Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Journey Begins

This is my journey through WLS (weight loss surgery). I have chosen to have the VSG (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) procedure. My surgery date is July 12, 2010 and I will be blogging about my thoughts & happenings along the way.
I have been a yo-yo dieter since my first child was born, in 1999. I gained 80lbs with my first pregnancy and only lost about half of that and then gained about 60lbs with my second child and lost about half of that. I am also an ex-smoker (5yrs out Yay me!) but quitting was hell on my eating habits, and I also have a wonderful hubby who happens to love going out to eat which also hasn't helpped my eating habits.
WLS has been in the back of my head for about a year now but when I got on the scale recently & saw it reading 238 lbs I really knew it was time to do something about it. I am a nurse constantly on my feet in a rather busy local ER and my feet have been telling me lately that they are not happy about the almost 240 lbs I expect them to carry around. Another thing that I HATE HATE HATE is that for some reason many (when I say many I mean at least 1-2 every shift) of my patients ask me in assorted ways if I am pregnant....."when are you due", "is it a boy or a girl", "how much longer until that baby comes"...and the most recent and worst by far..."so you have what about a month to go?"????? Are you serious? my response usually "uhh...nope, Im just fat". One time I was so caught off guard & imbarrassed I actually lied & said I just had one...this is getting rediculous!
I have done much research on several of the popular surgery types and have decided on the sleeve as my best option. I joined a website called ObesityHelp.com where there are forums for every type of surgery there is, from all states, canada, mexico... and all kinds of people. Real people not the kinds on tv ads where the the little caption says *RESULTS NOT TYPICAL*...I never understood how they could be advertising something where the results were not likely to occur...strange. So I learned what the surgery was all about, how it was performed the "pre-op diet", the "post-op diet" and how life would change as far as what I put into my mouth for the rest of my life...I was ready~
(April 7th) So off to the surgeon's office I went to see how this all worked & when I could have it done. Because I work in the healthcare profession I have access to what really goes on behind closed doors & who I would like my surgeon to be & who I don't want touching me never mind removing much of my stomach. I have friends at work who have had various surgeries with several of the docs and I chose by their experiences & personal encounters with the docs myself. My first impression of my doctor was just as I had expected from what I had known about him...he came in and hugged me...first thing. He seemed like he sincerely cared about me and the process. Then I went & talked to the coordinator who sets up the other appointments you have to have like the psych eval, ekg, chest xray, nutrition education class and such....and the payment.
I had my psych eval the next week (April 15th) and I was most nervous about that...I dunno why...it was nothing I answered some questions on paper like a little scantron test and then talked to a councelor for a while & that was it...she said she would call me if there were any concerns once she got the test back...I haven't heard from her so I guess im good :) Next step is the nutrition education class on May 5th...I am very excited about that actually. I wish my surgery date was closer but due to work scheduling it ended up being in July...which I guess is ok cuz my B-day is two days after surgery, what a nice present...Im sure I won't be thinking so this year but next year when I am hopefully 100+ lbs lighter I will be super excited!~

My goal this week: Practice drinking more water...I hate water but it needs to be my best friend so I might as well start now.

XOXO