Spatters3

All you pre-ops : you are going to love being sleeved! eventually! You will suffer through a miserable couple of weeks, then get sideswiped by the emotional rollercoaster (I magically transformed from Glinda The Good Witch to The Wicked Witch Of The West every half hour for a few days) but then... ahhhh.... those first tastes of cream Soup - heavenly! and refried Beans - ooooh! hahahaha

Seriously, congratulations and I pray you all have a great journey. I am quickly approaching my 1 year sleeve-versary (Feb. 13) and I am still delighted with myself for getting the VSG.

My highest weight was 360, day of surgery 331, and am now 248. My weightloss has slowed to mostly a stop but that's because I have been dealing with chemo & radiation & surgery and not caring a hoot about weightloss. I don't exercise at all and am really looking forward to joining the YMCA with my granddaughter this summer, God willing - mostly for the pool but I'm sure I'll get involved with other things too.

I thank God I got the VSG when I did - just 3 months before being diagnosed with uterine cancer. It has made all the difference in the world to be 100lbs lighter. I don't think I could have gone through all that I've been through over the last few months being over 300 lbs.

God bless!

*sigh* let's all just go kick puppies

IggyChic: I love you and I think that's the difference between how I perceive your posts and how others do - I read your posts like they're letters from a friend and others read them like they're letters from the IRS.

Original Poster: your profile says your surgeon was Dr. Stahl. Not that I care, but that wasn't one of the docs you listed. Hope everything works out ok.

I was the person telling others that WLS was a permanent solution to a temporary problem - all it takes is sticking to it - move more, eat less - yadda yadda yadda. I dieted myself to the point of not being able to lose any weight at all. I am soooooooo (did I say soooooooo?) happy that a) the VSG was available and I had it done. You will be too.

whew... is everyone ok?

Exactly. Is it wiser to wait until you have dieted yourself into a higher BMI or realize that you have proven to yourself that you can't keep the weight off without doing something other than diet & exercise? I too for many many years poo poo'd weightloss surgery as waaaay too radical a solution to a simple "calorie in/calories out" problem. I finally dieted myself up to be a 360 lbs (5'4") old woman who had 3 total knee replacements, high blood pressure, and pre-diabetic.

If I had it to do over I would have had the VSG when I was 20 and weighed 220 and had already been on lots of diets (because it's just a matter of willpower, right?). I haven't sat around doing nothing all this time but, OMG, what my life COULD have been like just boggles my mind.

No do overs! Go for it! And God bless you!

hey! I actually qualify to join a clique! That NEVER happens to me :-)

Let's see... issues I'm having....

I look like an old, empty, paper sack but I don't want to go through the pain of cosmetic surgery.

I still want to eat more than I can (which is why I had to get the sleeve :-) .

That's about it.

hahahaha... sorry, it's just funny that the words are actually being censored. Anyhow, I am 56, have had total knee replacement 3 times (right knee was screwed up the 1st time), a foot rebuilt, and I don't exercise at all. Yes, I am stupid and lazy. I've also been dealing with surgery & chemo & radiation for uterine cancer so, weightloss has kind of taken a back seat. Even so, I have lost a LOT of weight in the past 11 months and I am so happy that I got the sleeve. I don't think I would have had the strength to deal with all of this if I was still 100 lbs heavier than I am now. So, the weight will continue to come off and exercise if you can when you can. You will just start doing more the more weight you lose because it doesn't hurt to walk or stand any more!

It gets digested and you poo it out. What do you think happens to it? Unless you managed to swallow a wad of gum that could possibly fill up your entire sleeve well, and even then, eventually it would be digested.

Congrats Frank! I can just picture you wrestling on the floor with your little boy :-) Iggychic is my hero, by the way. She is raw and real and strong and compassionate. She went through hell and kept on going until she got out. I don't see her posts as negative at all but as a very necessary warning. This is not only major surgery it is a major lifestyle change. Don't enter this decision lightly!

I too almost backed out but I am so glad I didn't. I had a great and uneventful recovery (although I can't stand even the thought of Protein drinks any more) and I am continuing to lose weight and get healthy. I am already able to do things I thought I could never do again. I used to drive my adult kids to Wal-Mart and sit in the car while they shopped because I couldn't walk around the store and I was ashamed to ride in the little go-carts because *I* wasn't "disabled" (foolish me).

Whenever I get the chance I tell people in this forum how great the VSG is working for me. I know it saved my life.

I too have been big since I was a child. I don't remember exact weights but always was a "bruiser". When I was 22 I weighed 220 and gained 60 lbs being pregnant. Then got pregnant again and gained another 60 lbs. By the 3rd child I was over 300 when he was born. I did diet down to 220 (ate next to nothing and walked for miles every day) and I managed to wear out my feet, ankles, and knees. Anyhow, I found myself at age 50 needing total knee replacements and weighing 360. Just ridiculous. Nothing I did worked anymore - I couldn't exercise and even if I ate nothing, I couldn't seem to lose more than 30 lbs.

I had thought about WLS but thought it was terribly unhealthy and what the heck, all it did was force you to eat less. What if it didn't work? I tried one more time to diet on my own and couldn't even lose the obligatory 30 lbs. And then I found out about the VSG. I jumped through all the hoops, had the surgery, and, duh duh duhhhh, I am losing weight!

In 10 months I have gone from a size 30 to a 22 and have lost 90 lbs since surgery. Will I lose more? Yes, I will. Do I feel great now? Yes, I do. Am I thankful to God for this wonderful VSG? Dang straight!

Everyone is different but I really don't think I am destined to weigh 255 for the rest of my life.

Snow, never you mind girl! Your pain and your story is yours to share and I doubt that Lissa is angry at you for "hijacking" her thread

Remember that you can't control anyone else or the events of the world around you but you CAN control your reaction to them. Breathe deep, this too shall pass.

If you're nauseous it may be due to dehydration.

Sounds delicious! We had standing rib roast (only 2 ribs - gack! those things are expensive!) and roast leg of lamb (also ridiculously expensive), baked potatoes, brocolli & cheese casserole, carrots, crescent rolls, and a fruit compote. I too was the last one to stop eating and I had 5 bites of lamb, 3 of beef, 3 bites of potato, 3 bites of casserole, 2 bites of fruit compote, half of a roll, and about 1 teaspoon of mint jelly. And those weren't big bites either! It was all delicious and we were all so full that we didn't even touch the pies :-)

Eating slowly was definitely the key to not over doing it because boy, that "I am full - do not swallow that last bite" feeling comes on strong.

all I can say is EEEK ! Scary stuff. When I had my foot rebuilt they removed some bone from my pelvis for a graft and while doing that, they pressed on my vagas nerve and my heart stopped for 5 minutes. They thought they had lost me. I didn't have any side effects though, so I would think feeling as bad as you did, you probably had a bad reaction to the anesthesia.

Weird. The center of excellence I went to in Georgetown, KY encouraged family participation but it certainly wasn't required. I thought they had me jump through too many testing hoops too, but not even close to all that you seem to be going through.

I won't miss :

not being able to sit on the floor to play with my grandchildren

not being able to visit zoos or museums or amusement parks without renting a scooter

not being able to buy clothes off the rack in a normal store

not being able to walk longer than 10 minutes

not being able to......

well, just not being able to period. This excess weight has stopped me from doing a lot of things for a very long time.

shhhh.... it's ok... hush now... *calmly stroking arm*

Continue to try to get in more fluids - sip sip sip throughout the day. The weight has to come off. Starving people aren't fat.

yep, it goes away, but I don't know when. I've been smoke free for over 7 years and still, when I'm highly stressed I think "boy, a smoke sure would feel good". NOT !!! Stupid human! arrrgh! I don't have dreams about smoking anymore atleast

Congrats on the fantastic weight loss!

ouch :-( You're experiencing the nightmare that everyone one of us has. I am so sorry for you!

You don't have a leak but you do have a stricture that dialation didn't cure. It sounds like your VSG was botched, but I'm not a doctor. A gastric bypass will solve the problem if the stricture is below where they will create the pouch.

Are there other options? Why didn't the stent work? Is your anatomy somehow different than most people?

This just sucks :-(

I went a little whacky within the 1st 3 weeks post-op. It was like PMS times a thousand. I didn't want to kill myself, I wanted to kill everyone else !!! I was sooooo angry ! And then, when I was finally able to eat mushie foods, I started to feel better. May have just been a coincidence.

Sorry that Vitamins are making you ill - try some gummi Vitamins. And make sure you stay hydrated. Not getting enough fluids can make you feel like you have the flu. Of course, contracting the flu can also make you feel that way.

hooray! Congratulations Mokee! It really does work!

You laugh and tell him you love him even though you know he doesn't know what the future holds and thank him for thinking and worrying about you.

I pray you can find comfort by getting closer to God - go to every church service, join a prayer group, get active in some ministry. Surround yourself with kind and supportive people and keep busy. Do NOT sit at home in the dark being miserable. You will soon get over being sad about this and then, you'll get angry. Don't let the devil steal your joy *hug*.

Do you have children?

I am so glad I am old :-) I really do get more respect than I used to and no one "hits" on me.

Holland: How exciting! You have a 3 yr old son, you're going on vacation, you're going to lose weight (no matter which WLS you opt for).... I mean, c'mon! This is a really exciting period in your life! Even good stress is still stress so please remember to stop every once in awhile and do some deep breathing and relaxation exercises :-)

A few years ago I went to a weightloss seminar because I had managed to diet my way up to 360 lbs. At that time the only WLS available was the Lap Band or the Gastric Bypass. They both scared me and after much research and prayer, I opted out. I tried once more to lose the weight on my own through diet and, ha ha, exercise (I have had 3 knee replacements & a foot rebuild and exercise is just not happening). I finally conceded defeat and went back to the bariatric center's website to restart the process. Lo and behold, they now offered the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. woo hoo! It sounded exactly like what I wanted - something that would prevent me from eating too much but that would allow me to remain healthy and eat whatever I wanted to, just less. I still wasn't sure it would work for me because my metabolism is so messed up but, ta da!, it does work and is working and is exactly what I needed. I just wish I had been able to have had it done 30 years ago (I'm 56).

I think you will be very happy with a VSG.

I love IggyChic! IggyChic for president! Oh wait... it's too late for that. *sigh*