A month until surgery. So many worries

I'm doing my last pcp appointment tomorrow, so Surgery should be the end of May. I am having so many worries. I know they are anxiety driven because half of them don't even make sense. I worry I will fail spectacularly, then I worry about things like "i'll look worse/be worse off than before" (stomach hangs lower than it was "fat", etc), complications, that it will take a full year before any difference is seen, that I will lose everywhere except my belly, that for some reason I won't get my surgery at all. The list just goes on and on.

I'm 5'2 and currently 323. Started at 354 in Jan. Is this normal? Did anyone else have similar worries? Did any of them actually come to fruition? Help my crazy self out?

thanks for reading/listening

I can't say I had all these worries because when I finally decided to get the surgery I was definitely all-in...but I did spend a lot of time before I had made the decision, thinking about all the reasons to NOT do it, and most of them were just fear based and thinking I was taking the easy way out because really I was just uneducated.
Once I decided I was ready, I started watching a lot of YouTubers and following WLS patients on social media and once I was able to see the progress in a sped-up version, it made me SO EXCITED and I couldn't get the surgery fast enough. It helped me SO much...I watched the skin flick videos to get an idea of what to expect...and you know what? they didn't scare me nearly as much as staying fat for the rest of my life.

I think everyone has fears about mortality and failure, but don't let those things stand in your way.
If you have a lot of loose skin, you can get it surgically removed. your insurance may even pay for it if it is a medical issue, or you can wear shapers underneath your clothes...the skin is much less cumbersome than the fat. My highest known weight was 315 about a month before my surgery, and 14 months later, I am now 152 lbs...I have lots of skin, and I am definitely self-conscious about it, but I have 10 times more confidence than I did when i was over 300lbs.

my suggestion: make sure you take before pictures and save your outfit that you wore in them to use in comparison photos later on...you may even want to take some in your undies just for yourself to compare to later...then take them every month post op so you can compare visually...it takes a while to notice any difference especially to ourselves, but seeing the pictures motivated me a lot. a year may sound like a long time, but as you lose the weight the time will start to speed up and you will realize as that year goes by, you are living more and more instead of just waiting for an ultimate outcome.

good luck to you! you will be amazing!

You'll see results right away. After surgery you loose between 10-20lbs a month. I'm 17 months out. I no longer have fatty liver or sleep apnea I am on no medications my A1c went from 5.9 to 5.2 in two weeks. I just take a one a day multi vitamins and calcium. I am very comfortable in the gym. My BMI went from 51 to 25. My only regret (and most people who have had the surgery) I didn't do it sooner. Find a physical support group to attend at least 1 time before your surgery.

I had complications and hanging skin I don't like to look in the mirror but I wouldn't change my decision for anything.

Follow your plan and you'll do great. Best of luck and enjoy the journey.

you'll look way better with loose skin than you ever did when you were 300+ lbs. I've since had mine removed, but no one knew it was there but me. It was very easy to tuck into my pants - and I just wore a slightly oversized, long-ish top. Ta da! Gone. At least to the outside world.....

I think a lot of us worry about complications before we have surgery, but lots of people never have them - and for those who do, most are minor.

Given our difference in height, we started out about the same. I noticed my loss fairly quickly after it started. Other people started really noticing it about four months later. And you'll lose it all over.

I was ALL IN and I still am. It's odd because one moment I'm griping about how I still have all this waiting. The next moment i'm griping about going on vacation in September and nobody will notice.. then I'm worried about strictures. I really do think my anxiety is getting to me. I'll have to talk to my therapist Thursday about it at my appt. I am a mess

strictures only happen to about 5% of RNY patients, and they're an easy fix (been there...). I wouldn't worry about strictures AT ALL.