Since my VSG I have had several people message me curious about the procedure, the side effects, the details and my results. The last couple of weeks it seems that I have had an influx of conversations about the sleeve. I'm always happy to talk about and off help or advice when I can. An unspoken in every comment is ... "Will this work for me?" I'm obviously not a Dr. & I can only say that based on my own experience I would recommend the sleeve to everyone. It has to be something you work out within yourself, there is an commentary we have with ourselves, doubt and fear creep in & we don't go through with it, I think for me that the desire to be healthy eventually took over. I know a lot of you are like me, so here are a few of the internal battles I faced and the post op results up to this point. 1. Will I ever eat normal again? - Normal is relative, if by normal you mean a thanksgiving sized feast every meal, then No... you will never eat normal again. However, if by normal you mean healthy portions of healthy foods then yes, and you will actually feel more normal than pre-op. My mindset is changing where food is concerned. Sure there are times my fat girl brain and impulses take over and I make myself sick. Those impulses are getting further and further apart though and it is getting easier to pass on the chips and fries and cookies and candy. 2. I am the fat Jolly girl, will this change that? This was such a silly fear... skinny is funny too... how ridiculous that I would assume my size would change my personality!?! I am the same me, right now my hormones are wild and crazy but they were before too. I look forward to the day that they are lined out and mood swings are a thing of the past! 3. Will people see me as weak? For the most part age has taught me to not worry about what others think ... but, I still didn't want those close to me to see me as weak.... on the contrary though, I think that they see me as strong willing to take a leap of faith and do something drastic to make a change. 4. God made me "perfect" does that mean I am meant to be fat? Yes, I am meant to be fat and a meth head is meant to be beautiful with icky rotting teeth! NO! It is true, God created all things perfect, then a little thing called sin sneaks in and we choose to succumb to it. My sin? Much like the meth head is an addiction to what is killing me and destroying "His temple." I literally have an addiction and to be honest it is quite possible I would put that sin before Him and make it my idol of sorts. 5. How will my kids, husband, family & friends react when I start dropping the weight? Not a major fear for me but more concerned about some over others. Everyone has been so supportive and each one amazed at the change at different times. I am still a little concerned about J. we struggle a little and have an appointment to meet with a nutritionist. 6. Will I eventually just give up like all the times before? I have days of weakness, I backslide, I cheat... but so far I always come back around. It is easier now to pick myself up and get back on track. I think I'll be fine! 7. Will I live life hungry or hangry? Tummy hungry not often, head hungry a lot... it is all mental I have to distract myself, this is my current goal, to defeat head hunger. As far as Hangry goes, I am never hungry enough to be angry. 8. My hair will fall out, my skin will sag is it worth it? The answer is yes! My hair has changed textures and is falling out by the hand full... I take that as an opportunity to get a new style. and honestly as fast as it is falling out it is growing back. I have whispy new baby hair all over. I am only in the beginnings of sagging skin but it isn't as bad as I anticipated I was certain I would have sagging thighs but they are actually pretty firm ... I have the "bye-bye" arms but am working on it, so we'll see. 9. Vitamins daily for life? Not bad at all!!! Yeah I do it, but I'd rather take vitamins than a handful of prescription drugs. 10. I am never going to be able to feed my family and myself with such different diets? I have discovered a new love for cooking, it is tough at times and there are a lot of fend for yourself lunches, but I try to cook dinner 5 times a week! I enjoy tweaking recipes to fit all of our needs, but this just recently happened. In the beginning if I ate with my family, I ate too much too fast, now that I know my tummy I know what will work with all of us. This is why I choose to have a VSG. Because I am not perfect. Because I needed help. Because even though I occasionally screw up I deserve to be happy. Because I want to be a better Mom, wife, sister daughter, friend, aunt and hopefully someday grandma. Other commonly asked questions and their answers for those of you wondering ... What are my options? Why did you choose Mexico? What did it cost? How soon did you book? How long were you off work? - As far as VSG options, as far as paying goes there is the insurance, self pay or finance options. Insurance is only available here in the US as far as I know. However, there are finance options in both Mx and US.From what I have seen and heard the average self pay in the US begins at around $12,000 though I have heard of a couple getting deals for newer surgeons and facilities, so it is worth calling around for. - I chose Mexico, for a ton of reasons. To my family it was no shock, I have always connected with my people south of the border. Aside from the cost difference, I honestly don't feel like I would have been able to hang with the US pre-op requirements for sx, I think I'd have given up. I had limited funds and honestly Mx just fell into place. - My total cost was $5000. Michael and I both have a flex plan option through work with a $2500 max. I think for me my sx with BMI add'ons was about $4000 and our airfare was $800. I used the flex cards for the Sx and paid cash for the airfare. The $4000 included all hospital, dr. and medication costs AND the hotel room at the Marriott for both Michael and I. I booked 3 months out BUT could have books as soon as 2 weeks out! - I took a week off of work... we left on a Sunday had SX on a Tuesday and returned home on a Friday. I went back to work on a Tuesday. If you are thinking about the sleeve or have more questions, post them here or message me on FB! I'd love to answer your questions!
2 Comments
Sheena Smith
7/23/2015 09:44:51 am
I just started looking in to this recently. You talked about the pre-op requirements, are those waived with the procedure there?
Reply
Frick
7/23/2015 09:50:02 am
Yes most of them are insurance requirements like a psyc. Evaluation & 6 month Dr. Monitored diet.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
This weight loss is only from June 2015 (I had lost another 51 pounds prior to this)
Blog MissionIt has taken me a long time to get to this point, but I feel like God opened the right doors at the right time. My vision for this blog is not only to document and share my journey with those who care, but also to encourage those who may be following in my footsteps. First and foremost though, I want to give all the glory to God & to focus on his plan for me throughout the journey. What you talkin' 'bout?VSG = Vertical Gastric Sleeve Categories
All
Archives
November 2016
Comments
|