Lissa

How old are you? My venous doctor told me that I am too young to keep a vena cava filter in forever, that the risks outweighed the benefits. I'm 45 and he expects my life expectancy to be "normal" and the filter could clog up 20 years down the road. I had mine removed... and the removal was the hardest surgery for me mentally. I think it was because I would then be "normal" and I had no idea what to expect!

I spent my post-op time watching Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Every time he'd go "That's MONEY", I'd make myself take a sip of water! LOL It amused me.

Phat, Are they going to take your vena cava filter out in a couple of weeks? Mine was removed at 3 weeks post op. I actually asked if I could keep the filter, but they wouldn't let me! I thought it would be a cool souvenir and I actually thought about having it gold-plated and wearing it on a necklace. It saved my life, so why not!?

I'd do the sleeve again. I remember talking to a colleague pre-surgery about his neighor who had lost sixty pounds (at that time) from her WLS. I thought to myself "Wow, That's amazing! I'd love it if I could lose sixty pounds, too!" Well, here I am at 9 months post op and I've lost 100+ pounds! I had to have 3 surgeries total to get my sleeve because of blood clot issues, but I'd have all three surgeries again, and twice on Sunday, in order to be as happy and healthy as I am today. And, I've still got about 60 pounds until I get to goal.

My ankles went down in a hurry right after surgery and have stayed down, thank goodness! I think my legs and tush are my best parts right now. You can really see the improvement in them from my bike and gym workouts. Yours will look better and better as you lose weight and, once you're cleared for weights, any leg work you do will offer a dramatic improvement.

My sleeve surgery was not painful at all compared to my two c-sections. If you had laprascopic gall bladder surgery, you will be able to handle the sleeve just fine, IMO!

I was 352 and a chocaholic too. Between the two week pre-op diet and my liquids stage afterwards, I lost ANY love for sweets for months. I now appreciate something sweet on occasion, but it's nowhere near the problem it was before. My biggest obsession these days is cheetos! LOL You are a strong person to step up and ask for help with your obesity. But, the sleeve will help you to begin losing the weight. Whether you're committed mentally right now or not, you will commit fully once that weight starts dropping off you. I worried that I wouldn't be able to make myself exercise...and now I'm addicted to the gym! Good luck! I can't wait to see how fast your weight comes off you!!

I'd call your doctor and let him/her know about the bleeding. They will probably tell you to just keep an eye on it, but they MAY want to actually take a look at it just in case it needs a stitch. Err on the side of caution since these incisions go all the way through and aren't just cuts on the outside layer of your skin. Good luck!!

Forensikchic, You just explained my philosophy on cheetos perfectly! I know they aren't "good" nutrition-wise, but I love them. I have a few here and there and then go on with my life. If I never allowed myself to have them, I'd crave them constantly! At least that's my thinking.

The pre-op liquid diet was the worst part for me as well. The next hardest part for me was realizing that, no matter what, I was going to have to add exercise to my daily life. Doing it isn't the toughest part, but realizing that I was going to have to "Just Do It" was tough for me to wrap my head around. At 9 months out, though, I feel 100% better and I'm down over 100 pounds, so I am inspired to keep exercising and following the guidelines my surgeon gave me.

Congrats!!!

Yay!! That's always a nice NSV!

Congrats on the smaller size AND on the NSVs! It's always nice for hard work to be recognized!!

My stomach is my most difficult place to shrink. There is muscle there, lots of it, but it's underneath a bunch of skin. My arms and legs are toning up pretty well, but my tummy is not showing as much improvement.

I see nothing wrong with being a carnivore! It's protein, baby!!

Do you have BCBS/IL? I was told, and I read the policy as well, that UPS unilaterally excludes WLS. I self-paid because of it. Of course, my surgery was almost 9 monhts ago, so that may have changed.

Any NSV is a big victory! Great for you!!

Chrissy, Take all the leave they will give you. Since you're going to have to self-pay because UPS has a unilateral weight loss exclusion, take all the time you can get.

Star, I think you were a victim of "rote speech". He hears the same things from patients so often that he has a speech in place for that expected conversation. He doesn't know how to vary his approach to someone who is actually being successful. I agree that he's an a##, but at least he actually sees you instead of palming you off on someone else like some of the doctors I've read about on here.

Good job!!

I'm almost 9 months out and I have no regrets. IMO, the sleeve saved my life. I'm happier, healthier and fitter than EVER before. This is the best thing I've ever done for myself.

You should check out profiles for Stronger_Diva and for Sleeve of Steel. Both of them look really good and are still healthy looking gals. Diva is in a zero and Sleeve of Steel has specifically chosen to be a little thicker for her own reason. You do NOT have to get to stick thin after being sleeved. I doubt I'll ever get to that point myself. I'm 5'8, so anything below 180 or so is going to look pretty bad on me. My goal weight is 190. I think we all go through the stage of wishing we could have done this without surgery..and many of us have lost significant amounts of weight without WLS. The problem is that it's very hard to keep that weight off without WLS. This isn't a miracle. It's a tool to HELP us do what we need to do to get healthy. Lots of sleevers manage to get to goal without exercise, but those who are most successful in my book are the ones who add exercise to their daily routines. Good luck, whatever decision you make!

I never actually posted that I had WLS. I started posting pictures of myself with notes like "50 pounds gone" or "Off to the gym for my morning workout". I'm a member of a couple of Sleeve groups on FB, and I've posted things on my page that relate to sleeving, plus I now have several personal friends (as opposed to friends through a group) who post things related to their WLS journeys on their personal pages. It's just matter of factly become part of my daily life on FB. I'm sleeved; I'm proud; bite me if you don't like it. Of course, as I've posted bits and pieces of my journey, others have asked questions, but only one person has said anything remotely negative TO me about my surgery on FB. I'm noticing that a LOT of my friends are now working out and dieting, and a couple are actually being pretty successful. If I've had a hand in inspiring that, great!

One of my best NSVs has been the ability to sit in both vinyl and canvas lawn chairs without worrying about them collapsing under me!

Oh, except maybe Whoo Hoo!