6 days away from a stomach to a pouch!

Hi OH community!

I am 6 days away from my VSG and boy am I nervous. I started this journey in December, joining this community just to poke around and see what it was all about...I had gained 80 lbs in a year due to several reasons; the biggest reason was depression. An over-all despair had come about... I hated my job, was heartbroken, had to leave graduate school...in severe student loan debt...my life was falling apart.

One day, a friend (out of no where) asked me why I wouldn't consider WLS. I combated her inquiry with defense, as I had done my entire life. Since 8 years old I've been considered obese. Seventeen years later, I am still obese, and finally ready to not be.

I'm here because I'm ****ting bricks. I wonder how much of my personality is linked to my stature. I wonder if I will feel bitter toward those who will be giving me attention, knowing full-well they wouldn't have passed me a second glance if I were still 280 pounds.

Aside from all of the mental games I'm playing with myself...and all of the damn internet searches that I've done that have scared me to high heaven, I know this is the right choice.

Can any of you sleevers give a pre-op some advice, stuff you wish you knew before?

Thanks guys...here's to hitting one-der land one day!!!

Wow, your questions cover a lot of ground. :)  I'll try to keep it short and sweet (not my strength).  Read older posts on this forum - so much good info, and the more educated you are about this process the better you will feel.  Yes, your personality may change a little, but I would bet it will be all positive.  You will likely become much more comfortable trying new experiences, be more self-confident, and the biggy for me - no more shame about my body.

What did I wish I knew before?  That this is really truly a lifelong thing.  I think we get so excited about surgery and quick weight loss that we tend to not really think about the longer term.  I knew this was only a tool and I had to make it work, but I thought that at some point when I was in maintenance, it would all be second nature and "easy".  Big mistake.  There's so much mental stuff wrapped up in this, and old habits have a way of sneaking back in if you don't stay vigilant *all the time*.  Weigh and track food (myfitnesspal, etc), watch the carbs (evil), and drink lots and lots of water.

Try to relax, learn as much as you can, and get ready for an amazing journey. Most of us just wish we had done it sooner.  Good luck!! 

you will not have a pouch. Only RNYers have a pouch. You will have a sleeve.

I didn't like chocolate anymore after my sleeve - and I couldn't drink anything cold.  So I had to drink the vanilla shakes at room temp.  I also want to mention that I knew this in my head - but when it was real, I was disappointed.  After surgery, I wasn't at my goal weight.  I was like --- hey.. how come i'm not a size 6 already.  Even though I knew I wouldn't be and I may never be, but my smart side of the brain and my wanna side of the brain kept battling and I think was a little off my game.  I'm much better now but it was hard at first.

I'm not much of a mental games kind of person. It is what is in regard to getting attention. 99% of the time it's positive attention and I didn't do surgery for attention. I did it to reclaim my health and to take care of myself physically. I would work on the mental part while you're going thru this. My weight loss center required us to do so. Speaking to someone and going to group was very helpful. 

You have the mindset....you're ready to no longer be obese! Run with it and use that as your drive along with the sleeve.

A few basics....walk, walk, walk & sip, sip, sip as soon as you can post op in the hospital. I think this led to me feeling great quickly after surgery. Make sure you follow your plan to the T. Do what the doctor says and no variations. Also, don't freak out at three weeks. I think the post I see most here is the three week stall post! Pay attention to your body, clothes and how you feel. Sometimes the scale won't reflect your loss right away but you're clothes will be getting bigger!

This is the best decision I've made, I honestly have no regrets. I have found this process to be easy. If you can read and follow directions then you got this! ;)

Good luck!