Lissa

I read that book and didn't related the VBG to VSG at all. Hmmm, maybe I need to check my reading comprehension skills! I know nothing about VBG, so I can't comment on that. But, I know a little bit about VSG, and it involves some fairly new techniques added to an old surgical procedure. Removal of all or a portion of the stomach has been done for many years for things like stomach cancer and ulcers. My late mother in law had most of her stomach removed because of stomach cancer.
The difference with VSG is that the techniques to remove part of the stomach have been advanced to the point where the surgery can be done laparascopically most of the time. The stapling technique has also evolved into a fairly simple procedure wherein a tube (bougie/bougle) is passed down the throat into the stomach and the surgeon uses an automatic stapler/cutter to close off the removed section and the remaining section, then removes the excess stomach through a laparscopic incision.
In traditional stomach surgery, the patient is opened up with a midline incision and the stomach is removed. My mother in law had a long scar on her tummy and she said the doctor hand-sewed her stomach closed after removing the cancerous part of her stomach. I do believe that her remaining stomach was more restrictive than my sleeve is.
Most of the WLS procedures that involved stapling or re-routing the stomach before left the excluded part of the stomach intact in the body. That did not keep people from getting ulcers or cancer in that section, nor did it remove the part of the stomach that produced ghrelin, which is the hormone that makes us hungry. So, you have someone with an intact urge to eat, but without the stomach capacity to eat enough to eliminate the hunger. My sister in law had a gastric bypass and says that she fights the actual hunger every day. Those WLS surgeries also often involved re-routing of the intestines and, sometimes, removal of the pyloric valve. That's the valve at the bottom of your stomach that releases your food into the intestines to be digested.
Sleevers keep their pyloric valve, lose the ghrelin, and can eat most foods safely, although in smaller quantities than before. Some never get the hunger back, some do. Overall, though, VSG is safer, with fewer side effects and guaranteed complications than most of the other WLS surgeries available, In my opinion anyway!
I think that's a fairly complete description, but please, anyone, correct me if I've given erroneous information.
Good luck with your decision!!

I second the nomination for PDXMan. He's always got great advice for fitness and exercise questions and he's a straight shooter.
LilMissDiva (or Stronger Diva or Fitness Diva, I can't keep up! LOL) is another great choice. I know she's admin, but she's at goal and still going strong on exercise and supporting others, both here and in other forums.
There are tons of posters here who would be great as a spotlight. I'd love to see a member spotlight on many of the old-timers, if only so that new people could see their stories and journeys: Sleeve4Me, MassIndex, Tiffykins, MeginNoLa.... I could probably name 50 people off the top of my head for a variety of reasons.
Someone who had complications yet was successful with their sleeve would be great. I'd also love to see some of the exercise gurus highlighted. It would be great to have someone who had a really high BMI, yet managed to meet their goal.
It would also be great to see a spotlight of the admin team. For me, Alex is just a name. I know he's the founder of the forum, but I don't know his story. Has Alex been sleeved? How much did he lose? How long did it take? The same for a couple of other admin people. I know Susan's story because I haunted the site looking for it. Sorry Susan, you didn't know I stalked you, did you?
Perhaps Member Spotlight could become a forum of it's own once there have been a few done.

Not to mention that beautiful people help charities way more than us simple peons down here. Every time a major star (read: beautiful people) gets involved with a charity, it's donations go through the roof. When you look better, people are more responsive to your efforts to sell anything. Go for it! Please!! And then post before after pics so we can all Ohh and Ahhh over you!

Gman, I LOVE the term "temple maintenance"! I'm going to steal that for myself and I may even start calling exercise that, too!

Pardon my french, but HE#* yes, you're worth it and HE*# no, you shouldn't give up on the idea of having a sex life. You're 47, not 107...and I understand the geriatric set are into sex in a big way, too!
I think you have laid out an excellent case for why you want to have surgery. You have busted your butt to lose weight and do what's right for everyone else. If you want to have this done, I say go for it!!!

I read that book and didn't related the VBG to VSG at all. Hmmm, maybe I need to check my reading comprehension skills! I know nothing about VBG, so I can't comment on that. But, I know a little bit about VSG, and it involves some fairly new techniques added to an old surgical procedure. Removal of all or a portion of the stomach has been done for many years for things like stomach cancer and ulcers. My late mother in law had most of her stomach removed because of stomach cancer.
The difference with VSG is that the techniques to remove part of the stomach have been advanced to the point where the surgery can be done laparascopically most of the time. The stapling technique has also evolved into a fairly simple procedure wherein a tube (bougie/bougle) is passed down the throat into the stomach and the surgeon uses an automatic stapler/cutter to close off the removed section and the remaining section, then removes the excess stomach through a laparscopic incision.
In traditional stomach surgery, the patient is opened up with a midline incision and the stomach is removed. My mother in law had a long scar on her tummy and she said the doctor hand-sewed her stomach closed after removing the cancerous part of her stomach. I do believe that her remaining stomach was more restrictive than my sleeve is.
Most of the WLS procedures that involved stapling or re-routing the stomach before left the excluded part of the stomach intact in the body. That did not keep people from getting ulcers or cancer in that section, nor did it remove the part of the stomach that produced ghrelin, which is the hormone that makes us hungry. So, you have someone with an intact urge to eat, but without the stomach capacity to eat enough to eliminate the hunger. My sister in law had a gastric bypass and says that she fights the actual hunger every day. Those WLS surgeries also often involved re-routing of the intestines and, sometimes, removal of the pyloric valve. That's the valve at the bottom of your stomach that releases your food into the intestines to be digested.
Sleevers keep their pyloric valve, lose the ghrelin, and can eat most foods safely, although in smaller quantities than before. Some never get the hunger back, some do. Overall, though, VSG is safer, with fewer side effects and guaranteed complications than most of the other WLS surgeries available, In my opinion anyway!
I think that's a fairly complete description, but please, anyone, correct me if I've given erroneous information.
Good luck with your decision!!

It sounds like the doctor may be right to want to convert you to a full bypass. Can s/he offer reassurance that the conversion would end this pain? If so, I'd be on the table asap. If not, then wait until this heals. I'm sure they have checked, but could you have either an ulcer or an abcess? Did they put in a stent to hold the stomach in place until the healing process is finished? If so, perhaps the stent has slipped somehow? On the bright side, you ARE able to eat instead of being on TPN via IV. I do wish you luck on your journey. I'm sorry you're having a tough time, but glad that you've got medical people working to help you out.

wigenie, I understand not wanting to cut those ties. I had to do a lot of tie-cutting during my journey as well.. .and some of it has been really difficult. Do you have hobbies? Hopefully ones that involve social activities. I now love singing karaoke and have found a little hole in the wall place where I feel totally comfortable even if I get up and screw a song up badly. When I started karaoke, I found a whole new group of people who are positive and friendly. That has helped me more with self-acceptance than the counseling, IMO. I truly believe in counseling, but positive feedback is always appreciated, kapish? I truly do wish you luck and I hope that you'll make the ex turn you loose. He's not doing anything positive for you if he's hanging around without making an emotional commitment to you. Even if he's providing sex (and you don't have to tell any of us that), he's got to provide emotional support too, or he's not the right man. As my Granny used to tell me "Girl, you got one of THESE, you can get all of THOSE you want".. .and she's right.

I started out walking up and down the hallway in my apartment and progressed slowly to where I can get out and walk a few times around the block without pain. I find that using the elliptical or the exercise bike are super easy now. I just took a friend to the gym today and showed her around the machinery. She was dying after 5 minutes on the exercise bike, while I did that 5 minutes, plus a half hour on the elliptical, plus weights. She was beating herself up over her "lack" of ability and I had to explain to her that it takes time to build up the endurance that I have now. All of us have to start somewhere, but, no matter how little you do, you're still miles ahead of those sitting on the couch!

What a great question! Pre-op, I was probably a 3-5 most of the time, but I didn't realize how low my spirits were. Looking back at pictures of myself from then, I seldom smiled and I don't remember being really happy most of the time. Now, almost two years out, with a year of counseling under my belt, I'm normally between a 7-10. As others have said, I love the fact that I'm so much smaller, healthier and able to do whatever I want to do. If I never lose another pound or inch, my VSG was worth it! What makes me even happier is knowing that I WILL lose another pound and another inch (over and over) until I get to my goal. So, overall, an 8-9 most of the time. BTW, I'm smiling in almost every picture I take these days!

I agree with Kelsa. It's time to cut the ties with the ex. He's getting something from your interaction (hero worship from you perhaps?) and so are you, but it sounds like you're getting negative messages from him. Don't tolerate it. I also think that counseling would be a great thing for you to explore. Being overweight adds to depression issues and you can't be part of a healthy relationship with someone else until you have a healthy relationship with yourself...whether you have WLS or not. Being thinner only changes your outside packaging. The inside has to change as well...and THAT part of this journey is tough without help. The one thing that I have learned from my year of counseling after WLS is the "be careful what I think". If I start negative self-talk in my head, I will end up depressed and sad. If I keep my self-talk positive, it spreads sunshine and light to the rest of my life. I'm not at my personal weight loss goal yet, but I will get there. However, I'm a million miles removed from the sad, depressed woman I was before my sleeve. This journey requires a lot of head work in addition to the food restriction and exercise that we do. There is a huge mental change that comes with this journey and you really need to be prepared to handle that change because it's going to rock your world in a good way!

wigenie, I understand not wanting to cut those ties. I had to do a lot of tie-cutting during my journey as well.. .and some of it has been really difficult. Do you have hobbies? Hopefully ones that involve social activities. I now love singing karaoke and have found a little hole in the wall place where I feel totally comfortable even if I get up and screw a song up badly. When I started karaoke, I found a whole new group of people who are positive and friendly. That has helped me more with self-acceptance than the counseling, IMO. I truly believe in counseling, but positive feedback is always appreciated, kapish? I truly do wish you luck and I hope that you'll make the ex turn you loose. He's not doing anything positive for you if he's hanging around without making an emotional commitment to you. Even if he's providing sex (and you don't have to tell any of us that), he's got to provide emotional support too, or he's not the right man. As my Granny used to tell me "Girl, you got one of THESE, you can get all of THOSE you want".. .and she's right.

Girl, the more weight I lost, the sexier I felt. The sexier I felt, the more I wanted to share it with my man! I think you will be fine.

I agree with Kelsa. It's time to cut the ties with the ex. He's getting something from your interaction (hero worship from you perhaps?) and so are you, but it sounds like you're getting negative messages from him. Don't tolerate it. I also think that counseling would be a great thing for you to explore. Being overweight adds to depression issues and you can't be part of a healthy relationship with someone else until you have a healthy relationship with yourself...whether you have WLS or not. Being thinner only changes your outside packaging. The inside has to change as well...and THAT part of this journey is tough without help. The one thing that I have learned from my year of counseling after WLS is the "be careful what I think". If I start negative self-talk in my head, I will end up depressed and sad. If I keep my self-talk positive, it spreads sunshine and light to the rest of my life. I'm not at my personal weight loss goal yet, but I will get there. However, I'm a million miles removed from the sad, depressed woman I was before my sleeve. This journey requires a lot of head work in addition to the food restriction and exercise that we do. There is a huge mental change that comes with this journey and you really need to be prepared to handle that change because it's going to rock your world in a good way!

I agree with Kelsa. It's time to cut the ties with the ex. He's getting something from your interaction (hero worship from you perhaps?) and so are you, but it sounds like you're getting negative messages from him. Don't tolerate it. I also think that counseling would be a great thing for you to explore. Being overweight adds to depression issues and you can't be part of a healthy relationship with someone else until you have a healthy relationship with yourself...whether you have WLS or not. Being thinner only changes your outside packaging. The inside has to change as well...and THAT part of this journey is tough without help. The one thing that I have learned from my year of counseling after WLS is the "be careful what I think". If I start negative self-talk in my head, I will end up depressed and sad. If I keep my self-talk positive, it spreads sunshine and light to the rest of my life. I'm not at my personal weight loss goal yet, but I will get there. However, I'm a million miles removed from the sad, depressed woman I was before my sleeve. This journey requires a lot of head work in addition to the food restriction and exercise that we do. There is a huge mental change that comes with this journey and you really need to be prepared to handle that change because it's going to rock your world in a good way!

I agree with Kelsa. It's time to cut the ties with the ex. He's getting something from your interaction (hero worship from you perhaps?) and so are you, but it sounds like you're getting negative messages from him. Don't tolerate it. I also think that counseling would be a great thing for you to explore. Being overweight adds to depression issues and you can't be part of a healthy relationship with someone else until you have a healthy relationship with yourself...whether you have WLS or not. Being thinner only changes your outside packaging. The inside has to change as well...and THAT part of this journey is tough without help. The one thing that I have learned from my year of counseling after WLS is the "be careful what I think". If I start negative self-talk in my head, I will end up depressed and sad. If I keep my self-talk positive, it spreads sunshine and light to the rest of my life. I'm not at my personal weight loss goal yet, but I will get there. However, I'm a million miles removed from the sad, depressed woman I was before my sleeve. This journey requires a lot of head work in addition to the food restriction and exercise that we do. There is a huge mental change that comes with this journey and you really need to be prepared to handle that change because it's going to rock your world in a good way!

I would suggest seeing a counselor. They can help you sort things out, and can be a great option. Weight loss surgery won't cure/solve depression, but not dealing with what you're feeling right now CAN sabotage your weight loss post-op.

There's no shame in seeing a psychiatrist. Every one can benefit from talking to some one. Your bariatric program should have a health psychologist available to you. Don't walk, run to them for help!
Hope all is well with you.

I second the nomination for PDXMan. He's always got great advice for fitness and exercise questions and he's a straight shooter.
LilMissDiva (or Stronger Diva or Fitness Diva, I can't keep up! LOL) is another great choice. I know she's admin, but she's at goal and still going strong on exercise and supporting others, both here and in other forums.
There are tons of posters here who would be great as a spotlight. I'd love to see a member spotlight on many of the old-timers, if only so that new people could see their stories and journeys: Sleeve4Me, MassIndex, Tiffykins, MeginNoLa.... I could probably name 50 people off the top of my head for a variety of reasons.
Someone who had complications yet was successful with their sleeve would be great. I'd also love to see some of the exercise gurus highlighted. It would be great to have someone who had a really high BMI, yet managed to meet their goal.
It would also be great to see a spotlight of the admin team. For me, Alex is just a name. I know he's the founder of the forum, but I don't know his story. Has Alex been sleeved? How much did he lose? How long did it take? The same for a couple of other admin people. I know Susan's story because I haunted the site looking for it. Sorry Susan, you didn't know I stalked you, did you?
Perhaps Member Spotlight could become a forum of it's own once there have been a few done.

I started seeing a counselor - focused on some relationship/family issues. Anyway, yesterday she asked me, on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being estatic - how have you felt overall the last 30 days.
I said 9.5
Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but I really do love life as a normal sized person even with my extra skin, return of hunger and the drudgery of maintenance.
Curious how the rest of you would rate your happiness?

a therapist will be able to help you get through all this. I'm no professional, but maybe you should scale back the amount of time you spend with the ex. That relationship might be doing more harm than good.

I don't know if it will help with the loose skin, but I've been practicing "horse stance", which is a tae kwon do move for several weeks now and I'm seeing improvement in the muscle tone on my inner thighs and glutes (butt muscles). I've also just started a 30 day squat challenge that was posted on FB. We'll see what the results are.

I was driving four days out, so if you do not have any complications you should be good, just not when your on pain medicine. My incision sites took about 6 weeks to heal completely. this is when my doc let me swim, get in the bathtub etc. Hope this helps! Good luck to you!

I second the nomination for PDXMan. He's always got great advice for fitness and exercise questions and he's a straight shooter.
LilMissDiva (or Stronger Diva or Fitness Diva, I can't keep up! LOL) is another great choice. I know she's admin, but she's at goal and still going strong on exercise and supporting others, both here and in other forums.
There are tons of posters here who would be great as a spotlight. I'd love to see a member spotlight on many of the old-timers, if only so that new people could see their stories and journeys: Sleeve4Me, MassIndex, Tiffykins, MeginNoLa.... I could probably name 50 people off the top of my head for a variety of reasons.
Someone who had complications yet was successful with their sleeve would be great. I'd also love to see some of the exercise gurus highlighted. It would be great to have someone who had a really high BMI, yet managed to meet their goal.
It would also be great to see a spotlight of the admin team. For me, Alex is just a name. I know he's the founder of the forum, but I don't know his story. Has Alex been sleeved? How much did he lose? How long did it take? The same for a couple of other admin people. I know Susan's story because I haunted the site looking for it. Sorry Susan, you didn't know I stalked you, did you?
Perhaps Member Spotlight could become a forum of it's own once there have been a few done.

I've been making sure I got my Vitamins and Protein daily, using Neutrogena body oil, dry brushing (infrequently), and avoiding tanning since surgery. My excess skin is pretty much limited to my abdomen and upper thighs. I'm not at goal yet, although I've lost 120+ pounds and I have had a plastics consult (2 actually). I have about 10-15 pounds of excess skin, depending on which doctor you believe. I have also been an avid gym rat, doing cardio and weights to help tone things. My plastics doc says there isn't a lot you can do to avoid the skin, although he has encouraged me to keep doing all of the above things because they will help in the long run. A lot of skin issues depend on you... your genetics, your age, how overweight you are now, and if you've already had issues (C-sections, abdominal surgery). It's still better to have excess skin than skin that's full of fat. At least, that's my opinion. I'll take the excess skin that I have to deal with over the 120 pounds I've lost all day long!