Surgery on Monday. Absolutely excited and absolutely terrified.

Hi guys!

I am having my surgery on Monday and I did the cardinal sin of medical procedures.

I looked up all the horror stories last night and now I am scared.

I am still going forward with everything because I know I need to do this and in the logical part of my brain, I know its a safe surgery and I am having it done at one of the top hospitals in the country.

Still, I could use some words of encouragement. I dont know anyone else who has had this done (in fact, many of my friends and family seem to be waiting to see how I do before they look into it for them selves) so I don't know what to expect.

Also I am 334 pounds now and would love to get down below 200, is that a realistic goal? My surgeon thinks I will get down to about 175-180 but that just seems impossible.

I was nervous too. It was my first surgery and first time in a hospital. As nervous as I was, everything was a breeze. I got a little depressed in the first several weeks as I didn't have my friend "food" anymore to cope with the enormity of what I had done, but I am really glad I did it now and food has lost it's place as my primary coping mechanism (thanks, therapy!) Deep breaths. You'll do great.

You can lose as much as you're willing to work for. It's hard work, but worth it!

Good Morning,

Be glad you are nervous. It is a perfectly normal response to the giant step you are about to take. It would be scary if you were not.

As far as looking up the risks, let me give you two different perspectives. My daughter and I had the surgery two weeks apart a year ago. We both did all the internet searches, read the horror stories, and were terrified!

I had the surgery first and had absolutely no complications. I just felt blessed that the things I read about had not happened to me.

My daughter was not as lucky. She had a bleed and some other complications. Our doctors handled them quickly and reassured her she would be fine, which she is. In her case, being educated about the risks helped us to realize that others had the same complications before her and recovered just fine.

You will be shocked at how much weight you will lose if you follow your program. TRUST the steps and the process. I am 90 lbs down and she is 120. I started at 256. She was about 270.

Congratulations!!! You will do great!!

I think it is completely normal how you are feeling. I felt the same way. I was on the internet a lot too. I watched videos on how the surgery was done. I read everything good and bad. I am almost 3 weeks past my surgery and I am glad I did it. You can do this! I think that once the surgery and recovery is over I think you will realize that you made a good and healthy decision for yourself.

I'm an RN, and know enough about surgical complications to get myself completely worked up. However, I also know the statistics, and while complications do happen, the frequency is VERY low. The safety on the VSG is better than that for gallbladder removal. At a good hospital, the surgical staff and post-op/recovery staff are absolutely TOP NOTCH. They are prepared for the complications that can arise during their time with a patient, and handle things in a calm and professional manner. Quit googling surgical complications, follow your team's instructions, and trust that they know what they're doing. :)

I'm a year out, and have struggled with my intake and exercise due to several chronic illnesses and issues with medication. So I'm not to goal yet, but I'm in sight of it and still plugging along. I'm 5'9" and started out at 306#. My goal is 175-185# (want a nice 10# range for the post-WLS period "bounce"). I'm sitting at 198# right now. I have exceeded my surgeon's expectations, and there's no reason to believe I can't get to 175#. I could probably even go lower, but I know I'll look skeletal much lower than 175#.

So yes, it is completely possible. There are several people here who have gone significantly below their initial goal weights. How you work your tool (that sounded suggestive) is the ultimate limit to what you can do.

Thanks guys!

This is making me feel a little better. I kept saying that I wish I knew someone who had gone through this before, so I'm glad I found this forum.

I have another question if its not too personal, how bad is the loose skin?

I know there will be some, I just want to know how bad. (I'm 29 so maybe that will help some)

Skin varies so much from person to person, there's no way to know until you're there.

I'm pear shaped, and didn't have a significant abdominal apron to start with. I have loose skin in the abdomen and thighs that's a little annoying but not enough to warrant surgery (I think). I have a lot more loose skin in my arms (batwings) that I didn't really expect. And my bewbs are WAY more saggy than I thought they'd be.

Going into this, I figured at some point I'd want to consider lower body plastics. Now at over 100# down and within 25# of goal, I couldn't care less about the little bit of sagging I have in the lower body, if I can get the fundage together in a year or two, I'm much more likely to get an upper arm job with maybe a bewb job.

You'll really just have to wait and see. Hydration, age, genetics, etc. determine how elastic your skin is and how it'll bounce back.

The amount of skin you'll be dealing with will vary based on a lot of different factors. How overweight you are, how long you've been heavy, where you carried your weight. We grow our extra skin to cover over the fat, so that definitely affects things.

Being young does tend to help a bit. I had my surgery at age 31, and I seem to be a bit better off than some of the folks here who had surgery in their 50's or later.

There's really no way to know how "bad" it will be until you get there. Some people have a very difficult time with it, physically (rashes, infections, etc.) or emotionally, and decide to have plastics. My skin doesn't particularly bother me, so I have some good shapewear that I wear when I need to contain my tummy jiggle and that's good enough for me.

Bottom line is that the annoyance/trouble of loose skin is FAR outweighed by all of the other health benefits you'll see after losing weight!

Being scared is not only normal, it's healthy! If you weren't a little scared of a major operation, I'd be worried!

As for your goal, it's completely realistic if you commit to making the changes necessary to be successful. I am 5'3" and was 330 when I started with my program to get approved, and 299 on surgery day. I reached my goal today! If I can do it, anyone can...but I stay strictly low carb, I don't cheat...EVER.

Be confident and stick to your plan and take advantage of this amazing tool you are about to have! Best of luck!

Congratulations on reaching your goal !!!!!!!!!!!