Are you ready to have WLS

Hi Everyone,

When did we first start to disconnect from who we really are? When did we give the first piece of ourselves away? It just happens, sometimes so subtly that we don’t even notice that we are not the person that we really want to be.

Ask yourself a few of these questions:
Who am I? Am I living as the person I want to be?
What have I really been doing with my life?
Am I happy living the life I am living now?
What brings me joy? What do I need to do to be at a healthy weight and for my body to feel healthy?  

When you compromise your dreams and your values for someone else’s, you give your power away. The more you have sacrificed you authenticity, the more disempowered you will feel.  

We have all gained weight for a million different reasons. Now it is time for you to take back the control and start your life changing journey to being slender and healthy.  

Do not settle for less than what you know you deserve in your life.
Don’t be scared to ask for what you want and need from others when it comes to their support.
Do NOT expect all of them to support you or understand your need to have WLS.
Make choices based on what you believe, and not what other believe or think.  

This is ALL about YOU and no one else. It is time to seize that vision of being a slender and a healthy person that you want to be, and can be.  

There is NO embarrassment in having weight loss surgery—it takes more courage to have it than it does to sit there and endure being fat one more day. 

This is your answer to a permanent weight loss. I had a sleeve aka VSG in Oct 2008 and lost 105—and have maintained my weight loss for over 3 years now. Dr. Aceves was my doctor and he and his staff is amazing—in my book he is the VERY BEST there is when it comes to WLS. If you are ready to have weight loss surgery or are thinking about it, I am here to talk with you and support you in any way I can.  

I want you to be success and do something that is going to change your life for the better.  

Hugs,
Suzanne
Sleeved 10/21/2008

From another Pacific Northwesterner, Thank you for this post.  I really needed it to reinforce my my choice. Sometimes people don't understand why we make the choices we do. It's not for them to understand, it's for us to understand why we make our choices and hopefully, they will support us.  Tomorrow is my VSG.

Hi,

You are sooooooooooooo right.  And sometimes it takes them years to accept what we have done. There has been too much bad press about weight loss surgery.  I see now they are promoting it as a way to end Type 2 diabetes for so many people--by having bypass surgery--myself I prefer the "sleeve".  So more and more doctors are seeing the results of weight loss surgery.

I am glad that you liked what I said.  You are doing a fabulous job.  One day at a time is the only way it worked for me.

I wish you great success in your journey.  I am always here if you need to talk.

Hugs,
Suzanne

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP. I AM ABOUT TO ATTEND MY 2ND OF 3 GROUP MEETINGS. THEN JUST ONE IN MAY AND MY LAST VISIT WITH MY SURGEON. IT SEEMS FEAR PLAYS SUCH A ROLE IN THIS PROCEDURE. JUST FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN, AND THE FACT THAT YOU CANNOT REVERSE IT IF YOU WANTED TO.

I REALLY ENJOYED READING YOUR POST. AND YOUR SO RIGHT. IM TRYING TO REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST DISCONNECTED FROM MYSELF. WOW , SO LONG AGO I DON'T EVER THINK I CAN RECALL IT.

BUT, THANKS FOR MAKING ME THINK ABOUT IT.

Hi,

You hit the nail right on the head when you said the " the fear of the unknown" is our greatest fear.  I always wonder why anyone would ever think about reversing this surgery--this is your answer to great health and being at a good weight again.  The statics are so GREAT with the number of success with the VSG.  We all love our "sleeve" and only wished we would have had it done years before.  It is the only thing in my life that has worked for me and allowed me to keep the weight off permanently. 

I can't expect you to feel like I feel, because you have not experienced the sleeve yet.  But, honestly you want something that is going to be permanent--I don't feel any different with a small stomach that I did with my BIG one.  I do not need all that stomach--the only thing it ever did for me was allow me to become fat and say FAT!.  I love having the sleeve. 

I wish you great success and I am always here to cheer you on, answer your questions and just be a helpful friend. 

Hugs,
Suzanne

Thanks so much for your support. I have great support from my family and fiancee. He says, I love you regardless, but I want you to be happy with yourself.  Im very blessed to have them all, but only someone who has experienced vsg can understand where I am at in the journey now.

I seem to bounce from happy, excited, and then to "what in the world am I thinking". I understand this is the norm prior to surgery.  Im sure I will have more questions as I proceed, and would be very happy to hear your comments.

Thanks again.
Trish

Hi Trish,

What a wonderful fiancée you have--he is a keeper for sure.  I had the same kind of man in my life too--he is fabulous and I am so very lucky.  He loved me when I was fat and he loves me now that I am thin.  We had been together for about 3 years when I had my VSG.  He was always there for me in my choise to have WLS.  We got married in 2010--best thing I ever did was meeting him and falling in love with him and then having VSG for ME and no one else.

Yes, these are all the same feelings I had and very normal.  It is hard to explain to someone that you are excited and scared all at the same time.  But you have all kinds of feelings and emotions going on inside your head.  Our brain really scrambles things up and normally we can always know that this is what we want or don't want--now we are 2nd guessing our own choice.  I think a BIG part of it is the fear of the UNKNOWN.  We are also very hard on ourselves because we have failed at  the 100's of diets that we have tried in our life and we are still fat and feel like a failure when it comes to weight loss.

I will keep saying this over and over.  This is the best thing you can do for yourself.  You are NOT the "one" that this will not work on--you are going to be the "one" that it doses WORK for and you are going to lose the weight and be able to keep it off forever! 

I am right here for you when you have any questions or you feel panic coming on.  You can do this, and I will be here to help you every step of the way.

Hugs,
Suzanne

THanks for the encouragement...your story is inspirational!  My surgery is in two more months...but I sure hope I can do as well as you have!  Since August, I've lost 49 pounds on my own.  Hope I can keep it all up as the pounds are coming off in decimals now.

Hi,

I am sure you will do great once you have had the weight loss surgery.  It was the ONE and ONLY thing that has ever worked for me to keep off the weight. I was really good about losing and gaining it back in time. 

Remember I am always out here if you have any questions as you get closer to having your surgery.  You will have all kinds of feelings and emotions the closer you get to having the surgery--and honestly that is very normal to have all of these feelings like:  excited, scared, happy, not sure if you are doing the right things, 2nd guessing yourself.  Can't wait for the surgery to be over, scared you will not wake up from the surgery.  These are just a few of the feelings I had, and I know for a fact that you will be just fine.  But, it is normal to feel all these feelings and emotions.

Hugs,
Suzanne

Suzanne
You have inspired and encouraged me to continue with the process of wls.  Thanks for sharing your story.
-jwin