Lori G.
I'm finally writing this a year post op in the hopes of helping another SMO person in their quest for better health.
A year ago I could not walk up the stairs without panting. I hated the way I looked and felt, and knew I was not living my life but merely existing. I was starting to avoid social situations because of the way I looked, and hated standing in my closet weeping over dozens of tent-like outfits, none of which would fit. I approached my PCP 6 years ago at 275 lbs about WLS and she talked me out of it- she said her patients that were successful had to work very hard to maintain their limited success through exercise and diet, and that I might lose 100 lbs, then stop and still be morbidly obese. When I went back in 5 years later and 50 lbs heavier, I would not be denied....I was miserable. She gave me a referral to the John Muir Weight Loss Surgery Center and I met the doctors and began my 6 month pre op program of supervised diet, exercise, evaluation and education. During this time I learned about the VSG and how it might best fit my lifestyle- I could still take NSAIDs for my arthritic ankle ( badly mangled falling off a cliff 30 years ago, 8 orthopedic surgeries later but I still limp badly), I'd likely have no hunger for some time afterwards from lack of grehlin, I was restricted in quantity but not food type, there was no rerouting of my intestines so no malabsorption involved, it was a safer, quicker procedure than both the RNY and DS, and my doctor thought I was a highly motivated good candidate for it.
If I was going to do this, it was going to be done right with me focused on getting healthy in all aspects of my life- this was not a diet but a lifestyle change- I'd never get to go back to the way I ate before with massive quantities of pizza and fast food. I was going to embrace exercise and cleaner eating and stress reduction- and pay attention to myself for once. Putting my self before others is something I have trouble doing. So far so good!
