Found Out Real Weight....

you are very courageous! You know that you can and will do this. I am happy you got weighed. I know for myself I would rather know than not know. Don't be upset. Soon you will be free from it all and on the road to a new healthier you!

First I'd like to give you a hug - 1) for being brave enough to get on that scale and 2) for sharing it with us. You just took a HUGE first step in your recovery from obesity.

As for the long road - well, there's no denying that. Yes, it's going to be a long road. But I will share something with you - ALL of our "journeys" are long. Life-long in fact. Think of the rest of your life in small stages/steps. You took step one already in getting referred to a bariatric centre. You also took step two in weighing yourself and getting a very clear picture of your "now". Having the surgery is another step, recovery another, working your way through the menu progressions another.... and so on, and so on, for the rest of your life. (The battle doesn't end once you hit some semblance of "goal" - maintaining that goal is equally important - and difficult.)

Gaining support is key - I'm awfully thrilled that you're here with us on the forum. I look very forward to following your journey toward health and please let me know if there is anything at all I can do to assist you.

Karen xo

you said exactly what I was trying to say!

You have gotten a lot of good advice from others on here.  Sounds like last week you faced a lot, and had the strength to do it.  The anxiety/depression won't stop you from having surgery, as long as you are dealing with it.  Since you are already going to a psychologist and soon a counselor, include in one of your goals ways to deal with your emotions other than food.  One suggestion that they might make is to write a diary, write everything you feel in it.  It will help you deal with the issues and let the pain, worry etc out.  One of the things you'll learn in the process of surgery is that you should write down your food and activity in a journal.  As well as emotion, not like the diary I mentioned earlier, but how did you feel when you went to eat.  Were you sad, happy, stressed, excited...  This will help you discover exactly what triggers you to eat.  Sometimes it will be for nourishment, sometimes it's not.

I know it will be hard, but start both journals now.  Don't have to change what you are eating yet, just write it down.  It will let you see a true picture of what you're going through (we all deny things unless we write it down).  Then I would suggest you try something.  Pick one little thing that you would like to change.  Just one.  It could be you find you are drinking 2 glasses of water, and you should be drinking 8 (just an example).  Set a goal to drink 1 more glass of water each day (so if you drink 2, drink 3).  Once you think you have that habit, increase it by 1 more.  You may think you have a whole lot to change, but change it in baby steps, one glass of water at a time.  A lot of people will do a drastic change, and then realize they can't stick with it.  By taking small changes, just baby steps, you'll find you are more apt to keep the change.  And if you forget one day, start again the next day.  Mistakes happen, we are human.

Here is one place you don't have to be embarrassed about anything.  You'll find TMI popping up every once in a while (Too Much Info).  We're all friends, and we all fight the same battles.  Even if our journeys are slightly different.  I'm happy your boyfriend has decided to go through this journey with you.  You may decide to take him to appointments/orientation with you.  It will give you support and help both of you understand what this path is all about.  And if either of you have questions, don't be afraid to ask, at your appointments, or here.

You have found the strength to take the first steps on this path, you will have the strength to continue on your journey.  And know that you won't have to travel the path alone.  You will have lots of support, at the clinic and here.

I wish you well on your journey.

Cathy

First off, bravo for joining the forum, you will find lots of info and support here. My daughter's friend has pros which is now gone since she had her surgery.  I am going through hrrh and they are really good there. I'm sure they will do everything possible to help you.

i think the other poster was giving you and your boyfriend a high five! Many people can't see past the weight to the beautiful person underneath!

Thank you so much for everyone's input.  It is so nice having such amazing support. I really, really appreciate the support.

Happy new year eloquentdaydreamer! There were so many amazingly supportive posts, and I didn't get through all of them, but I just wanted to chime in and let you know that you are definitely on the right track and so fortunate to have the support of your bf as well as this community here. I truly wish you all the best on your journey! Also, as someone earlier encouraged, I think it would be great if you were also to include DS surgery into your wls research and ask your doc/surgeon about it. With PCOS and your medical background, it may be just the tool you need. Take care! 

Hi there and welcome!

You don't have to do anything... but you MUST research DS. This will be best thing you can possibly do for yourself. And there is a catch... do your own research, please, do not just rely on information provided by your clinic, GET MORE - as much as you can. It's a long story, but depending on a clinic you will get different info about DS. In Hamilton, in HRRH and in Ottawa, the doctor's recommendations will be different.  do your own research. read stuff from mayo clinic, read materials of american bariatric association, etc. read about diabetes cure by WLS, reviewed by Dr. Rabkin - The Best Bariatric Surgeon in the world:

http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/diabetes-curing.html

read dsfacts.com - site recommended by Dawn. The creator of this site is an Ottawa DSer, whom I've personally met quite a few times, and I can swear that every single word on that site is truth.  

Facts:

DS is covered by OHIP.

DS cures 91-100% of diabetes (four studies from the link above).

Personal experience:

I'm one of a few DS surgery patients in Ontario. got mine just over six years ago. went from BMI of 62 down to 25 and keep it there with very reasonable (minor) effort.

Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, Hepatic Steatosis (Fatty Liver), PCOS are gone with the wind. All conditions were at advanced stages. 

Please, don't hesitate to ask me any questions about DS. I very rarely visit this forum, but if you send me a message, I'll get it through notifications and answer as soon as I can.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

Nata! OMG, so happy to see you  and so glad to hear you continue to do so well. Happy New Year to you!

K. xo

Hi Karen!

Happy to see you too. Glad you've recovered after your surgery. It took so long ... sorry, I'd got MIA while you were off the forum. Hope you're doing better now.

I changed job 1.5 years ago and been extremely busy since.

Happy New Year to you too!

Hugz, Nata