NY Lou

ive been lucky and haven't hit any plateaus from surgery date until 8 months later. after losing about 110 lbs in 8 months I have now been inbetween 181-185 lbs for a little over 2 months straight. I don't think this is a plateau, I think its where my body weight is going to stay. I say this because I still eat right and exercise 4x a week, but my weight stays inbetween 181-185 no matter what I do. but im not complaining as im satisfied where Im at, but I think this is my final permanent weight.

almost one year out, my favs are shrimp, crab legs, greek yogurt, cheese sticks, pistachios and edamame seeds. all are high protein foods too, so that's a bonus.

im 10.5 months out and have lost over 100 lbs. today I weigh 184.5 lbs and ive been inbetween 181-185 for the last 2 months so I think this is the weight im going to stay at and im ok with this. to answer your question, I can eat about 6oz to 8oz of food at each meal. this fills me up and leaves me very satisfied. if the food is dense, like steak or Pasta, its more near the 6oz. if I eat salad and softer foods then I can eat about 8oz. on rare occasions if I add in a soft desert like a greek yogurt or some no sugar added ice cream as a treat, I probably have eaten 10oz. hope this info helps, but im sure if you ask 10 people this question youll get at least 5-6 different answers.

hi everyone. its been awhile since I last posted, so heres an update. my highest weight ever was 323 lbs. i started this sleeve adventure in jan of 2013 at 292 lbs and my sugery date was march 19, 2013, about 10.5 months ago. today I weigh 184.4 lbs. ive been inbetween 181-185 for the last 2 months and I don't think its a plateau, I think this is the weight my body is going to stay at based on how I now eat and exercise. I can eat about 8oz of food at a meal, but still eat healthy and still put Proteins first. I no longer weigh or measure anything, including how much I drink because its all sort of become second nature to me now. I rarely have a Protein shake, maybe once a week as I get enough protein from the food I eat as well as the Snacks I consume inbetween meals. all my snacks are always high protein such as a Protein Bar, a lowfat greek yogurt with double protein, some beef Jerky or a lowfat cheese stick. I exercise 4x a week, mostly running. I completed a 13.1 mile half marathon in October 2013 in 2 hours and 15 minutes and ive been training since October for a full 26.2 mile marathon that ill be running in central park new York city on Feb 23, 2014, which is only a few weeks away. im ready for it as I just did my last long training run yesterday of 20 miles. in my wildest dreams I never thought I would be running a marathon, but it was one of my goals and I know with the training ive done I will accomplish it. its just amazing to be doing this at the age of 50 and im so proud of this. I used to always read this forum before I had surgery and always thought these great weight loss stories was something I always read about, but it could never happen to me. well I was wrong. it can and it did. it hasn't been easy and ive really followed the program to a tee, eating right, not cheating on what foods I put in my body and finding the time to exercise and not making excuses as to why I cant. the surgery alone will not get you this type of success, it takes a lot of effort to really use the surgery as a tool and as one step in a complete aftercare program. if you don't do all the steps, you may find some moderate success, but it wont be what it could of been and it will be much harder for you down the road to maintain if you don't make these changes permanent. heres some updated pics. feel free to ask any questions. best of luck to you all and remember, each and every one of you can be a success story if you put your mind to it and youre willing to make the changes in your life that are necessary to go along with this surgery.

at my highest weight i weighed 323 pounds, that was back in 2004. before i started my sleeve journey i weighed 292 lbs in jan of this year. I was sleeved about 8.5 months ago on march 19. 4 weeks ago I entered Onederland weighing in at 199. today I weigh 192. after training for months, I ran my first 13.1 mile half marathon yesterday. I did it in 2 hours 15 minutes 10 seconds, which comes out to a 10 minute 18 second per mile average or 5.84 mph. getting the sleeve has saved my life. but I can honestly say that its the life style changes ive made, such as eating right and exercising that has truly enabled me to get down to the 192 I am today. when I eat, I can comfortably hold about 8 oz of food. that seems like a lot, but if I make the right choices of what im eating, then eating 8 oz is fine. I never thought I would be where im at today after being around 300 lbs for the last 20 years of my life. if I can do it, you can too. I used to read success stories in this forum and only dream that one day it could be me too. i doubted myself and said good things like these success stories just don't happen to people like me - i was wrong, it can and does happen to anyone who is willing to make the necessary changes in their life. so if youre the way i used to be and youre overweight and you think you cannot be a success story, know that you can if you really want it and youre willing to do the work. its never too late and yes, you too can be a success story. just remember it doesn't happen overnight, but its a fight worth taking on. good luck to each and everyone of you.

at my highest weight i weighed 323 pounds, that was back in 2004. before i started my sleeve journey i weighed 292 lbs in jan of this year. I was sleeved about 8.5 months ago on march 19. 4 weeks ago I entered Onederland weighing in at 199. today I weigh 192. after training for months, I ran my first 13.1 mile half marathon yesterday. I did it in 2 hours 15 minutes 10 seconds, which comes out to a 10 minute 18 second per mile average or 5.84 mph. getting the sleeve has saved my life. but I can honestly say that its the life style changes ive made, such as eating right and exercising that has truly enabled me to get down to the 192 I am today. when I eat, I can comfortably hold about 8 oz of food. that seems like a lot, but if I make the right choices of what im eating, then eating 8 oz is fine. I never thought I would be where im at today after being around 300 lbs for the last 20 years of my life. if I can do it, you can too. I used to read success stories in this forum and only dream that one day it could be me too. i doubted myself and said good things like these success stories just don't happen to people like me - i was wrong, it can and does happen to anyone who is willing to make the necessary changes in their life. so if youre the way i used to be and youre overweight and you think you cannot be a success story, know that you can if you really want it and youre willing to do the work. its never too late and yes, you too can be a success story. just remember it doesn't happen overnight, but its a fight worth taking on. good luck to each and everyone of you.

to meemee - not sure what video you saw on youtube, but it definitely wasn't me!

again I thank everyone for their positive comments, theyre all appreciated. im also glad to see that my post has helped some of you realize that sometimes the journey takes time, but don't ever give up. the one most important thing ive learned is that this sleeve is just one part of the whole program. don't think that just getting the sleeve is the answer to your weight loss, its not! you MUST make other lifestyle changes, especially what foods you put into your mouth! and slowly start to incorporate exercise into your life, even if you never exercised before you can start by simply walking. throw all your excuses that you've made your entire life out the window because if youre going to do something as life changing as getting a sleeve, the time for excuses is over! I wish all of you, both pre-surgery and post-surgery much success!

this forum and its members have been a blessing. during the past few years when I wasnt able to get sleeved, it was the posts in these forums that allowed me to not give up and not settle for gastric bypass or the lap band. I was determined to get the sleeve, even though my insurance approved me for either gastric bypass or the lap band years ago. it took me 9 years to finally get sleeved...this weight loss journey started for me in 2004 and finally in 2013 it happened. its been a long journey, but finally Im heading in the right direction. so I thank everyone who has ever posted in these forums because it was all of you that kept me going and didnt allow me to give up. if interested, read my story by clicking the link below in my signature file.

ok, I just figured out how to add pics.

thanks everyone for all the kind words, theyre sincerely appreciated. I wasn't really expecting anyone to read my post, so im quite surprised at the replies. I don't know how to add pics to this post, so I uploaded a few pics on my profile page that show my highest weight ever in 2004, my weight in jan of this year when I started this journey again and my weight now. its nice to look at your own pics and feel a sense of accomplishment after so many failures. its been a long time coming and I have no intention of ever going back...ps - if someone can tell me how to add a pic within my post it would be appreciated.

Posted June 16, 2010 - 6:48 PM hi everyone! i have read so much in this forum and want to say thankyou to every single poster! ive learned so much and sincerely appreciate verticalsleevetalk.com. im a 47 year old male living in brooklyn, new york. i currently weigh 305 lbs and have been overweight all my life. ive been hovering around the 300-315 mark for about 10 years. before that i hoovered around 280-300 for the prior 10 years. my high weight was 323, which was in 2004. the most ive lost dieting and exercising was about 40lbs on a few occasions, but i always put it back on. in 2004 i decided to have wls and was going to have gastric bypass done. after being approved by my insurance, i went to the hospital and was put in scrubs for the operation. then i was told by the nurse that the doctor had a family emergency and had to leave the hospital immediately. so my surgery was rescheduled for 4 weeks later. during these 4 weeks i ate plenty and went on a "goodbye to food" tour! this tour took me to all my favorite buffets and i ate like it was my last meal, even though i knew i shouldnt be doing that. then i again went to the hosptial and was put in scrubs and before my surgery the doctor said he couldnt operate because my sugar level was unexpectedly through the roof. i begged him to go through with it, but he said he couldnt and i needed to lose some weight and not do what i did by gaining weight and eating everything before surgery. so it was again cancelled. now i was determined to lose weight before i went back in 6 weeks for the eventual operation. in those 6 weeks i ate perfectly and lost 30 lbs. the day came and i went in a 3rd time to the hospital. again i was put in scrubs and this time all the tests, including my sugar were normal. but the doctor was surprised that i was able to lose 30lbs in 6 weeks. he sat me down and said the operation was a serious one and if i was able to lose 30lbs in 6 weeks, maybe i should give losing weight on my own another try. he convinced me to not have the operation. so i actually went on to lose a total of 89lbs in 7 months and got my weight down to 234 and felt great. i was actually running on a treadmill for a few miles non-stop and was in the best shape of my life. a year later i was again at 310lbs. i never considered wls surgery again because i honestly in my heart didnt want the bypass portion done. and im thankful that even though i was in the operating room 3 different times, i never had the bypass done. later in life i researched the lapband as it became popular, but again i didnt want the band either due to all the complications of it. only a few months ago i discovered the option of the sleeve, and it seemed like exactly what ive been waiting for. a tool to limit my intake, with no bypass and nothing permanently inside of me that needed followup adjustments. so im now in the process of going through everything i need to do before my dr. submits for approval to my insurance. the only thing left is the psych evaluation, which im in the process of completing and ill have it done shortly. then i meet with my dr. again on june 30th for the final time and he will submit everything to hopefully get approved. so thats my story. its seems that bypass just wasnt for me. and ironically back in 2004 i was all for it. now today, i wouldnt do a bypass ever. im thankful it never got done and i believe it wasnt meant to be. especially being in the operatiing room in scrubs 3x! i do have one fear/question that ill post in a separate thread in the post op forum as i believe that is where it should go. again, thank you to everyone who has ever posted in this forum. you do not know how much it helps, even the people like me who only read and never posted before. best of luck to everyone on their journey. UPDATE AUGUST 6 2013: back in 2010 after completing all the steps and requirements with dr. mcginty, I was denied by my insurance as the sleeve was considered experimental by them. they did offer me the gastric bypass or the lap band, but I refused both as I was only willing to have the sleeve done. so dr. mcginty said he believed that in a few years all insurance companies would be approving the sleeve as readily as they were approving the gastric bypass and lap band. and he was right! in jan 2013 I found out that my insurance now did cover the sleeve and I went back to dr. mcginty. I went through all the steps again and in march 2013 I finally got sleeved! today, august 5, 2013 I have been sleeved 4.5 months. in jan I weighed 291.5 lbs. today I weight 210 lbs. I lost 18 lbs before surgery and 63.5 lbs since surgery. this is the lightest ive been in 25 years and my goal is to reach 180. im finally on my way after waiting 9 years! so don't ever give up! the sleeve was meant to be for me...it just took me 9 years to get it done!

thanks to all for your replies, and please keep them coming. its such a great thing to be able to hear from so many different people in this forum. not to mention its so informative as well. on a side note, i just found out that james gandolfini (tony from the sopranos) used my dr for surgery (see link below) back in 2008. if hes good enough for tony soprano, hes good enough for me :thumbup: http://showhype.com/story/news_james_gandolfini_hospitalized /

so i completed everything and went to my dr for the final vist on wed june 30 (just 2 days ago) and i thought that was the last visit and he was going to submit everything to the insurance co. but my dr said that the abdominal ultrasound showed my liver was very big and also, my blood sugar level was elevated. he also said i had a vitamin d and vitamin b1 deficiency. he has put me on a diet with the nutritionist to lose 15 lbs in the next 4 weeks, as well as having me take vitamin d 50,000 once a week. i also got a vitamin b1 shot and i also have to go back to my primary care dr and have him check into my sugar levels and see if he feels i need to take some medication for it or just watch what im eating to lower it. so now i have to wait another 4 weeks and go back to my wls dr and hopefully then everything will be ok to proceed. losing the 15lbs will be a piece of cake as i am a professional dieter anyway, just venting as its frustrating to have this delay. i guess its the way this all works and obviously my dr wants me to have surgery in the best possible health i can be in. take care everyone and thanks in advance for any replies.

so i asked my dr where he learned to do the sleeve. he said he taught himself after watching his partner do them and by also watching videos of other dr's who had done them. i guess he really learned while being in the operating room with his partner (who is the head of the bariatrics unit). my dr has done over 300 rny's, 100's of lapbands and 6 sleeves. he says he only had 1 leak ever, and that was in an rny patient. i also asked him if there were any deaths and he said 1, but that was a person who was getting a revision of a revision. he seems very honest and straightforward in all his answers. his 6 sleeve patients are all doing well. my dr works on one of the best bariatric teams in new york, which is the st lukes hospital bariatric unit, which is also a bariatrics center of excellence and a leading research center for bariatric surgery. their team is headed by dr julio teixeira, who has done thousands of wls and teaches other dr's. dr teixeira is also well known to do surgeries that many other dr's wont touch because theyre being done on patients at high risk and/or with complications. apparently hes that good. i dont know how many sleeves he has done. my dr is the no. 2 on his team and his name is dr james mcginty. my insurance has dr mcginty on my plan, but no other dr from that hospital is on my insurance as different dr's there take different insurance companies. im confident in my dr and he was the best and most experienced from all the dr's that were accepted by my insurance. what do you think about him saying he was self taught? im not really worried about him only having done 6 sleeves (this was discussed in a prior thread), im just concerned about what is considered the normal way for a dr to learn how to do the sleeve? any replies would be appreciated. ps - i did ask my dr a ton of questions about the sleeve and his procedure, including bougie size, how far from the pyloric valve does he start, leak testing and so on, and he answered them all to my satisfaction. and ive researched the sleeve so throughly that i knew what answers i should of gotten. he really seems to know what he is doing and i am very confident in using him, but i guess him saying he was self taught is making me think. ps - i edited this ps in later. i just found out my dr operated on james gandolfini (tony soprano) back in 2008 (see link below). so if hes good enough for tony soprano, hes good enough for me http://showhype.com/story/news_james_gandolfini_hospitalized /

dr. james mcginty 6 im curious to see what results are out there. im only looking for the number of sleeves done prior to yours, although feel free to mention how many rny or lapbands were done by them also. my hopefully upcoming sleeve will be done by dr. james mcginty and he has only done 6 sleeves, although he has hundreds of rnys done. kindly list your surgeon and approximately how many sleeves they did before doing your sleeve. if you already see your doctor mentioned in this thread, theres no need to duplicate it. thank you, as im trying to see approximately how much sleeve experience various dr's had prior to doing yours.

again thanks for all the replies. i have been researching the sleeve for quite a long time and ive decided that im going to continue forward and try to get the sleeve. im intelligent enough to know that ive been unsuccessful for 20 years in losing weight longterm, so the odds of being successful now are probably slim and none. my final meeting with my dr is on wed 6/30, in just 5 days and everything, including all tests and the psych are now complete. after that meeting he will submit to the insurance for approval. i guess i knew all along this was the right thing to do for me, but questions and concerns always linger in my mind. but if i wasnt planning on going through with this, i wouldnt of completed all the steps, tests, mandatory support group meetings, nutritionist meetings and the psych evaluation to be ready for insurance approval like i am now. i guess all of this second guessing is just a big step in me realizing i need help to get my weight under control. im tired of being tired. im tired of being overweight. im tired of telling myself im in pretty good shape for a 310 lb man, when in fact no man weighing 310 lbs is in good shape at all. thank you all again for your continued support. this forum is 100x better than any support group meeting ive attended. cant wait for the paperwork to be submitted for approval and i hope i get approved without having an insurance fight on my hands. take care everyone and as always, best of luck to all of you, whether pre-op or post-op.

i think the members of this forum have a better understanding of all of this than the psychologist does! and to globetrotter, you are 100 percent correct, the psychologist is tall and very thin. he has probably never experienced the struggle most of us here in this forum have been through. i think the answer is becoming clearer for me and the sleeve is the way to go. its only a matter of time before being 310 lbs catches up to me and my health starts going downhill. although i may not have the co-morbidities others at my weight may have, just carrying that weight around can't be doing my body any good. again, i appreciate all the replies from everyone. this forum is such a powerful support group for anyone considering or already having the sleeve surgery. thank you again so much to everyone, your input is priceless.

thanks again for everyones continued replies, theyre all appreciated and mean a great deal to me. to kabinkitty, i dont think the psych is trying to discourage me, i think hes just trying to make sure im ready for the surgery if its what i decide to do. it seems hes just putting all my options on the table and is basically asking me if i want to try on my own again, but this time with support from a psych who specializes in food behavior before trying the surgery. hes made it clear the final decision is up to me and will give me a letter of approval for the surgery because hes convinced ive done my research and know exactly what the sleeve entails, including the risks involved, as well as the aftercare necessary after the surgery to be successful. as far as 310lbs not being that high, i guess hes saying that because his experience with weight loss patients involved men who were much heavier than me. also, like you said about co-morbidities, im actually in pretty good health for someone weighing 310lbs (as crazy as that sounds!). im definitely leaning towards getting the sleeve as i kind of feel that if i was going to succeed on my own, i would of already in the last 20 years. again thanks to everyone who has chimed in, this forum and its members is a true blessing.

thanks mb20mom and mini-me for your replies. mini-me, the dr said he would give me the approval i need for surgery. he was just suggesting based on my history that he feels dealing with a psychologist that specializes in food behaviors might be the tool i need to keep the weight off when i lose it. in my heart i think the sleeve being a restrictive tool is my way of guaranteeing that when i lose weight, i would keep it off. its been a struggle to lose weight and then gain it all back so many times. at the age of 47 im definitely leaning towards getting the sleeve. i think the sleeve may be the best tool for me to succeed long term. i guess its kind of his job to play devils advocate and make sure ive tried everything before i have the surgery as he views the surgery as a last resort. but a big part of me feels after so many years of not keeping the weight off, this is a last resort. but not one as drastic as a bypass, which i would not consider now at all. i know the bottom line is i have to decide for myself whats best for me right now. its just nice to hear others opinions who have been through this struggle. thank you.

hi aloco53. your story definitely rings a bell with me as i too didnt get any surgery done although i was thisclose. like me, maybe it just wasnt your time back then and maybe now the sleeve is the right thing for you. good luck with whatever you decide to do. hopefully when it happens, it will be the right thing for us both. take care.

hi everyone. i would like your opinion on this. im 5'9" 310 lbs. i have had many successes losing weight, as much as 87 lbs once, but ive always put it back on. while finishing all the steps to have my dr submit for approval for the sleeve to my insurance, im almost finished with the psych portion. ill be completely done with everything by mon june 28 and then i see my dr for the last visit on june 30 (less than a week away), and thats when he'll submit everything to the insurance for approval. the problem is this: the psychologist says to me that ive shown the ability to lose weight in the past. he feels that if i was disciplined enough to do this many times, then i could do it again with one simple difference. he feels that if i were to see a psychologist that specializes in eating behaviors, i could possibly lose weight again and not put it back on with the proper support. he says that the reason i put the weight back on is mental, and not physical. he would like me to try to lose weight one last time on my own with the help of a psychologist that specializes in eating behaviors before resorting to this permanent sleeve weight loss surgery. i dont think hes just trying to drum up business because he wouldnt be the psychologist i would be seeing, i would pick one from the ones offered by my insurance. i dont know if i should try this again on my own, or pursue the sleeve which in my eyes would be the tool that would help me with my ability to not put the weight back on again like i have in the past 20 years. hes also telling me that at 310 lbs im not as high in weight that alot of men are when they consider this surgery. hes still going to give me a letter to approve surgery if thats my decision, but hes just telling me his opinion after seeing me and talking to me for a few weeks. what do you guys think? hes confused me a bit and is making me think could he be right? right now i believe the sleeve would be the tool i need and it would definitely help me lose weight and keep it off. thanks in advance for any replies, its appreciated.

hi everyone. i think i originally posted this in the wrong forum, so ill post it here now. i know alot of insurance companies dont cover the sleeve. my insurance company doesnt appear to have the new 2010 code 43775 for the sleeve in their system, but they do cover the duodenal switch code 43845, which is basically the sleeve with a bypass. has anyone here gotten the sleeve done by getting approved for the ds and then only having their dr do the first part of the ds, which is only the sleeve? im curious if getting only the sleeve done this way would work to get the insurance company to pay for it or even if the dr would be willing to do only the first part of the ds? also, there is another bariatric open code 43843 that my insurance covers and that code specifically states "gastric restrictive procedure, without gastric bypass, other than vertical banded gastroplasty". has anyone been approved for a sleeve using this open code? any comments/replies would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

hi everyone. i know alot of insurance companies dont cover the sleeve. my insurance company doesnt appear to have the new 2010 code 43775 for the sleeve in their system, but they do cover the duodenal switch code 43845, which is basically the sleeve with a bypass. has anyone here gotten the sleeve done by getting approved for the ds and then only having their dr do the first part of the ds, which is only the sleeve? im curious if getting only the sleeve done this way would work to get the insurance company to pay for it or even if the dr would be willing to do only the first part of the ds? also, there is another bariatric open code 43843 that my insurance covers and that code specifically states "gastric restrictive procedure, without gastric bypass, other than vertical banded gastroplasty". has anyone been approved for a sleeve using this open code? any comments/replies would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

ive read that many drs use a 32 frech size bougie when creating the sleeve. i also know that not much food can be held in that size stomach. i was considering asking for a larger size bougie to be used so that i can still lose weight, but i can also hold/eat a little more so that i can kind of eat a little bit of a more normal sized meal and not stand out that ive had some sort of surgery by only being able to eat a little, especially at social gatherings. am i overthinking this? is this just me stressing a bit over my fear of losing my ability to really enjoy a larger size meal like i do now? my thinking is that even if i use a larger size bougie, my stomach will still be much much smaller than it is now and ill still lose weight. i realize the weight loss might be a bit slower than if i used a smaller bougie, but i still should lose weight effectively, even if my new stomach stretches over time. then again, part of me feels im just feeling this way because of my fear over this whole sleeve thing. any opinions/comments? thanks in advance.