Diane324
I am 41 years old and have been pursuing WLS for about a year and a half now. In March 2008 my weight reached an all time high of 389 pounds. 
I had been working with a surgeon closer to my home, but wasn't making progress with weight loss due to fluid retention - after a troubling session with their psychologist, I chose to leave their program. 
In August 2008 I met with Dr. Mecenas, who seemed quiet and reserved, but knowledgeble and concerned. I had researched the surgeries and decided that after being overweight since I was about 12 years old, and after multiple yo-yo attempts at weight loss that always ended up adding more weight than I had lost, the RNY was a better option for me than the lap band. I also wasn't crazy about the idea of having the band inserted and having fills done periodically. 
By the time I met with Dr. M, I had to prepare written answers to about a dozen questions that would indicate I fully understood the procedure - I think I ended up with about 14 pages of information that I had looked up on the Internet and after going over that and my reasons for choosing the RNY procedure he agreed with me and gave me a goal to reduce my BMI from ~64 to 50 before the surgery. 
As of today, 16 days before my surgery, I have about 7 pounds to lose to meet that objective. I am beginning my two week liquid diet, I have given up my vice, Coke and I am cautioulsy optimistic. My original surgery was scheduled for March 24, 2009 - but had to be cancelled because I developed bilateral PEs (blood clots) in my lungs just 2 weeks before the surgery. 
Although the blood clots have been gone for a couple months, Dr. M was insistent that the surgery not take place before September to insure my safety during the surgery. I am hopeful that this surgery will be the tool that helps me lose this weight permanently and will help to relieve the back pain I experience everyday. I hope to experience life as a normal size person, and to break free of the discrimination that obese people live with everyday. 
