New to the board.
Hi again everyone. I introduced myself on the Friday roll call and recieved a ton of hellos back at me and welcomes from everyone. Thanks for the encouragement and welcome. Im so excited to get this going and get my surgery approved. I probably have all of the same concerns as all of you have had prior to your surgery, "am i really gonna be able to change and do it right, I hope i dont die..., what will i do with all my old fat clothes, lol. I meet with my doctor in two weeks for the first time and Im sure she will give me the 411. Is there anything you guys wished you would have asked or known prior to your surgery? I just keep worrying that i will come home after my surgery and be totally unprepared for life. I know i will have you guys to ask but still that is where some of my anxiety is right now.
On a lighter note, I was asked today to help coach youth football later this summer. I was envisioning myself being on the losers bench (hopefully not literally) at that time and maybe by the end of the season being a lot thinner and in shape, I miss the in shape guy I used to be.
BTW if anyone reading this has had Dr. Anita Courcoulas, how is she?
Thanks all
Todd aka Swede
On a lighter note, I was asked today to help coach youth football later this summer. I was envisioning myself being on the losers bench (hopefully not literally) at that time and maybe by the end of the season being a lot thinner and in shape, I miss the in shape guy I used to be.
BTW if anyone reading this has had Dr. Anita Courcoulas, how is she?
Thanks all
Todd aka Swede
HW=400 SW=383 CW=252 GW=240
Pounds to go=12!!! Pounds Lost =148
Hi welcome to the boards....I had my surgery with Dr Mccloskey on the 9th. She is an associate of your surgeon. I had my surgery at Magee. You will follow pretty much the same procedures I did. The most important thing is to listen to your surgeon. I was a walk-a-holic in the hospital. I made them get me out of bed at 1:30 in the morning to walk the night following my surgery. They will let you order liquids the morning after your surgery following your upper GI. Make sure you sip as much as you can. You will probably have to follow a six-month diet. This is really important try to lose as much as you can. Walk a lot...I lost 51 pounds before my surgery date. Don't stress over the psych consult just be yourself. Make sure when you go on the diet that you keep a daily journal of everything you eat...you will need it for you Nutritionist consult and they collect it. Find out what testing you will need and get it done , don't wait till the last month to complete it all. Always double check that the office receives all your medical reports. They deal with a lot of patients and things get lost. Several times I made the secretary go back and retrieve my records and pull out the report in question. But also be nice to the office people and they will take care of you. Any other questions please feel free to ask me
Welcome, Todd!
Don't let us scare you - we're really a nice group, no matter WHAT Eric might claim ;-).
What I wish I had known before my surgery? Great question!
1. How important support is... that building it into my DAILY routine (not just once or twice a month) is critical to keeping myself on track and accountable in my life.
2. How enjoyable exercise can be... it never was something I could enjoy in my pre-surg life, so that came as a complete surprise
3. How much this experience would transform EVERY aspect of my life, not just my waistline. It's changed my attitudes in a lot of ways, helped me find self-assurance, helped me find strength and perseverance that I always thought I didn't have!
4. How many good friends - TRULY good friends - would evolve from the journey.
Sue, one of our leaders for pre-ops, talks about how most people come in feeling like they will be the one person that the surgery doesn't work for. That comes from most of us having a long legacy of failure at "diets" in our past lives. The truth is, if you come in and do what your doctor tells you to do, you "can't" fail at it - at least in the first 6 months. The weight WILL come off, even if you're non-compliant. BUT, if you don't use that honeymoon period to detox from the food addictions that have made you fat, and to address the underlying behaviors that have caused your food issues, you won't make the most of your weight loss and run the danger of being one of the people who do gain it all back. So getting your head into the game is key - the surgery is a tool that will help free your head from your body-needs for a period of time to help you do that. View it that way, put in the work, and you'll do just fine!
Hope this helps! Ask ANY questions here, and you'll find a ton of help, support, and answers.
Karen
Don't let us scare you - we're really a nice group, no matter WHAT Eric might claim ;-).
What I wish I had known before my surgery? Great question!
1. How important support is... that building it into my DAILY routine (not just once or twice a month) is critical to keeping myself on track and accountable in my life.
2. How enjoyable exercise can be... it never was something I could enjoy in my pre-surg life, so that came as a complete surprise
3. How much this experience would transform EVERY aspect of my life, not just my waistline. It's changed my attitudes in a lot of ways, helped me find self-assurance, helped me find strength and perseverance that I always thought I didn't have!
4. How many good friends - TRULY good friends - would evolve from the journey.
Sue, one of our leaders for pre-ops, talks about how most people come in feeling like they will be the one person that the surgery doesn't work for. That comes from most of us having a long legacy of failure at "diets" in our past lives. The truth is, if you come in and do what your doctor tells you to do, you "can't" fail at it - at least in the first 6 months. The weight WILL come off, even if you're non-compliant. BUT, if you don't use that honeymoon period to detox from the food addictions that have made you fat, and to address the underlying behaviors that have caused your food issues, you won't make the most of your weight loss and run the danger of being one of the people who do gain it all back. So getting your head into the game is key - the surgery is a tool that will help free your head from your body-needs for a period of time to help you do that. View it that way, put in the work, and you'll do just fine!
Hope this helps! Ask ANY questions here, and you'll find a ton of help, support, and answers.
Karen
who me??? Thanks a ton Hendoendo and Karen!
Hendoendo
I will have to get my very sporatic food journal shored up and printed out. I will definately be more vigilant with it from here on out. I am having my 4th month Dr. appointment with my PCP tomorrow. I need to get things in gear. At my last visit last month I had lost 8 pounds so far. I hope I didnt gain any back this past month. Time to buckle down!!! Thanks for the advice about calling and double checking. I already had to do this with my PCP to make sure she sent in the monthly froms to my surgeon's office.
Karen
Thanks for the response. I already have made OH a piece of my daily routine. I kept coming back to this post to see if anyone answered it and im glad you guys did. lol. I have been pouring through a lot of the past discussion topics to see if some of my questions are in there and see how they have been answered. I have already begun to think of you guys as friends
and incredible sources of support and information. I am one of those people who has decided not to tell anyone except my wife and a really good friend from college who has had a rny as well. So, I will be looking to you guys for support . Time to listen to my doctor and follow the plan.
Hendoendo
I will have to get my very sporatic food journal shored up and printed out. I will definately be more vigilant with it from here on out. I am having my 4th month Dr. appointment with my PCP tomorrow. I need to get things in gear. At my last visit last month I had lost 8 pounds so far. I hope I didnt gain any back this past month. Time to buckle down!!! Thanks for the advice about calling and double checking. I already had to do this with my PCP to make sure she sent in the monthly froms to my surgeon's office.
Karen
Thanks for the response. I already have made OH a piece of my daily routine. I kept coming back to this post to see if anyone answered it and im glad you guys did. lol. I have been pouring through a lot of the past discussion topics to see if some of my questions are in there and see how they have been answered. I have already begun to think of you guys as friends
and incredible sources of support and information. I am one of those people who has decided not to tell anyone except my wife and a really good friend from college who has had a rny as well. So, I will be looking to you guys for support . Time to listen to my doctor and follow the plan.
HW=400 SW=383 CW=252 GW=240
Pounds to go=12!!! Pounds Lost =148
Morning Todd -
I saw your post yesterday, but didn't get a chance to respond. I must say the anxiety thing is totally normal. Hopefully as you progress through your program preparing for surgery, a lot of your questions will get answered and you'll feel much better about the whole thing. I looked into the surgery about 4 years ago at a different hospital but chose not to do it because I wasn't comfortable with what I was getting myself into. Fast forward to 2008 and I went through the program at Lehigh Valley Hospital and felt much more prepared and informed. Was I still scared as hell and certain I wasn't coming home? Absolutely. Fast forward to 2010 and I am a year and about 5 months out from surgery. I've lost about 330 pounds. I no longer have sleep apnea, my blood pressure is normal and I feel great. I avoided taking the stairs before because I got a little out of breath and now I routinely go on 2 mile walk/runs.
Is there anything I wished I would have asked and/or known prior to surgery.... one thing that pops into my head when I think about this question, is the mental side of things. Prior to surgery, when I was upset or having a bad day, I would turn to food. I didn't think I did, but post-surgery it became apparent. Finding a positive outlet for your bad days are important, because you can't comfort yourself with food anymore. That's huge and something that many of us struggle with, I'm sure.
Having the right attitude and access to support are huge keys to success. You seem to be well on the way with both of these. Keep coming back here, reading and asking questions and reading posts. You'll be educated and entertained at the same time! Good luck!
I saw your post yesterday, but didn't get a chance to respond. I must say the anxiety thing is totally normal. Hopefully as you progress through your program preparing for surgery, a lot of your questions will get answered and you'll feel much better about the whole thing. I looked into the surgery about 4 years ago at a different hospital but chose not to do it because I wasn't comfortable with what I was getting myself into. Fast forward to 2008 and I went through the program at Lehigh Valley Hospital and felt much more prepared and informed. Was I still scared as hell and certain I wasn't coming home? Absolutely. Fast forward to 2010 and I am a year and about 5 months out from surgery. I've lost about 330 pounds. I no longer have sleep apnea, my blood pressure is normal and I feel great. I avoided taking the stairs before because I got a little out of breath and now I routinely go on 2 mile walk/runs.
Is there anything I wished I would have asked and/or known prior to surgery.... one thing that pops into my head when I think about this question, is the mental side of things. Prior to surgery, when I was upset or having a bad day, I would turn to food. I didn't think I did, but post-surgery it became apparent. Finding a positive outlet for your bad days are important, because you can't comfort yourself with food anymore. That's huge and something that many of us struggle with, I'm sure.
Having the right attitude and access to support are huge keys to success. You seem to be well on the way with both of these. Keep coming back here, reading and asking questions and reading posts. You'll be educated and entertained at the same time! Good luck!
Just wanted to add a welcome to you!
I think all your fears are normal - all of us had something like that going into it. There were days after surgery (early - like day 6) that I said "what have I done" but it was fleeting and this change has been by far the best change I have EVER done for myself.
You'll know doubt have questions along the way - and that's where places like here and support groups come into play.
My best advice is to learn anything and everything you can about the surgery before hand. The more prepared you are, the better off you will be, especially mentally. A few good reads with a lot of good info but not overwhelming are "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" and "The Real Skinny on Weight Loss Surgery" I absolutely LOVED the second one. Two post op women wrote it along with their various doctors. GREAT sarcastic sense of humor!
Pam
I think all your fears are normal - all of us had something like that going into it. There were days after surgery (early - like day 6) that I said "what have I done" but it was fleeting and this change has been by far the best change I have EVER done for myself.
You'll know doubt have questions along the way - and that's where places like here and support groups come into play.
My best advice is to learn anything and everything you can about the surgery before hand. The more prepared you are, the better off you will be, especially mentally. A few good reads with a lot of good info but not overwhelming are "Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies" and "The Real Skinny on Weight Loss Surgery" I absolutely LOVED the second one. Two post op women wrote it along with their various doctors. GREAT sarcastic sense of humor!
Pam
Instead of complaining that the rosebush has thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses. 
Oh, I forgot...I noticed that you said you were checking back to see if anyone replied. There's a way (I believe in settings somewhere) to get notifications when someone replies to your thread. It's delivered to your mailbox, and let's you know which thread someone replied to, *****plied to it, and allows you to see the first line or so of it.
Instead of complaining that the rosebush has thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses.
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