Newbie

hello everyone . i was just doing some forum searching this morning and discovered this one... which is where i belong. just want to get to know as many people that are going thru the same thing as I am to know that I am not alone... and to get the support I need that I cant find from my family........

My names Beckie, I am 22, and I have a BMI of 50. not so awesome. I have a 2 year old son who needs me to be healthy!!! I have attended my mandatory seminar and have had my first appointment with the surgeon this week... which went well! He said I am a perfect candidate because I dont really have any medical conditions and because well I am only 22. so I have a 6 week appointment set up with the NP and I should be hearing from the nutritionist within a week and the psychologist within a month... *sigh* the doctor said its about a 4 month process... which is totally ok with me because I was looking at possible surgery in June or July anyway!

I am just so excited and anxious to get this going and over with so that I can be all that I can be for my son and myself. Post surgery Id like to study up and whatnot to become a firefighter... so we shall see what life has to throw at us!!

Thanks for listening (well reading haha) and I hope to get to know some of you better as we go through this process together!!! :D

Welcome Beckie!    I know we can all be pretty impatient when it comes to losing weight but the time before surgery is valuable time really.  It is a good time to start learning a lot about your chosen surgery and what will be expected of you eating and exercise wise postop.  Read and re-read the materials your surgeon gives you.  Know exactly what each food stage entails.  Start practicing healthier eating habits now.  Losing weight before surgery will help to shrink the liver which is in the way during surgery and has to be retracted out of the surgeons way.  (the smaller it is the better).  If you drink soda and caffeine, use the time to start weaning yourself off it now.  I took about 6 months to get to being caffeine free to avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches.  I replaced soda with Powerade Zero which is my new drink of choice.  Start walking or other exercise to build up some stamina before surgery for better lung capacity.  There are many books that you might find helpful.  Do a search on Barnes and Noble.  I got a few books on psychological effects after WLS and healthy habits of successful WLS patients.  There are many to chose from.  Helped to get me in the right mindset.  A lot of people find whey protein supplements helpful in getting in all their protein.  Start trying out some now.  There are many to chose from and you can order samples from several websites. 

Donna has offered excellent advise and she would know.  Her preperation pre-op was inspiring to me...Rhonda too...who I shall suspect will be along shortly.  These folks will not lead you astray.  And what a courageous decision to make to be a healthier you, I wish I had the courage when I was younger.  Good luck on your journey.

Becky,
I am very new post-surgery. I had surgery last Tuesday came home New Years Eve. You have been given very good advice. I also want to say what a great gift you are giving your son a healthy you. A great gift to your self
Terri

AWESOME!
I am glad you are here.
You know to call or email me anytime. The worst part about the whole process is waiting for the Doctor to show up for a 3 minute appointment and waiting for the call saying your insurance will approve it.
If you can handle those 2 you are doing good.
I wish you well.
Jennifer

3-minute appointment! So true! So true!

Yeah, I had to take off a day from work, and drive 180 miles roundtrip for one of those.

 Hi Beckie!

Welcome and congrats on starting this journey!  It's a roller coaster - but one with lots of amazing stops along the way!

You didn't say what type of surgery you were having - and I hope I don't come off as pushy - but many people don't know they have options as to what type of surgery they can have, so I feel like I should tell people about it.  Essentially there are 4 main types of surgery - and I would really recommend researching them all so that you know what you're getting into and that you can live with your post op life.  Each type of surgery brings with it different pro's and cons and each surgery fits differently for different people - as I'm sure you can imagine.  I'd suggest visiting each surgeries message board and reading about people's good and bad experiences so you can get a sense of how they live with their surgery.  There is the Lap band, Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (a lesser known restrictive only procedure), the RNY (gastric bypass that most people know about) and the Duodenal Switch (both a restrictive and malabsorbative procedure that many people don't know exists and also has the best long term outcomes for those with a BMI of 50+).

If you've already done your research though - then great!  Just thought I'd mention it in case you didn't know there was other options out there.  Welcome!!!!

Hi Beckie, I'm Bec and I am new here too. I'm not sure where I am now as far as BMI, but I started with a BMI of 82 :(

I have two kids -- boys ages 11 and 6, and my 6 year old is special needs so he especially needs me around to advocate for him.

The process here is more like 6-8 months, and I am having my surgery on 1/20. I have attended more of the support group meetings that I had to in order to meet requirements, and it is pretty helpful to talk to people -- especially those who have gotten through the surgery and are seeing the benefits.

Good luck to you!

You guys are SO SMART to deal with your weight while you are relatively young and so are your kid(s).The older you get, the more joint problems you get and other health issues and it gets HARDER!

I'm with Donna: the pre op time is a good time to absorb as much information as you can about weight loss, nutrition, exercise, relaxation, dealing with stress, etc. If we keep doing what we've always done, we'll get what we always got, which is FAT!! The internet has a wealth of healthy sites to explore: Spark People, Eat Better America, etc. You will find some conflicting information out there, but, if you keep reading, you'll land on the truth and find what works for YOU.

By the time I got to surgery day I was totally calm and in fact, I was moving too slow for my husband who kept saying, "hurry up, we have to be there by 6 am!" I had everything planned out, though, and I didn't need to rush around.

This is a really supportive group of people, so post your questions and concerns here and we'll try to help. By the way, if I had it to do over again, I'd do surgery when it was HOT. While I did pre op and post op liquids only, I was SO COLD!! I couldn't get warm and you are allowed to have sugar free popsicles. I bought them but never ate them as they weren't appealing in December!

Good luck with your plan to be a firefighter. I admire you for this.

Welcome Beckie!! WLS is one of the best decisions I've made in my life- so I hope it turns out that way for you too! You've found a great board filled with wonderful people! WELCOME!