My 60th Birthday Present to Myself-Getting Healthy. Grand Rapids, MI

I had a breast reduction in November 2012 and tummy tuck in March 2013. I've tried every diet possible to lose weight, but find myself heavier than before the above 2 surgeries that cut and sucked probably 20+ lbs. off me. My weight is approx. 240, BMI 39, I'm 5'5" and will be 60 years old January 20, 2015. I need to get healthy. This year my doctor told me I'm pre-diabetic. In March my A1C was 6.3, thru some dieting and exercising I was able to get it down to 6.0 which is still prediabetic. I have had high cholesterol for probably 30+ years (I take medication), non-alcoholic fatty liver (which will eventually attack my liver just like liver scerosis), vericose veins, tingling in hands & feet, high blood pressure, sleep apnea (never diagnosed but I wake up gasping for air), short of breath, lots of arthritis in my joints that hurt more due to obesity. I tell people during my adult life time I've lost about 1,000 lbs and gained 1,100 lbs. I'm sure I've screwed up my metabolism and it's time to do something to get healthy before I find myself taking insulin shots and all the complications that come with diabetes and the other chronic ailments I have. I mentioned to my Dr. that I was seriously thinking about the Gastric sleeve procedure (after my diabetic class in his office) hoping he wouldn't think I'm lazy since I can't lose the weight. He totally surprised me when he told me he agreed 100% that it was the best option out there for me to lose & maintain my weight for the rest of my life. I was gifted some money from my Mom which will pay the $18,000 I've been quoted by St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI so I can have the surgery 30 miles from home. I have friends who have gone thru them and are extremely happy with the outcome. I have filled out the paperwork, have had many of the required tests done, my insurance will not cover this surgery so no waiting there. I'm going to their free seminar on Aug. 9th (1 week away) and hope to be able to move ahead quickly. I've asked my husband to go with me and hope he will to understand the process. After my TT he said "no more surgeries" so I want to get him involved and excited for me. I'm sure I'll be blogging alot like I did with my other 2 surgeries. I don't anticipate having nearly the pain/problems with this that I did my TT 16 months ago.

I've never minded having my picture taken, even thou I've been a big woman most my life. I know many big women hide from the camera and wear dark clothes-not me. I believe big women can dress well and carry themselves proudly. Hope that self-confidence comes thru in my pictures. I'm looking forward to having my pictures taken after I lose weight.

My husband & I attended free seminar regarding gastric surgeries. I was the first person thru the door to register (after sitting in front of the building 30 min. waiting for them to open), I sat in front row (the only one) in front of our speaker Dr. Foote who is one of 4 bariatric surgeon at Grand Health Partners. With 4 partners there is always a bariatric surgeon on call. There's no need to go to the ER with complications. He went thru the different procedures and explained they take out more gastric bands than they put in since gastric sleeve works so well. He said he can complete gastric sleeve surgery in 1 hour and 17 minutes. The practice has done 8,000 gastic procedures. He had graphs showing the patient satisfaction percentages for each procedure. He gave me alot of confidence. They have before & after support classes. They will not do surgery on anyone who has mental issues or who smoke (they do nicotine testing) since this hinders healing and can lead to a host of health issues. Their practice does require the 2 week liquid diet before surgery. They will have follow-up appointments with me 3, 6, 12, 18 mos. and annually for the rest of my life. I can also continue to attend any of their support classes that I want. I like having support after my surgery 30 min. from my home. This is one of the reasons I'm not willing to fly off to Mexico for this procedure. They complete their surgeries at St. Mary's Hospital where each person has a private room and will stay 1-2 days. He said in our area 99% of their surgeries are covered by health insurance once you jump thru all the insurance hoops. I'm definantly the 1% minority doing self-pay. My husband attended with me and is on my side to have the surgery since my general practicianer endorsed this weight loss surgery 100% to help with my co-obesity chronic health issues. I've been ordering my supplies: 2 different kinds of whey protein, biotin, liquacel, torani syrups, gummy vitamins, vitamin D, calorie-protein-carb book and high protein/low carb protein bars. I'm calling Monday morning to start lining up the psych test and to review what medical tests I need before I can have the surgery. I would like to be on top of everything and be scheduled for surgery with in 1 month. That would give me 4 mos. to lose as much weight as possible before I turn the BIG 60.