Two weeks until my DS: Elated and terrified all at once!

Hello veterans and newbies and everyone in between. I have been lurking on and off OH for a number of years, making up my mind to pursue WLS, getting scared and backing off, rinse and repeat.  One day I got up enough nerve in late November of 2014 to get on a scale, I was shocked and horrified to see I weighed 393 pounds, the most I have ever weighed in my life. I was devastated, how had I let myself get this far? I'd always been amazingly healthy for as heavy as I was, never any major co-morbidities (just recently found out I have sleep apnea and am now on CPAP) I had completed a BA and an MA, lived abroad in Europe, started a great career, wonderful friends and family--all while quietly getting progressively heavier.I figured it was my lot in life to be fat when diets never worked. Having two small nieces I could barely keep up with and having to sit out on a lot of the activities I wanted to do, spurred me into finally doing something about my weight.

I had been aware of the DS for several years, I knew it was the platinum standard for weight loss, and my best chance at getting down to a healthy weight and staying there. I used to find any excuse to keep from taking the next step, most of the time it was work or school or any number of things. Waking up at 28 to the reality of being almost 400 pounds was finally enough to humble me into taking action. My insurance recently did away with their six month supervised diet and the DS was an approved bariatric surgery, so I sucked it up, took the plunge and called Rex Bariatric associates. Dr. Ng and the entire team there have been amazing, I felt like he is well informed on the needs of DS patients and amazingly, so are the nationalists that work with the practice--DS patients have different needs than GB and GS patients and they understand and are well versed in those. 

I had my first consultation Dec 17 of 2014. There was a massive amount of tests, psych evals, nutrition classes the works in the coming weeks, I was extremely lucky to have a job with flexibility enough to be able to schedule things in the first opportunity for most appointments, so I could get things done faster. I was done with all the things I needed to do Feb 4th. The surgical authorization team sent off my packet to BCBSNC Fe7 and it was approved for surgery, Feb 10th. I'm scheduled for surgery March 9th and it's my two-week liquid diet starts Monday. I guess it's all a little surreal, I spent 6 years researching DS and stalling until I matured enough to accept I needed to do something about my weight now before I had a major health crisis. Once I finally got myself ready mentally and emotionally, things fell into place amazingly quickly.

Some days I feel fully ready, other days the panic sets in for a few minutes, I'm so lucky to have an amazing support system of friends and family who have been with me every step of the way. For those who have come before me, any advice you wish someone had told you/things you learned early on? I also go through the archives trying to learn everything I can to make myself successful post-op.  I hope this is the start of a journey toward total wellness and getting to do all the little things (and the big ones) I want to do. 

It sounds like you're as ready as you'll ever be to do this. 

One thing I have to offer up is that the surgeons and their nutritionists are 97% clueless about keeping a DSer nutritionally healthy beyond the first 6 months.  Pay close attention to threads involving nutrition and supplements.  If you prefer to err on the side of simplicity, vitalady.com has pre-packeged vitamin packets for dSers.  These are not a designer multi - but actual seperate vitamins that a DSer needs at the dosage requred beyond our malabsorption.  I recommend these until your first bloodwork, then you can tweek accordingly and shop for the vitamins on your own seperately.

Get a 64oz cup to carry with you everywhere.  Get a good collection of single-servings of different protein drinks, flavors and brands.  Do NOT try any of them until after your surger, because your tastebuds will go haywire.  Once you identify something that doesn't suck - only then will you buy a big tub of it.

Having bariatric surgery is a big decision. Many of us took a long time and went back and forth and hung in there until we finally realized that things were never going to get better, and more likely would continue to get worse, until we took this step. You are not alone. I'm glad things fell into place for you, this doesn't happen for everyone.

    Best wishes for a safe and successful surgery!

Larra

My DS surgery is tomorrow and Dr. Ng- you are in good hands! I had an emergency umbilical hernia surgery in November which pushed my DS surgery up to January - and then my company changed insurance companies and required the 6 month wait - long story short I got them to accept my previous insurance approval and they waived the waiting period and here i am - packed and ready for the hospital tomorrow - nevous excited and a little scared but know I am making the right decision!  Good luck you'll do just fine!

Good luck on your surgery! I've really been impressed with Dr. Ng and his staff, they've been amazing to me. I hope things go perfectly for you!

Congratulations! We look forward to your updates often!