Keepgoing247

Ended up I didn't need the D&C but I did have the ablation and haven't even have the spotting that was expected from the procedure. Hope this is a good sign that I am through with periods!

I discovered this site when I was trying to find other people like me, who are converting from the lap band to the sleeve. I was amazed to learn just how many of "us" there are! For so long I felt like a failure, and that I just didn't work hard enough, or that I just never learned how to use my tool. I got my lap band November 1st, 2010, and lost 17 pounds during the 2-week pre-op stage, and then another 5-10 pounds the first week post-op. But from there, I really had to work hard to lose anymore weight. I was going to the gym at least 3x per week, I was careful to follow all the rules about not eating/drinking, chewing slowly, but didn't have any restriction and was always hungry. My surgeon was only filling my band with .5 cc's of Fluid at a time. Before I knew it, it was 3 years later and I'd only lost a total of 40 pounds (but that includes the 25 I dropped at the very beginning during add-on and the immediate weeks that followed), and I had about 8 cc's of fluid in my band that only holds 9 cc's! I couldn't eat hardly anything and was constantly getting food stuck. I was absolutely miserable, and too embarassed and frustrated to go back to the surgeon so I just dealt with it. Then, my employer added weight loss surgery to our covered benefits as of January, 2014 and I decided to look into whether it was possible to get the band removed and convert to the sleeve. My first appointment with the new surgeon /bariatric office was early March, and just yesterday I got the call from the hospital coordinators that I received approval from my insurance company. Now, I am just waiting for the surgeons office to finalize my chart, and I will have my surgery scheduled. I am both nervous and excited, and my biggest fear is that this procedure will also fail...but the more I come here to this site, and read all of your success stories, the more confident I get.

I agree with PP. My Dr never gave me a goal weight. I think because I weighed so much, he figured if I got below 200 I would be doing great. I'm 5'7" and have a larger frame. I don't know what my final goal will be, but it will be what makes me feel comfortable and healthy. I'm shooting for 165 and then I want to have plastics. I would love to finish out somewhere between 150ish. BUT, I've had 3 children and if it doesn't feel realistic, I may stop at 175 and then opt for plastics.
Sorry to go on and on, but most importantly: congratulations on your fantastic weight loss!! The idea of maintenance scares me as well but you will do great! You have rocked your WLS!!

I go by the TAI. (turn around index) When I walk down the street and the women turn around to look after they walk by......then I'm at the correct index

I really question this... I thought that it was long well known that being skinny helped with longevity. I suspect it depends on the REASONS for being underweight. Being a junkie that never eats versus someone who is naturally thin, stays active etc.

My hair was long and blonde, she just cut off 9 inches and it's still past my shoulders and I'm cutting off more when she styles it!!! Also dying it red .. Hopefully having it short will keep it easier to manage since I have worry about taking pills and eating in the am before work!! Ahhhhhhhh I'm excited and freaked out lol big changes for me

I don't know where to start, what a life change and what a life saver my sleeve gave me. I started out at 250 pounds, at 5'6". My ultimate goal was 150 and a size 10, now I'm 160 and a size 4/6!! One day I'll get to that 150, if it wasn't for my muffin top and extra skin, I'd be my impression of perfect, I plan on doing some kind of boot camp classes soon and hoping that will help me. We all go through a lot making this life change, I don't regret anything except that I wish I can find a new motivation for some kind of new exercise routine because the gym gets boring and old! I stick to 13-1500 hundred cals and barely even hit 1000 most days. I gotta have my iced coffee every morning and Water and iced tea as well as my flavored drops to keep my hydrated. I do extremely low carb, 20-30 max daily and that's due to my type one diabetes and if I eat more carbs and sugars that leads to more insulin. I feel like I've cured myself with changing my habits. I love who I am now more and feel way more confident than before! Thank you Dr. Alvarez !!

Hi, friends. Just sharing, as I'm so excited.

Wednesday made 16 calendar weeks post-op VSG, and as of today, I've lost 50 pounds! Holy cow. I am halfway to goal in just four months!!

SW =257.2 Dec. 4th--->Today = 206.0 ---> 170 (or 150--ultimate goal).

I was hoping to enter Onederland by June 1st, but I think I'll get there before that, do you think...?

I need to do monthly weight-loss tallies, but oddly, I lost 13 pounds this month! (I don't know why, but I'll take it!) OMG. And the NSVs are occurring every week. I really need to take pictures; I think I'll regret not having done so along this journey.

Just sharing. This feels good...and I really needed that to happen. For any still wondering whether to have WLS, VSG or any type, I can already attest that it does change your life, energy, attitude, appearance, style, confidence, socialization, sexiness, etc. It all gets better, with more to come, it seems.

Have a great day.

This site is wonderful!
My daughter is a member, she was told about this site by her surgon's office. I joined to support her in her journey. I have watched her struggle and support her decision to have WLS to the point I am probably driving her crazy! She is my "baby girl" even though she will be 28 this year.
I will begin by saying, she lives in NY... I live in Michigan, and even though we don't live close together, we are very close. My daughter and her brothers are my life and I have always tried to support their choices even if I don't nessesarily agree with them. That being said... I believe my daughter will succeed with the tool of the sleeve. She has struggled and has made her mind up that this is what she wants to do, so I will do whatever it takes to make sure she has as much support as she needs. I have read your stories, struggles, complications, and successes... I have smiled, laughed, and shed a couple tears for you all !!
Do I have concerns when it comes to my daughter and this surgery...OH yes! I worry, but she is doing everything she needs to so she is ready for this milestone in her life. I have done so much research you would think it was me having the surgery. LOL There are risks in everything we do in life. This surgery may be a risk as is any surgery, but I believe this may just save her life and give her the "boost" she needs and deserves.
She is a very beautiful woman, and has a heart of gold. After she has this surgery she will be Beautiful and Healthy!
It will be a hard road, and I am sure she knows that, but knowing she has this site and people that have gone through it or will go through it with her makes all the difference! I will always be here for her and support her in any way I can, but I do not personally know what she will endure in this journey, so I am thankful she has you to encourage and answer any questions she might have.
Thank you all for "listening" to my ramblings.

So this week several people have started to comment on how skinny I have gotten. Then 2 people today asked me if I have compared photos since I started. I realized I hadn't.....so here they are. First picture was taken 5 days after my surgery and the other is from today. What a journey it has been so far. The stalls are hard but I am pushing through them...all 3 of them so far. I only have 35LBS LEFT TO GO!
 

I'm Morris76058 on MyFitnessPal. Feel free to add me!

I painted a 3 foot high wooden Easter Egg as a hanging ornament for my front door. It turned out pretty good, if I say so myself. So, I posted a photo of it on face book with me holding it. Holy cow, I got so many comments but they weren't about the door ornament, they were all about me. I've lost 35 pounds but people were acting like I had lost 80 lbs or something. All the comments were so positive and I had no idea anyone would really even notice. I felt like a rock star with all of the comments. LOL I am loving this sleeve and I am so motivated to stay on this diet and do what I am supposed to do in order to lose the weight. I am so excited.

Hi. My name is Jeremiah. I have always struggled with my weight just like everyone here. When I started my sleeve journey, I weighed in at 491. With the south beach diet that my surgeon insisted I go on, I was able to lose 73 pounds prior to surgery. I had surgery on 3/12/14 and weighed 418 lbs. At my one will follow up appointment I had lost 16 pounds in the right days after surgery. Got on the scale today and lost another seven pounds. Brings my total weight to 96 lbs so far since the end of November. I also got below 400 lbs for the first time in 10-11 years. But what I enjoy most are the little things I'm noticing like being able to pull my socks ask the way up and not bunching them around my ankles. Being able to wear a tie and wear it properly. Feeling the way my clothes are fitting. I am so looking forward to this summer when me and my kids can go on a bike ride. I have never been able to do that. Please consider the little things and Celebrate them. Remember them when your day is not going as planned. I look forward to getting to know and support some of you as we go through this journey together.

Had to travel for a retreat and experienced another NSV. In the past, I was always worried about if the seatbelt would fit when I flew occasionally I had to request an extender(humiliating) but usually just sucked in my guy and squeezed into the seatbelt to avoid embarrassment and avoided getting up on flights so I wouldn't have to struggle to close the seatbelt again. Today, I got onboard, snapped my belt shut without a struggle, didn't encroach on my seat mate and was able to put the tray table all the way down.
My weight loss has been slow and as I've become more active, it's been all over the place going up then down so I've been very frustrated. However I have been steadily losing inches and today's NSV showed I'm making progress and moving in the right direction. I'm so thrilled right now and am looking forward to more NSVs.

We teach you how to boil an egg this week, so if you've been putting off adding eggs to your diet, you can stop now!!
We also show you a REALLY tasty egg casserole that can be done full-size or in bites!
Enjoy and let us know what you think!

My name is Kerri and I'm a 37 year old wife and mother of 2. I've been battling PCOS since 1999, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining more...blah blah blah, you know the story! I've been on Metformin for more than 10 years, but my a1c keeps creeping up. Doctors have suggested that I look into bariatric surgery, so I went to two seminars. That was two years ago, when I found out that our insurance doesn't cover a dime of bariatric surgery, under any circumstance. In the meantime, I prayed that we could come up with the money. I have all of the support of my husband and family, but the funds just weren't there.
To make a really long story short, I got some blood test results recently that gave me an official diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. I'm feeling pretty crappy with headaches and horrible, throbbing leg pain. I decided right then and there that I need to make this happen sooner rather than later. WE HAVE THE FUNDING FOR MY SURGERY! I'm currently scheduling my scope, then I will have a surgery date! I'm hoping for end of June.
I am so excited to go on this journey with you all! Now I'm off to explore this fun site!

One of the things I like about mfp is that when you acquire "friends" you can see their food diaries and that helps me alot. Feel free to add me Seela13

Not totally weight loss related (well, maybe a little).
So, on my first day back to work after my sleeve (Aug 2013), my car was totaled in an accident. I had a short moment of panic when the airbag hit my newly healed tummy, but I was fine & so was the other driver. Phew.
And today, I finally bought a new car-- a car I would've NEVER been comfortable in when I was larger.
I think I'm in love... Plus I look totally cute next to it. lol

Tracking everything! Just trying to reach goals which is not so easy - but I'm trying! Down 45 total this morning and clothes are definitly looser. Feels good. Today's my 2 week anniversary. Surgery seems like so long ago. Weird how the mind does that.

For the first time ever in my life, I put on a pair of dress pants, and they literally floated on me so much I couldn't walk out of the room without them falling down. What an amazing feeling! I think it's today that I finally realized how much I lost!
:-)

It's been a long year with many ups and downs but I am proud to say today I finally reached my goal weight this morning. I had Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) April 8, 2013 and over the last year I have worked hard to loose 89lbs. I started at 214lbs and am now 125lbs. VSG is not for everyone, but it worked well for me. My only advice to anyone thinking about the sleeve is to really REALLY do you homework and think about the lifelong changes YOU must make to use your sleeve to its best advantage.

I had my surgery Tuesday March 25th. It was a great success. My first day was the hardest but come day 2 things turned around. Taking only liquids but no problem keeping them down. Pain Med pump worked great. The only major issue is gas on your stomach. My doctor was Hugh Houston of cenntinel center for treatment of obesity. I was very happy in the choice I made with my surgeon. He is out of Nashville, TN. Anyone considering a good doctor and having the surgery at hand I recommend it. Now ready to get this weight off. Will post journey of progress

Hi, I'm 5 months out and I hit two major goals this week. I'm officially"overweight" and I hit the 65% goal my Dr. said he expected to be my total weight loss. 100% here I come!

I saw the doctor and received my date! I am set up for pre op labs and xrays on Monday March 31st and then I will start my 10 day liquid diet on Friday April 4th and then have surgery on Monday April 14th!!!

I had a Fleur De Lis Tummy Tuck last Tuesday, and I have to say this last week was one of the most difficult of my life. I am no baby when it comes to pain. My discomfort was manageable. It was the fact that I didn't feel in control of my body and had to rely on others, hard to do when you are a hard headed independent woman like me. Oxycodone and morphine suppositories made me feel awful. Between feeling blazing hot then freezing cold to not wanting to eat, move or be able to have a poop, to horrible hallucinogenic dreams I had enough of the narcotics pretty damn fast. i have had surgeries before, but this one really was the hardest. Emotional support was so so important for this one. I am not a clingy person, but good grief, this time around I could not get enough hugs or encouragement. My compression garment will be burnt at the stake as soon as five weeks are up! Today is day number 8 and I am starting to feel like my old self. Today I happened to get on the scale to see if Id lost any of the ten pounds plus of Water weight, and I am pleased to say I weight 125 which is my goal weight. yay me!