Cal Blacksmith ..

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Wow, tomorrow at this time, I will be POST OP!!

 

I am having second thoughts about the surgery, like do I really need it, is there some other way? Then I look in the mirror and the answer is clear, yes I do indeed NEED this surgery. I am nervous, not about the operation I think, but rather more along the lines of will I blow THIS chance at loosing weight just as I have EVERY other “diet” or “program” that I have been on?

 

I am so hungry right now, as this pre op day is all liquid and in less than an hour I need to take the milk of magnesia to clear out the pipes for tomorrow.

 

My mind says this will be the answer but my insecurities tell me otherwise. Oh look, there is popcorn made, it sure is tempting but I will refrain. This is only one day, and then I can begin the rest of my life tomorrow! They say that I will be in the hospital for 3 days then come home. I hope to post on how everything went well on Sunday or Monday, when I get home.

 

Clean off my spot on the bench guys, I’m just about to sit down!

Only 10 days and 2 Dr appointments to go! It feels like there are a million things to do before surgery. I am sure the important ones will get done and the rest, well they will take care of themselves. I am feeling a little nervous. I read the posts on people questioning their decisions about having had the surgery then the posts on how that is normal and YES it is worth it and I wonder about myself. Will I “blow” this chance also? Will I be one of the 30% who gain the weight back after surgery? I have failed so many times before, will this be different? CAN this time be different? My head knows this is the right thing to do but my feelings aren’t so sure. I guess that is why we think with our head, not with our feelings. WOW, I had never even thought those things to myself, and they came out here! This is ABSOULTLY the right thing to do, now if I can only convince my “doubter”

I have a date! My surgery is to take place on 11-09-06. This date came up as the first one that was available for my surgeon. It is also the date that I hired into my current job, 28 years ago! I have mixed feelings right now as I am ready for surgery but with a date, the countdown to my new life can begin. I am also looking at the way of life that I have now
and though I will miss a few things, I think the future will be so much better than I can imagine now!

Only 28 days to go and there will be many things to do before then WOW things are indeed moving quickly!

WoW As the head shinker I saw in connection with the surgery requirements for my insurance company’s satisfaction, “things will move quickly now that you have seen me” AND THEY HAVE!

 I received a call from Dr LaPorts office that My Insurance Company has approved the RNY! His office said that the scheduling office will contact me within the next 10 days or so. When the call came at 9:23am today, I first felt excited then VERY quickly I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Up to now, I have been saying “If the surgery came tomorrow it couldn’t be too soon” but this call has made the surgery more real to me now!

 I went to the Men’s forum on OBHELP and read all the positive posts about the surgery and that helped a lot! Reading the stories of men who wore size 54 pants and now are into the “30s” just seems unreal to me.

The last time I was in a size 38 pant was just after basic training in the Army. I really wore a 40 but I needed to run outside real quick and my room mates pants were hanging there so I grabbed them and put them on. They were snug to be sure, but they were on. That was 1975 and I have never had on a pair of pants that size since.

Is it possible that it could happen again? It certainly seems so! Now setting a date for the surgery is the next step, Bring it ON! (Yes a little butterfly is still flying around in my stomach but that will go away!)

Good morning Everyone!


Let me say Hello to all of you. This is my first official post to the Blog.

A little about myself. I am 50 years old (how did that happen??? I still FEEL 21 except it takes longer to heal than it did then!) My home scale now puts me at 365# though the scale in the Dr’s office had it at 390# and I have lost 5# since then. This sits on a 5’10 frame. The weight is more than what I look like I weigh, the people at the support group in Riverside were very surprised when I told them what I weighed.

My weight is all around the middle (the worst kind of weight!) My legs are like two telephone poles and my arms don’t have much extra either. As you may have guessed by my screen name, I do blacksmithing and that helps to keep the upper body a little toned. The charts say that my weight should be 175# but I haven’t seen that number since 9th grade.

I am in pre-op right now for a RNY and have had my psych evaluation done as well as all the other requirements for my insurance company and I am waiting for a date and a one on one with my surgeon. It has taken me a couple of years to get to the point that surgery is the thing I need to do. I have been on most of the “diets” out there and must have lost 1,000# but the trouble is that I have gained 1,100# back!

I am with Dr LaPorts office in Orange County, So. Cal. and they have a very consultative program to follow. I feel that this life change is way past due and I wish the insurance company will just give the go ahead already!

I know many of you started out larger than me but the road we travel is the same one. I am not too concerned about needing to take supplements for the rest of my life as I am now taking BP meds for the just now starting high BP I have developed. I had a permanent back injury at about age 23 (and am taking pain killers as well as anti-inflammatorys and muscle relaxers for that) and that has put a little crimp on things as far as activity goes, (with any luck I will be able to replace all my meds with vitamins and supplements!) thus my interests are more on the sedentary side. I am a licensed private pilot though it has been 10 years since I last flew. At that time the seat belts were at the end of their travel and I just barley fit into them. The cabin of a small aircraft is, well,…. SMALL and it was getting cramped in there. I love to fly and perhaps one day I will get pack into the cockpit!

I am also into HIGH end audio and have a listening room for 2 channel listening (stereo) and a dedicated, yet still in progress Home Theater. I foresee, giving up popcorn as probably the hardest thing I will have to adjust to. I have a commercial (though small) popcorn machine and nothing tastes like the popcorn that comes out of it! The nutrition classes and the orientation class for the surgery both said that popcorn is out of the picture but to check with my surgeon about it anyway.

More later when I know some more!