I got approved but now worried about surgery

I got  the call from my insurance saying I got approved for Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. I have been working on approval for a year. I am now worried about the surgery.  Is there any advise you can offer me. I weight 492 and have a lot of weight.  Please offer me any information about the surgery and your own experiences......  Thank you

We were all scared when it came right down to having the surgery.  We all go into this with poor health.. all us over 50 BMIers that is.. I had a BMi of 63 when I started on this journey.. I lost 67lbs before surgery and got the BMI to 49.. I was happy for that but I was still scared.. I had every comorbidity there is.. I was in very poor health.. yes I was scared.. I was scared I might die having the surgery.. it is a risk we take with any surgery not just WLS.. but I knew that I had to take the risk or I would surly die and not doing anything was wrong.... and I didnt want to die because I was too scared to have the surgery and do nothing to help myself..
So.. I made up my mind and had the surgery.. I am here and doing well.. yippee... yes I asked everyone I knew to pray for me.. why not.. God needs to be on our side during the surgery.. but the best thing I did was to get on here and talk to my friends.. I got a lot of help here.. I was nervous right up to the day of surgery but the fear I had was gone.. I was fearing the unknowns,, but I really knew that the fear was actually in the known facts.. I was going to die for sure an early death without the surgery.. I was becoming a burden on my family and unable to really enjoy life.. I did not want to live that life anymore ... So I went into surgery with the confidence that I was going to be ok and start a new life and love it.. and here I am.. I am alive and well and on my way to a new life..

Now I will pray for you for the peace of mind it takes to stay relaxed and not be so anxious for the surgery.. but you are the one that needs to decide that no matter what, this is the right thing to do.. You fought for a year to get the surgery.. do not let your fears take that chance of a new life away from you..

I am here anytime you need to talk or look for encouragement.. or you can pm me too..

huggs and prayers..

This will be long.

I was 407 at my heaviest and 386 at surgery date.  My BMI was 64 at my surgery date and 66 or so at my worst. 

I had several co-morbidities whi*****luded high chloresterol, borderline high blood pressure, borderline high blood sugar, edema, degenerative disc disease, back pain, knee pain, and severe sleep apnea where I AVERAGED 67 episodes an hour.  I went thru a 6 month process for approval whi*****luded several tests and I was fortunate that my insurance company required 5 years of history and not a supervised diet.  I was so tired from the sleep apnea (as I found out later) that I couldn't focus on anything but keeping myself going.  There were mornings that I would go to work and not remember how I got there.

My surgery was done lap for the RNY and it took my surgeon a little over 3 hours which is longer than his average but that was due to my abdominal wall and I had a very large piece of mesh over a hernia repair done in 2004.  I was in recovery for a couple of hours and then in my room.  My oxygen levels were difficult to keep in check.  I brought my CPAP to the hospital but I used the oxygen because my mouth was so dry.  That seemed to work better.

Fast forward a year and a half later--I am 205 pounds from my heaviest weight and 184 pounds from my surgery weight.  My blood pressure, blood sugar and other blood work is normal.  I gave my CPAP machine back in May of last year (I had it for a year and the last few months I hardly used it because the mask didn't fit and I had to constantly wake up to adjust the pressure--kind of defeats the purpose of the machine.  My edema is gone, my back and knee pain are better, the degenerative disc disease is better without the excess weight and I feel 200% better. 

My advice to you is to have faith in your surgeon and follow the course that is provided for you.  You must have trust in your surgeon because of the amount of time you have waited.  I was worried about the surgery once I got my date and wondered if I was doing the right thing.  The only regret I have now is that I couldn't have the surgery until I was 53 but the insurance coverage wasn't there prior to when I had the surgery.  Use the support that your surgeon's office offers from their staff.  The staff at my program are absolutely awesome. 

Go to the support groups.  It is a requirement in my surgeon's program that we go to one prior to surgery and I wish I had gone to more.  The boards are good but you need that face to face support of others that are or have had surgery.  I just recently had the opportunity to speak to pre-ops at my group.  It is my way of paying it forward. 

I still have some weight to lose and am holding right now but the holidays are over and I'm getting back on the horse with my exercise.  My food hasn't been too bad though.

The surgery is not a magic bullet-I have found it to be a tool which my surgeon told me right up front.  It gave me the help I need to lose weight when I haven't been able to in recent years.  During the first six months post op, I lost a good majority of my weight, the second six months 1/2 of that and the third six it was about 1/3 of what I lost during the second six months.  It is coming off very slow and I am pretty much like the rest of America now. 

Utilize your resources and you will be on your way to a healthy life.  We will be saving you a seat on the loser's bench.

ETA:  Up until the moment I was in the operating room, I had second thoughts.  It is very normal to be worried--after all, this is serious surgery.  I came to the conclusion that I had to give it a shot because I felt this surgery was my last shot to lose weight and have a decent chance of keeping it off if I do the work.  You will see rewards which will keep you going.  I know I have found that to be true.

 

i think anyone would have worries about a surgical procedure no matter what type.  Just remember that you have people on here to communicate with about your concerns, fears and joy, Best of luck

When I went to my appt with surgeon and found out I was getting a date, I cried(and was 361#).  When I got the date I cried again.(I got my date before official approval).  I cried because I was scared, I cried because I let myself get to where I needed surgery.  There is a lot of emotion tied up with this process.  I went in the day of surgery 350#, this morning I was 394.6. When ever could that happen in less then 4 months any other way.  I realize you are starting off higher than that, and if you are anything like me are reading this thinking, what I would give to be at my starting weight( I think this about the lightweights you have a surgery starting weight that is close to my goal), but there are many successful people who have started where you are and I am sure they will chime in as well.  My experience has been great thus far, I took no pain medication after I left the hospital, and no major issue with the gas pain, have not dumped or thrown up, no constipation.  I got something stuck once(for the first time last week) and had some diarrhea the first week or so, but I was aware of all the possibilities.  Will everyone's journey be complication free, no, but I weighed the benefits and I wanted a life a could live, not one that just happened to me.
This biggest suggestions I can give
1- Start not drinking with meals and 30 minutes after now (it's really hard to get used to)
2-Don't get the last meal syndrome (it's just adds more weight to lose, for me 20+ #)
3- Do what you can to lose weight now
4-Start moving more, even if it's not formal excercise
5-Check all your vitamin levels now(it's easier to correct any defficincies before surgery, especially vitamin D, which most are already defficient in)
6-Start a vitamin regimen now
7-Get you head in a good place(this tool will give you restriction and some malabsorption, but will not address any head issues)
8-Build a good support system
9-Arm yourself with knowledge(there's a ton of it here)
10-Stay away from any negative, especially right before surgery

Oh yeah one more get some protein samples