sanaya30

Thank you so much for this post. May God bless every last one of us that is getting surgery. I pray for fast and safe recovery. My surgery date is March 6th and I am nervous. ..

Thank you so much for this post. May God bless every last one of us that is getting surgery. I pray for fast and safe recovery. My surgery date is March 6th and I am nervous. ..

Father,its your love that heals us,body and soul.Thank you for the way you reveal this tremendous love though other people.Help us to realize that persistent prayers is nothing other than persistent love. Good Luck Everyone!!!!!!

HI Everyone! My date is set for March 4....I am sooooo Nervous!!! The closer I get to the date the more nervous I get!

You look great!!

Thanks Beckyyb93 I do feel so much better. Just that little bit of weight loss has allowed me to do so much more than I could do before. My sleeve is awesome!!
Jenipher

I am 3.5 weeks out and im sooo grateful n thankful that this has been the best experience.. who was initially worried was me but I had faith n my God n the dr... I read sooo many complication post that it scared the crap outta me (pre and post op) But I pray n thank God everyday 4 wat God has done n is doing wit me... I have never sd I regret this r why... im jus happy n thankful!!! O and down 29lbs... everyone is saying they can c the difference n I definitely do 2!!!

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I started off like most on this site, fed up with my weight. Disgusted, tired of not fitting in the booths at restaraunts and having to ask for a table instead. Tired of not being able to shop where I wanted for clothes, tired of all the meds for diabetes and high blood pressure...and just plain tired!. My journey started off very rocky. Went and filled out all the paperwork, did the psych eval, got approved, got a surg date. Super excited at that point, did the presurg diet thing and I'll be damned the night before the surgery got a fever of 103. Went to the emergency room and they found a kidney stone as big as a dime. Surgery on hold at that point of course til later. Had to have emergency surgery to remove the stone, set date again for 3 months out. Had the surgery finally on a Monday, out of the hospital on Tuesday. I went shopping on Friday because I'm stubborn and couldnt just sit at home and went back to work the following monday with my staples still in(ya crazy me)lol. I couldn't eat any solids for like 3 weeks, then graduated eventually to a little, then a little more then solids. Definitely cant eat that much so began to lose weight rapidly. One day while in my car, had change in my hand and I dropped a quarter. For some reason without thinking I reached down between my legs and picked it up. OMG. I stopped the car and start thinking for a second like "what the hell just happened?" usually I would have had to just get out of the car to pick up something underneath my feet because of that belly bulge. From that point on I could see small changes of things I hadn't been able to do for years and its small things that you take for granted, things that once were difficult, not so hard any longer. I used to have to sit at a table in every restaraunt for being embarassed I may get stuck in a booth. I can now slide right in and out just like those thin s.o.b's could do all of their lives!!! Once you see small changes, it makes you want to keep going and keep challeging yourself every single day of your life. I was 408 and would get tired of walking from my job just to my car and all out of breath. Now I can walk 6 miles nonstop and going for more! My kid told me the other day "daddy you play too much, you always wanna wrestle all the time" Now think about that one. I can outplay my kids now. This former 408 pounder's got more energy than a dang 12 year old!! If that don't make one feel good, I don't know what else can. It's the small things that made this journey worthwhile, the looks you get when you show up to Christmas dinner, even the way you fit in your car once the weight is gone is the most rewarding little thing you can ever have. I was diabetic, had high blood pressure and now all of that is gone. I gave myself a raise at work because I don't have to pay for all the meds now associated with being obese. I am about 280 or so now and no more health issue(though I did get a headache and took aspirin once in the last year lol) Do this for your kids and yourself, not only will it change your love life(and life in the bedroom) but you will wake up everyday knowing that you made a choice, went through with it and most of all you can laugh in the face of all those evil little skinny people and say Yes, I was fat, no lie but guess what, I didn't roll over and die..what have you done with your life lately??

Well, I suppose it's a good place to be... buying all new clothes! But it's expensive!
I work in a professional setting and am in senior management, so I need to dress up a little. I had to buy all new spring/summer clothes, bought just enough for a week. Now I am buying all new fall/winter clothes, just enough for a week. I have a few pounds left to lose, so I bet I have to buy all new spring/summer again next year!
In spite of going broke, I'm having the time of my life! I can't believe I'm not shopping in the Plus Size section at retail stores or shopping Plus Size sites online!! I usually have no idea what size I wear, so I throw 3 sizes of whatever in my bag. Heck, I can't believe I'm out shopping at all - before I couldn't stand and walk that long.
I'm trying to keep purchases centered around a color/style theme so I can mix and match, but I will NOT buy black ever again! I used to try to hide behind black. No more!
Sorry to brag - just happy happy happy!

hey guys! i wanted to update you on my weight.
i am now down to 160lbs. i am officially 113lbs down! i am a size 6 in jeans from a size 20ish. a size small/medium in tops.

i know exactly what you mean! im 8 months & 11 days post op.
i started at 273lbs.
my mini goals went like this:
1st - 250lbs.
2nd - 235lbs.
3rd - 220lbs.
4th - 199lbs.
5th - 185lbs.
6th - 175lbs.
7th - 165lbs.
8th - 155lbs.
9th - 145lbs.
10th - 135lbs.
today, i weigh 164lbs!
im down 109lbs in total.
i have 3 more mini goals to reach in order to meet my main goal.

You won't regret it! I was depressed for a while too. It has been 9 months since my surgery. I had exactly 100 pounds to lose to get to my goal weight. When people ask me if I regret it I can say NOT A SINGLE BIT!! It's new to you still. I have seen a lot of people saying they are "mourning the loss of food" and I think that is so true. It is hard watching people eating solid food while you drink yours. IT GETS BETTER!! Try getting out and walking or whatever activity your doctor has approved. Exercise can relieve stress and depression. If you feel like crying then cry. There is nothing wrong with that!
As far as why didn't you try harder...that is something you need to get out of your head. You can't put your stomach back. You can't change what you've already done. You can only do your best for your future. I personally could maintain 265 pounds for 18 years. I couldn't maintain 245 pounds for more than a month. I personally needed this tool, my sleeve, to get there and hopefully I will stay there.
Keep your head up pretty lady, IT WILL GET BETTER!!

Just thought I'd post a quick update for my family here at VST. Today I am exactly one year out from surgery. On August 30, 2011, Dr Patrick Domkowski changed my life and introduced me to Rex, my new sleeved tummy. The short of it is that I'm now 117 pounds lighter than I was last year. I'd have given my eye teeth to lose that weight before surgery, but I just never managed to do it! Rex and I have had one heck of a ride and I couldn't have predicted how this year went if I'd have tried.
I lost a best friend. She died suddenly in January, but she was one of my biggest supporters every single day. I'm proud to tell Lynn that I have lost more than her entire body weight. I've lost a couple of other friends along the way. They are still alive, but jealousy has eaten both of them alive. I wish them both well on their journeys. Mine is going a different direction than theirs apparently.
I've gained a TON of family, right here on VST. I want to thank all of you for your support and well-wishes this year and I will continue to try to give back to those who are following in my footsteps. It's wonderful to come here and post the absolutely most bizarre questions and KNOW that someone here has experienced the same problem. You guys have been MY support group even when no one else in the world seems to understand! Thank you all!
So, I'm still about 50 pounds away from my surgeon's original goal for me, although he thinks I'm completely successful. I've lost over 1/3 of my total body weight, more than 72% of the total weight I wanted to lose, and I'm still working my plan. I will get to my goal...then I'll reach the goal the plastic surgeon set for me.
I'll post pictures tomorrow. My house was hit by a tornado on Monday and I've spent most of this week cleaning up from that. I am very lucky that my damage is minor and that no one in my community was injured. My final act of clean up was to go through my closet, which got drenched, and sort through my clothing. Everything that's in there now is either the correct size or too small (for the moment) and I'm sending another six bags of freshly washed, dried and folded clothes off to bless someone else.
I have to work tomorrow, so I'll take and post some pictures after I get dolled up for that!
Again, big hugs to everyone here and, for the newbies, THIS is why I had surgery. So that I could live my life without being held back by anything. All this week I have worked from sunup to sundown on cleaning up, repairing and helping others. Pre-surgery, I could barely walk from my front door to my car. This week, I've proven that I am capable and able to do ANYTHING I need to do, from hauling tree limbs to climbing on a roof to help patch it. I'm living, not merely existing. I love life!!!

The blood test results came back- I ovulated! We just have to wait a couple more days to find out if I'm pregnant. At least if it didn't happen this time around, we know I responded to the treatments and we can try again. But hopefully there's a little baby in there somewhere....

Ok so.......I am happily married and have been with my DH for almost 7 years. When we met I had a one year old son whose father wanted myself and our son when it was beneficial for him to have a family! AH won't cry about it, I only wanted a relationship with him for the stability it would give my son. Didn't work and God blessed me with the most wonderful husband and father to our children! Ok fast forward 7 years my son is turning eight yay and we have three additional children. My son's biological father whom he has not seen in almost 6 yrs does not call, write, email anything he has abandonded the role of a father and we are fine with that! Well I have to go to court next week and I am hoping to get him to sign over his parental rights! Mind you although he has been an absent father he has actively pursued certain "relations" with myself (yeah right buddy)! He never saw me at my highest weight as I moved out of state and the majority of my weight gain was rapid and within the last 2 to 3 yrs. Well I am down 40lbs almost to the weight I was when we last saw each other and I plan on losing another 5 to 10 by the time I have to go home for court next week. I am willing to resort back to the original post-op diet for a few days of Clear liquids just to blow his mind! ok so that is person number 1 who will need to close his mouth.
#2: Growing up I was extremely skinny and the majority of my family.......NOT.....as I got older and began having children and gaining weight they went from calling me anorexic to fat....well guess what they can say hello to my little friend. None of them know that I have had the surgery but they all seem to have an accurate count of every pound I gained! Well I cannot wait to see every one that made the comment ooooh how did you get so big? or Oh you can't call that baby weight! I might carry around extra tissue for the drool. I made a post a couple of weeks ago about how I do not like taking photos well I ahve been snapping like crazy. I finally see a change when I look in the mirror. My surgery scars are no longer a mile apart, those boogers are right there close together! And possibly my favorite NSV was when a young lady I know said I hope I look like you do after 4 kids when I get older. I smile so much now........no one knows my secret but all see my progress. Guys that are pre-op it is worth it your quality of life changes drastically after the first 7 days post-op! And each day it gets better and better! Go for it. I am 2 1/2 months post op and down 41 pounds and I feel like a new woman. I made a decleration that I would not turn 30 fat and this time my words are not full of hot air!

Thank u so much, and dont get discouraged, we all hit the stall thru out this journey mine included..but i found that when i hit a stall i just up my cardio workouts and it breaks really easily.. go a little easier on urself ur only 5 weeks out ur body is still adjusting but trust me it will break.
lmao!!! thank u that made me giggle!

Good luck with this one Amy! I have been reading alot about the sleeve and people seem to do really well with it. I was trying to decide between the band and the sleeve for a while but the more I read and saw, the further I was leaning to the sleeve and now I am pretty much convinced that its for me. I am just getting started with my 3 month pre-op stuff, but it just doesn't seem real that I could be having this done before the end of the year... excited, nervous, etc.
Heather