Getting nervous

Hello everyone, I am now getting a little nervous with less than a week till my surgery. I have had thoughts of trying the diet thing again, but I already know how that will turn out. Just a little nervous about how things will be through the first month after surgery. My surgeon is Dr. Robert Read. Has anyone had a surgery with Dr. Read? I guess I am looking for a little moral support to ease my mind. Thanks, Rich

Hello Rich, Congrats on your upcoming surgery! Thought I would pass along this link to Dr. Read's OH page (with patient reviews) if you haven't already stumbled on it... http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/bariatric+surgeon+testimonials+Robert+Read+ghb.ht ml Hope it helps, ~Michelle OH Member Services

Thank You Michelle. I am still exploring this website and I will take a look at the link you have sent. Wish I knew about this site 6 months ago. Rich

Richard, the first month you will be losing weight so fast you will be giddy with excitement!! The thing with dieting is that now I have great hope I can keep from ever regaining as usually happened in the past. Julia

Rich, I went looking for some support today too. I found tons! I emailed everyone on my friends list and asked for some prayer and support. One of the things that many of us begin to feel is that we can't ask for what we need. However, one of the things that I think we need, when we get to this point before our surgery is SUPPORT! I spent most of my day crying....Crying? Me? I have great family support, and a great team of physicians and health care providers that are extremely supportive...but I was needing more support than that? YEP! I think one of the best supports that a person can have is support from peers. Support from people who have been there, or are there or are going to be there. That is what I got today. Tons of support from my people on my friends list. One of the emails I got today was from Kim, from Springfield. She invited me to a support group at her home. I couldn't believe that I actually responded, and went (I hardly ever leave my home, unless to go with my husband or to my daughters homes). The informatioin that I got from that group helped me to feel so much more confident about the next stage (surgery). If you have a support group to go to, I would encourage you to go, before your surgery. It was so rewarding, informing, comforting....it was just what I needed! So, you will do fine. Our nervousness is normal, and once the surgery is over, we will be fine and moving on to other things.....Good Luck Rich....Stay in touch, and let us know how your doing! Gayla

Gayla, Glad you went to Kim's last night. That is a fun group and as you said there are people at all stages of this process. I wish I could have been there to meet you but had other obligations last night. Maybe at Kim's bar-b-que I will get to meet you. Where is you surgery going to be? Well I must go to work. See you sometime soon. Julia

Hi Rich! If you clicked on Dr. Read's support page then you will probably recognize my picture. I had my RNY with him 2/2/05. I was POSITIVE (well almost) that it wouldn't work for me as I had tried EVERYTHING to lose weight. To me it was my last hope. Well here I am a little more than 2 years later and 161 lbs lighter. I've just had the first of my reconstructive surgeries for redundant skin--a Pannicula tummy tuck and breast lift. I had a very good experience with Dr. Read and staff. They had an excellant follow-through program although I don't live close enough to take advantage of the monthly support group and I work on Saturdays. My experience was that I was out of the hospital the next day That is correct, but that is also not the norm. I was off pain killers the day after that and walking 1 mile within a week. To me it felt as if I had done too many sit-ups. That was MY personal pain level with this surgery. The journey to arrive at the decision to have the surgery was much longer and what it finally boiled down to in the end was that my health was becoming very compromised. I had type II diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol levels and sleep apnea. I now have NONE of these problems. I haven't used any sort of glucose product since the day of surgery. Other than the health bennefits the thing that has been the biggest difference is that my confidence level is soaring these days. Am I at my goal? No. I would still like to lose an additional 18-22 lbs. Is it easy to do that at this point? No, not a couple years out, but it is also not impossible and I ENJOY exercise these days in fact I can hardly wait to get back to it after this surgery. Will I reach my goal? Gee I hope so, but even if I don't I am a WINNER!!! I have won the health wars and I am a size 8-10 and there is NOTHING wrong with that!! So, please count on me to be in your corner as part of your support team. You are making a pro-active decision FOR health and well-being. You have already tried other avenues and they didn't work for you--this one WILL. The road you travel on this journey won't always be easy, but I guarantee it will be interesting. Savor every bit of it as it will be the journey of a life time that will lead to many other roads of discovery. Yours truely, Trisha

Hi Rich, I had RNY with Dr. Read in December. He is a great guy and awesome surgeon, it's rare to come across a surgeon that remembers your name and truly cares about how you are doing. I'm super impressed with him (and I'm not easily impressed) but also with the entire staff, they are all super. As for the nervousness, I was right there with you. Even as they were wheeling me into the OR, I was thinking STOP... I don't want to do this. Luckily I was on drugs and nothing was coming out of my mouth so they kept going LOL. But I think it is normal to be nervous, your life is about to change forever. I make as many of the support group meetings as I can, but I don't get to all of them. Go if you can, they are great and they will perk you up when you are feeling down right after surgery. For me, the first 2 months I kept wondering if I had done the right thing, but now 5 months out and over 100 pounds gone forever...I am super happy and don't regret it for a minute. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, email me if you have any questions. I'm kinda a newbie, but so are you . Smiles, Vicki