serenity1959

This really isn't news to us "self-payers". We didn't go to Mexico just because of the BS we faced with insurance companies. We also went to Mexico because we got better care and service for OUR money. IMHO the future will be more of the same .

Girl you better take that frowny face off of there!
You are going to do great, I don't care if you have 100 or a 1000 to lose, You are doing something about it and that in my book is awesome!
Sometimes it hits me just how lucky we are to be able to have this surgery, no matter what our weight is. I see people everyday that need this surgery and for whatever reason can't do it...
Be happy Neverbethesame

Hi, We have choices and we have to make the one that is best for us. I am a big fan of Dr. Aceves, and he was everything I was looking for. I think you know what is important to you, and you should do what is best for you. I asked 100's of questions. I checked out infection rates, I want to know what the hospital was like. Was the recovery in a fully equipped hospital and not a recovery house. I had certain standards. You should also, this is about your health and you know what you want. I wish you great success. If you have any questions that I can answer for you, please feel free to ask me. Take care.

Dont ever put yourself down..every woman is beautiful in their own ways....:-)

Well it is an amazing feeling to be under 200 pounds. I now am at 170 pounds. Never in my dreams did I think that I could be this weight and this small!!! Pretty soon you all will be living the dream too, it really is fantastic!!

So happy for you! Your date is very special -- it is my DD's birthday! Post afterward when you can. We will be thinking about you.

Oh, yeah, I am totally, completely obsessed. I read WLS forums EVERY SINGLE DAY. I have bought and read numerous books. I have researched the **ll out of it. Have a date of August 5th and have already started trying samples of Protein Shakes to weed out any yucky ones. (I figure if they are sickly sweet and have a strong aftertaste NOW, they won't be better afterwards.) Have purchased several Tervis tumblers for Protein shakes, a magic bullet, presently looking for a food scale. Already scouting around resale shops to determine the good ones since I don't want to spend too much on clothes I will shrink out of. DH tells me I am obsessed and shakes his head, but I already knew it.

Oh, yeah, I am totally, completely obsessed. I read WLS forums EVERY SINGLE DAY. I have bought and read numerous books. I have researched the **ll out of it. Have a date of August 5th and have already started trying samples of Protein Shakes to weed out any yucky ones. (I figure if they are sickly sweet and have a strong aftertaste NOW, they won't be better afterwards.) Have purchased several Tervis tumblers for Protein shakes, a magic bullet, presently looking for a food scale. Already scouting around resale shops to determine the good ones since I don't want to spend too much on clothes I will shrink out of. DH tells me I am obsessed and shakes his head, but I already knew it.

OMG, that text makes me so angry on your behalf! Calling you names is NOT supportive. WLS is NOT the "easy way out." Sounds like someone who is totally ignorant of the process. My DH is not especially supportive, but he better not EVER speak to me like that. I am so, so sorry that you are getting criticism and name calling instead of love and support. You deserve much better.

Hon, it will grow back. It is normal to lose hair after this surgery. I have NEVER heard of someone whose hair did not grow back. In the meantime, get creative with hair accessories. Some folks have their hair grow back thicker!

I was sleeved 11 months ago, and my hair fell out pretty bad till about 5 months out, and I took Biotin twice a day starting 2 weeks before my surgery. Just remember that it will grow back. I always told people that I would rather be thin and bald than fat and hairy, because I can buy some hair!
Sent from Gaye's iPad Mini using VST

Hon, it will grow back. It is normal to lose hair after this surgery. I have NEVER heard of someone whose hair did not grow back. In the meantime, get creative with hair accessories. Some folks have their hair grow back thicker!

Did I get your attention???
Ok, curiosity... when I answer posts here, I am always coming from a perspective of a "food addict"
But many times I have people write back...
"But I don't have an addiction to food"
Which I always think to myself YEAH RIGHT!
Don't beat me up I'm being honest!!
What can I say I'm pessimistic, I also laugh when people say they don't eat TO MUCH so they don't understand how the are fat.. I AM FAT BECAUSE I EAT LIKE A PIG (alone mostly)
Today I thought about, "what if I'm wrong?"
I mean...I am me and I am addicted, how do I know how the next person is???
I'm curious as an addicted fat person how is it for those of you who are not addicted?
Oh and on a side note if I am wrong, then I'm also jealous because I would give anything not to have this problem (addiction)

No. Gray hair is caused by children and husbands.

I have a confession, I am guilty of some of the before mentioned terms. "My name is Just1Girl and I am a baby talking sleever addict" I have come to this forum to find a cure, if not a cure I wish to enter "baby talking sleever rehab.

LOL!! I hate when the hubby does that YUCK!!

I probably spend more time on here than I should, but as I read some of these posts, there are certain words that just simply shouldn't be used...Try working some of these into a normal conversation and see if you don't get a giggle.
broth - ever use that word in a conversation? I laugh every time I read "I had some warm broth." I cook for a living, and not once have I ever made broth. Soup, yep, stock yep, broth...uh..no..
Bougie - Didn't even know what this meant, and still don't. (Don't wanna know either) Word shouldn't be used in mixed company. When people start comparing their bougies, I think those posts should be restricted to the men's room forum.
Surgerversary - Again, WTF? Can't we use normal english? You had surgery on X date or a year ago I had surgery. I can't go down to the Hallmark store and get you a surgerversary card.
Onederland - Where is this place? Is this in Canada? Again, try using that in a normal conversation. I'm sure you'll get some confused looks.
Feel free to add your own favorite banned words....
(btw, for all you out there that had your sense of humor removed with your stomachs..this is a little Saturday night levity.)

I am really tired of Reading Post about So Discouraged, Down in the Dumps, Slow Loser….Then find out you have LOST 30 or 40 lbs. in a few weeks or even a few Months. We are all here because WE could NOT lose weight. So Who ever lost and kept off 20, 25 or 40lbs in as little as a few Months…. Sorry to sound harsh, But Enough of the Complaining. Stop Weighing every few days, do what your Doctor said and look at yourself in 6 months…Lets Keep this Positive it is about a Life Style Change and the weight will come off in time………..OK, I am Done Venting

I'm not sure if this is a personality flaw or what, but I am absolutely obsessed with all things gastric sleeve. Do any of you feel this way?? How long have you guys been researching into this procedure? I feel like I've done a good job of not buying too much stuff yet (a suggestion I got from you lovely people) but I think, read, and probably talk about it too much- my poor poor husband. Haha.

So I went and got my passport picture taken and filed my application! In my eyes that makes it official! Yay for moving in a positive direction!!!

It is never too late to be healthier! I am 57 years old and had VSG surgery on 6/1/11. Nearly 9 months later and I have
lost 118 pounds. More importantly, my blood sugar is normal, my cholesterol is 188, my ratio of HDL to LDL puts me at
the lowest risk for heart attack and my back, knees, ankles and feet don't hurt and don't swell. I walk fast everywhere,
I bound up and down steps and I feel terrific. VSG and the weight loss it facilitated shave at least 10 years off my age.
I look younger and feel younger. I sleep better. I eat better. The foods I used to crave constantly no longer appeal to me.
I quit drinking soda two weeks before surgery...and I haven't gone back. I don't even like soda now and I've tasted it.
Now, I eat a little bit (2-3 ounces) mostly Protein every 4 to 5 hours -- if I feel hungry. There are always left overs. I still prefer
Soup to many solid foods. If I eat too fast or take bites like I did before surgery I can feel full pretty quickly. There isn't anything
I can't eat. I just eat a very small amount and I'm satisfied. I was a quantity eater -- I was a compulsive eater -- I never stopped
eating until the food was gone. I could eat a dinner out and come home to eat another dinner. When my surgeon told me VSG
would make me feel less hungry my response was "who eats from hunger?" I ate because I was happy, or sad or it was rainy or
it was sunny -- hunger had nothing to do with my eating. Now, my sense of fullness is impossible to ignore. I don't get sick but
I know when to stop and I know I can eat again in a few hours IF I WANT TO. I don't feel deprived one bit. I still enjoy good food
but in much smaller amounts. When dining out I eat appetizer portions. Some things I can eat full portions (there are still leftovers)
like sashimi or mussels. They don't take up as much space in my new banana shaped stomach. I don't eat many starchy carbs --
not because I am an anti-carb zealot -- but because they fill me up too quickly and I prefer filling up with protein.
I am a criminal defense attorney -- actually I am the Public Defender here in NYC. Today, I wound up representing a former client
from 2007. I told his mother that I was half the size I was back in 2007. She greeted me in court and said "You said you were half
the size you were in 2007, I disagree, you are a quarter of the size you were back then." The truth is -- sometimes I don't recognize
myself. My whole face has changed along with my body. It does take some getting used too -- but looking better is just "gravy" --
I did this so I could move without hurting, not feel breathless all the time, and not worry I would die prematurely.
I am rocking my sleeve & I am pushing 60 years old!

58 here...
I went on a road trip to LA this weekend. I was there for 2 nights. I decided to have a "free" trip... not write any thing down... eat what ever I felt like at the moment...(read that extra carbs and fat) and enjoy! Thats what I did. Thai food, cherry pie a la mode for dinner one night... fries smothered with cheese and such... it was all really tasty. I could not finish anything... thanks to the sleeve, leaving pie and ice cream on the plate blew my mind! I did have a sweet tooth, and bought southbeach Protein snack bars to carry with me instead of hitting the doughnut shop one day, and had a protein tray from Starbucks on the way home.... when I got back, I figured my calorie intake for the last day and it was around 1800 cals. I had gained 4 pounds. I'm sure three of this is mostly from salt and carbs and will come off fairly fast... but still... if I ate this way every day... up would go the scales like magic. It was EASY. The mindless eating does it every time. Some foods are "sliders" they just slide on down, do not give much of a full feeling and are often full of salt, sugar, fat and carbs. I am glad I ate the pie for dinner... but really, that behavior is one of those things that has to be pushed WAY back to the rarely done category. If you graze, eating small amounts of food all day... especially slider type foods, this is a way to cheat the sleeve too... get more food in over time. Drinking during meals can help wash food through and make room for more quickly. There are plenty of ways to cheat the sleeve. At first it may seem impossible, but the sleeve does stretch (just to a point... never all the way back) but if you can eat twice or three times what you could eat early on, and eat the wrong things... it really adds up. The sleeve is a wonderful tool! It is our habits that will decide if the tool is being used the right way over time.

Welcome to all our newcomers to the great 50's thread.
We may have done this surgery later in life than others, but I love that old saying "today is the first day of the rest of your life" I am sure my 60's are going to be ALOT happier now that I can do so many more things than I could when I was fat. I know I feel much younger, carrying so much less around!

I turned 53 yesterday and will be sleeved next Monday (August 1)...what a birthday present!!!