Got my Primary Doctor's blessing!

I had an appointment with my primary care doctor to review my blood sugar readings for the past three months.  I had already planned to bring up the subject of bariatric surgery with him and how I would not take no for an answer.  Boy did he fool me!  He was supportive without encouraging while explaining the realities without being negative.  I was in shock.

I have my first appointment with Dr. Washington on April 13 and I can hardly wait to get this process started!  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hoping to be one with the group,
Ramona

Ramona,

First of all, welcome to the group! I'm delighted that you have joined us and look forward to getting to know you as you make your way on this incredible, life-changing journey. 

Your PCP sounds much like my own and I really appreciated both the support and the candor, as I am sure you do. 

You have already started the process because you have gotten the ball rolling. The surgery is just one part of the journey. An important one, but it is not the journey itself. The fact that you are here is just another indicator that you are already on your way. 

There are soooo many things I wish I knew then, that I know now.

*  I wish that I knew that they way I ate during the first few days, weeks and months of my journey post surgery, really would have no relation to the way I eat now that I am nearly 3 years post op.

*  I wish that I new that no matter what I did, that I would experience the dreaded stalls and generally, there isn't anything to do to break them, but to just stay the course. Eventually the fact that you are taking in less calories than your body burns will cause the weight to fall off, but it comes off in a stair step fashion instead of 'sliding off.' 

*  I wish that I had found www.thinnerself.com earlier in my journey. This site was developed by a fellow WLS patient and uses demographics to calculate the percentage of excess body weight you are likely to lose based on your age, weight at surgery, height, sex, number of weeks out from surgery and current weight. Instead of comparing myself to others that had different demographics, it allowed me to see how I was doing compared to others my age, sex, height, starting weight, etc... It really eased my concerns. BTW... I was so worried I wouldn't lose my excess weight and ended up losing 100% of my excess weight.

*  I wish I knew about a book and workbook called 'The Beck Diet Solution' written by Dr. Judith Beck. It's not a diet, but a program that has a bunch of 'tools' that help you to learn to 'think thin.' That's something I have to admit I'm still working on and probably will for the rest of my life. 

*  I wish I knew that eventually I would get to a point where I can eat just about anything in moderation. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to eat this or that. While I had more restrictions in the first year, they have mostly waned over the second year and I can really eat just about anything... in moderation. 

I'm sure that there are plenty of other things, but those are the things that come to mind now. 

Wishing you all the best as you make your way.

Hi Ramona,
Welcome to the OH NC forum.
Before my surgery I was taking 4 insulin shots a day and two oral diabetes meds.
When I left the hospital after my surgery my surgeon said I would not need to take my diabetes meds any more.
I am almost three years out and just had my labs done to find out I am still in remisson from my diabetes and and all levels are well within normal range.
WLS is an incredible journey and for the first time in my life I am totally enjoying life.
                                                             Annie