Closing out my 20's with a New ME! :) - San Diego, CA

Hi Real Self folks!

My name is Melanie and I am 29 years old. I was skinny all throughout high school and college, I'm talking 125-130 lbs soaking wet. Once I graduated from college I got my first desk job and the pounds began to pack on. At 24 I weighed 200 lbs and now at 29 I am at my highest weight ever of 255 lbs. I have tried everything. Weight Watchers, Atkins, HCG Diet, you name it, I've tried it. I always do really well at first and lose about 20-30lbs, but then I get discouraged and gain back what I've lost and then some. It's a very, very frustrating, maddening process and I'm ready to kick the yo-yo dieting to the curb for good.

I have very high blood pressure, I'm tired all of the time, I'm not sleeping well, and I've had enough. I decided it was time to start looking into tools such as weight loss surgery to help me get where I want to be by the big 3-0. I turn 30 on September 29th and will be celebrating my 30th birthday in Greece with my best friend.

A few months ago (around February 2015) I was talking to a good friend about my interest in weight loss surgery and she happened to be best friends with a nurse at a weight loss center. I called my PCP and got a referral to go to the surgeon, Dr. Bhoyrul that my friend recommended via her nurse friend. My first office visit was nerve wracking. I didn't know a lot about the different procedures and was scared I would be judged for my weight as I have been sooo many times before at the doctors office. Well, my fears were immediately put to ease when Dr. Bhoyrul walked in with a huge smile, a hug, and said "Don't you worry. We are in this together". He has been amazing from the get-go. He talked through the 3 different procedures possible, LapBand, Sleeve, And Gastric Bypass. I decided with him that the Sleeve was the best option for me because I want to lose 100 lbs and I won't have the fuss of adjusting a foreign object periodically. I met with a nutritionist that day and talked in length about what life would be like after surgery.

My insurance was pretty great and I didn't have to have a lot of pre requisites done to get the surgery approval. The only 2 things I needed were a Gallbladder ultrasound and a Psychological evaluation. The Psychologist covered under my insurance was booked out pretty far in advance, so that was the longest part of this entire process. I met with the surgeon and nutritionist for appointment #2 last Friday, May 15th after I had completed my insurance requirements. They submitted everything to my insurance for final surgery approval and I was APPROVED for surgery on June 8th, 2015. My pre-op diet begins on May 29th. Is it ironic that I'm more nervous about the pre-op diet than I am about the actual procedure? :)

I know this is a LIFESTYLE change and I am trying to prepare myself for what's to come. I've been working out 3x per week to get in the habit of being active and I am meeting with a personal trainer tomorrow morning who specializes in helping people who have had weight loss surgery. I know this is going to be a difficult journey, but I am so ready to start.

My doctor has recommended I get 4 weeks off of work approved just in case, but thinks I should be ok after 2-3 weeks. I'm lucky because my job, friends, and family have been very supportive. I admire those of you who are doing this journey on your own. Your strength is inspiring. My mom and dad are coming from AZ for my surgery and my mom is going to stay all 4 weeks post-op to take care of me as only mamas can. :)

I am having a "goodbye old stomach" dinner on Monday (Memorial Day) at The Cheesecake Factory. It will be my last splurge before my journey kicks off. I plan on going to Costco tomorrow to stock up on broth, sugar free popsicles, low sodium soup, and Premier protein shakes. I've been told to get Gas-x dissolvable strips, a heating pad, and small dishes and utensils for eating. Is there anything else any of you veterans would recommend for me?

I'm excited to document my journey here. I hope this time next year I can look back and think "WOW! Look how far I've come!" :)

I'm not going to lie. The pre-op diet has not been fun. My nutritionist is only allowing me broth (2 cups per day) Protein shakes (up to 3 per day) one serving of plain oatmeal, 1 greek yogurt, 3 sugar free popsicles and/or Jello servings, and 1 cup of thickened soup under 20 g of carbs per day. Sounds like a lot, but I find myself very hungry and broth just doesn't do the job to keep me full. I've seen other that are allowed eggs, chicken, and veggies on their pre-op diets and I am SO JEALOUS. Thankfully, I'm still allowed to have coffee and tea with caffeine so that has been a lifesaver. I use a splash of almond milk in the coffee and Truvia sweetener in the iced tea and coffee.

I had to travel for work today to San Francisco (day trip only) part of this involved taking my clients out to lunch and I was nervous because I couldn't sit there and sip iced tea or water and not eat anything. Thankfully, my nutritionist approved 3 oz of chicken and a veggie for today ONLY. I had a small salad with shredded chicken on top w/ Pico de gallo instead of dressing and it tasted like the most glorious meal i've ever had. lol. I was so happy to have something to CHEW!

I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize and find other ways to keep my mind off of food and keep myself entertained. This weekend I made a "Motivation Board". Picture attached. This was a pretty cool project to do. I plan on hanging it next to my bed so I can look at it every day along this journey and have a visual reminder of why i'm doing this.

1 week from today is my surgery date. It seems unreal. My parents get here on Wednesday and my pre-op appt is on Friday. I'm starting to get really nervous. I know this is the right thing to do, but I keep having moments of thinking, "Maybe I should try to do it on my own again instead of having surgery". I know in my heart I'm making the right choice and this tool is going to change my life, but It's just the fear of the unknown that is making it hard. Oh yeah, and the fact that I'm sick of broth. :) Lol. I keep chanting "it's not forever. It's not forever" to myself when I get discouraged.

I started pinning low carb high protein recipes on pinterest to try out once I'm recovered and past the post-op diet and I also read a lot of motivational quotes. Both of these activities have really helped my state of mind and attitude. :)

I think the ten day pre-op diet might be the hardest part because I'm still HUNGRY and I want to eat! I'm hoping after surgery some of this hunger subsides and I'm full quickly and easily. Hope everyone else is doing ok. :) I will post another update after my pre-op appointment on Friday.

Friday was my preop appointment and I was excited to see my surgeon one last time and get my portion of the surgery paid. (Insurance paid 80%). So, I check in, give my copay and then ask when I should pay the balance for surgery. She looks down at my form and says "sweetie your insurance covered it 100%. You don't owe anything. ". I almost fainted. I was expecting to pay $2000-$2500 out of pocket, transferred the money from savings and everything! It was a blessing beyond belief. The way I look at it is now I have a $2000 starting budget for my new hot wardrobe I'll need to be getting soon :)

After the fantastic news of the $0 copayment my doctor came in and examined me. Talked to me and my mom. Explained the procedure one more time and was so kind and empathetic. I'm convinced I have the best bariatric surgeon in the world, and surprisingly enough a lot of things I've been reading have been supporting this belief! :).

Drumroll please... My highest weight from before preop was 257 lbs. I weighed in on Friday at preop at 248 lbs. 9 lbs down in 8 days of liquid diet. WOOHOO! He also told me i had lost 1% body fat. He was so happy with my results that he allowed me to have grilled chicken yesterday and friday. Getting some chicken into me was life changing. I instantly felt SO much better.

After the appointment with my surgeon I went to the hospital for my bloodwork and ekg. Piece of cake. (Sugar free of course haha)! The hospital admission copay is all I had to pay and it was only $500. Everything else was covered by my insurance and I am so beyond blessed.

The nurse was really nice and walked us through everything that would happen on Monday. I have to use antiseptic body wash tonight and tomorrow morning. No lotion or deodorant morning of surgery. My check in time is 815am and my surgery time is 1015am.

Today I went and got my nails done. A necessity for us ladies to feel on point and relaxed before a big event. I got my prescriptions filled from my surgeon. He gave me 1 for nausea, 1 for acid reflux, and heavy duty pain pills. I have all of that ready for when I'm back from the hospital so I don't have to have someone run and get them. I have iced tea, water, crunchy ice, ten types of different broths and soups and I feel like I'm ready to go. Last step is doing a load of laundry to take to the hospital and changing my sheets so they are clean After I lay in them after the antibiotic wash tonight.

So, all in all this is happening. Going to take a quick nap , finish my laundry , pack my hospital bag, and I'm ready to go! :)