goals. I submit my paperwork on the 13 of next month and hopefully will be approved and scheduled around the time you will get yours. Keep us posted on your success

Good luck to you, Chris! I'm glad you found this wonderful website-- the people here are so very supportive and helpful. I had my surgery on 5/10 and am taking it easy trying to get adjusted to everything but am very glad I made the decision.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted!

I was a self pay and from my first consultation until the day of my surgery it was a little over 5 weeks!  Don't be scared.  You are doing all the right things.  You are not making a hasty decision.  The one advantage to being a self pay is that you don't have to wait long to start making your dreams come true!  (my surgery was on Monday!!)