Gwen S.
My story - well, like most, I have been overweight for as long as I can remember (before 5 yrs of age). I have tried most every diet out there and no luck. I entertained WLS a 2 yrs ago, but I was not at a place where I thought it was right for me....denial. So here I am 26 lbs heavier.
Recently I got very paranoid that my weight was going to kill me. I was afraid that now that I had the family I was once told I could never have I was going to die and someone else was goign to get my joy of loving them. I want them to have a healthy, active mommy and I want them to have the best childhood memories - water parks, hikes, sporting events, festivals, etc. It scared the bejeebies out of me when it hit me that my weight could kill me. I had a hard time sleeping. That was it! I am going to do something about it. So I called MMPC and got into their orientation that following weekend.
I was going for the Lap Band, but after hearing about the sleeve, I thought that was a better choice for my needs. I had good appointments with the internist and Dr Baker. They both agreed that the sleeve would be a good choice. The behaviorist appointment was a little weird - speed therapy - but he said as long as my therapist didn't have any objections I had his approval too. All I had to do was the sleep study! Piece of cake.....boy was I wrong. It wasn't so much fun at the time, but now that I look back, it could have been worse.
Then there was the you have a date!! OOPS, no you don't. My insurance didn't need pre-authorization, but the billing area wanted one. Then they said they didn't need one. But I still waiting almost until they got the written statement that it would be covered.
Surgery time! I wore my halo for those 11 days on the pre-op diet. I lost 13 lbs. I wasn't nervous or worried about the surgery. I didn't not expect to wake up in that much discomfort. Nausea - not pain. I never had any pain - other than when my pants rubbed on my incision sights. The nausea was enough for me to go "Oh, God...What did I do??" It was bad enough to keep me in the hospital another day but it left fairly quickly.
Eating and drinking - now that I am 10 weeks out - have been a work in progress. I have some issues with speed and that probably contributes to most of the discomfort. I do not have any desire to eat. Morning things seem to be a bit more - not painful - but a little discomfort. Like swallowing something sideways....KWIM? But it isn't bad, unless I eat too much. Foamies! Ugggh! And Urps. The only way I can get rid of them is to vomit.
I am a slow loser. If you read my blog - I try to do well. I am not sneaking this or that. Yes I had a weak moment once and had a tiny baby Twix. I didn't eat more than one and I didn't gain all my weight back. That was part of the appeal of this surgery is that I could have a guilted pleasure once in a while without messing everything up. It was also good to know if I was going to dump ahead of time. I am not a sweets person, so it wouldn't have botheredme if I had, but at least this way I can have a bite of my kids birthday cakes and be OK.
I am unemotional about my sleeve and surgery. Don't know why. Maybe it isn't important enough to focus on. Maybe I just haven't hit that stage since I am losing slower. Regardless - I do not have any remorse. I would do it again!
