Hello

I have been lurking on the forms for quite some time and was happy to see this group established.  My surgery is set for Dec 16.  I tried to coordinate it with time off work so that I would have plenty of time to heal.  I am excited to finally be at this point.  Other than the time it took to jump through all the hoops, it has been surprisingly easy to get approval.  I was at a professional conference this last week and had a couple of pictures taken with friends.  It was awful to se the reality of how large I have become.  I am looking forward to the help the surgery will provide and look forward to recapturing the more fun aspects of life.  I do have concerns, but but will not bore you with them in this post.  No doubt there will be opportunities to raise them over time.  I will be nice to share this experience with all of you.

You will not bore me with your concerns! I am also having surgury on december 16th....looks like I have a surgury buddy! There are a lot of us sceduled that week ,so we will all be here to support you.what are some of your concerns you have? Maybe we have some ideas?I bet some of us have them too....I'm getting more nervous as every day passes!

Nothing too big and I am sure my concerns are common.  I had to go through a 6 month weight loss program prior to approval.  I did it half heartedly and, in the end, lost no weight.  This in itself doesn't concern me because there is no weight loss requirement  for my surgeon or insurance carrier and I really didn't make it a personal goal to loose weight during that period. My concern is that I seem to be going through a phase over the last couple of months where I feel a compulsion to not restrict myself with respect to what I eat and I think I have actually gained a couple pounds since my last appointment with the doctor.  It is not that I am having multiple "last suppers" but that if I have a thought or desire to eat something I don't check myself and instead justify indulging based on the fact that I am having surgery.  It is like I am waiting for the surgery to make the difference.  Intellectually, I realize that it is irresponsible to invest in the hope that things will magically be different after surgery, and have some fear that it is not going to be different or, that by not checking myself more now, I am setting myself up to fail later.  I realize that successful weight loss after surgery requires a lifetime commitment  to change and I am prepared for that.  It is just that after so many previous failed attempts at loosing weight I have such a negative attitude toward dieting and find the idea it creates a whole emotional reaction. I am counting on the surgery to boost me past the diet funk.  It is all the mind game thing.  My ray of hope is that I successfully gave  up all soda sine I first visited my doctor.  I used to live off diet soda and I haven't had a single sip for 8 months.  I was truly addicted.  After giving it up, I feel so free, and even though I have the occasional craving, I expect that I will never have soda again.  If I can do it with soda, I should be able to do it with food.

Like I figured ,I too have these concerns.I've worked hard and am willing to put work in afterwards.don't feel bad, just try and start focusing on one thing everyday between now and then. I've been trying not to drink before or after meals.. I too quit drinking soda, and quit smoking

I don't feel bad so much as little bit of fear about how I wanna going to think and feel after surgery. my goal between now and then is to make sure I weigh no more on the day of surgery than I did first day I went to see my doctor. Thanks for your thoughts I look forward to going through this experience with you and the others I this forum.

Welcome Neighbor (couldn't resist).  Yes, by all mean post about concerns.  This is one of the goals of this group:  to share our concerns, triumphs and struggles - and to be here for each other as best as we can. 

There are a lot of us that week.  I'm the day after you two on the 17th.

Karen

I figured we are all neighbors on here.

Actually, my first thought was to go with "Hiddy ho, good neighbor", but thought maybe I was too old for you to get the reference.

And yes, at the very least we are all neighbors here. 

Karen

I'm laughing out loud. I'm old enough to have heard the reference for sure.  I'm 49 in December.  But I confess that I don't get the reference even if I am old enough to, which I probably am.  Maybe you can help me out. 

Back in the 90's, Tim Allen starred in a show called Home Improvement.  He played a sort of Bob Villa character on a TV show, only he was always doing things wrong and having accidents.  His family's neighbor (shared a back yard fence) was called "Wilson".  His character's schtick was that in the 9 or so years the show was on the air, they never showed his entire face.  It started out with him just having the nose up showing over the fence as he talked with Tim - actually he was usually giving Tim advice and using metaphors that Tim would then mix up when attempting to retell the story.  Anyway, to get to the point of the whole thing, every  time Wilson saw Tim out in his yard, he would greet him with, "Hiddy ho good neighbor!" 

(I'm about to be 56.  I'm sooooooo old.)