VSGAnn2014

Had VSG surgery at 68 y.o. Am now 69 and reached my weight goal 8.5 months post-op. Am now 6 pounds under goal. Feeling, looking, AM just wonderful! My surgery, recovery, weight loss and now maintenance efforts also were pretty easy. Just do what you're supposed to do at each phase, each day. The future will take care of itself. It's boring to hear this, but it is not a sprint--it's a marathon run one step at a time. The real truth is that WLS is never done. It just goes on and on. Us old folks understand that a lot better than the young'uns do. BTW, there's an "over 65" thread around here you should also check out. Lots of folks in their 60s have had WLS of various kinds and done very well.

I definitely did NOT cut out carbs to lose all my excess weight. (I'm now 6 pounds below goal.) Carbs aren't just sweets and breads. Carbs are in milk, yogurt, fruit, green and other colored veggies, whole grain foods, etc. Carbs are necessary for high energy and good nutrition. I don't understand why people think life after WLS means no carbs or even low carb. I think there's a terrible lack of education about which foods contain carbs and which carb-laden foods are much healthier for us than others. Now on maintenance, I average around 100 grams of Protein a day and 150-200 grams of carbs a day. But I don't eat slider foods (Cookies, chips, crackers, Desserts, sweets, pastas) often at all. Yes, I have them occasionally, but they're not an everyday item on my menu.

That's one of THE BEST WLS goals I have ever seen. Fabulous goal, Sajijoma. Just wonderful.

Seriously? People are offended by "cunninglinguist"? I might change my nick to "blowjobssuck." Lighten up, folks! That's actually why we're here. (Badda boom ... get it?)

If you have access to a car, why not just go to the grocery store when you're there and stock up on the things you eat at home? The flight from Philadelphia to Indiana can't be that long. You can take Protein shakes with you on the plane -- they're food. I go through TSA / security with 'em all the time.

Protip: Your body is not like a car -- burning gasoline at predictable rates, with the "scale" dropping in a more or less straight line. It really doesn't work like that at all. Not even close. You and your body are now engaged in a very sophisticated biochemical and physical dance with many twists and turns and leaps and crouches. You certainly didn't "earn" (in terms of calories in / out) a 19-pound loss in 14 days. Point is, the scale will move in a Jerky fashion in the coming months. Some weeks you may lose nothing. Then in one day you may lose 5 pounds. That's simply how this works. For everyone. Including you.

Congrats on your weight loss. I don't know much about you, but I would wonder just how much you really want to lose the weight. I remember when I (you, too?) started this journey I was DESPERATE to change my life. For me, I required that level of oomph! to decide to have WLS and then to make all the changes. I suspect you're not that desperate at the moment. You sound pretty comfortable, actually. What would it take for you to make the changes you already know you should make? How would those 20 pounds gone again change your life for the better? Those are some questions (and others) I think I'd focus on if I were in your shoes.

Yeah, no. This ain't gonna work out. At least, I hope for your sake it doesn't. Sheesh!

Given the state of WLS today -- if you can afford it, you can find a surgeon to perform the surgery -- those who do more research online prior to surgery (by lurking on WLS message boards, reading medical research study reports, studying various surgeons' Web sites, reading the www.asmbs.com site, etc.) are going to be better prepared for what's required to be successful with WLS than those who aren't research hounds. As a research hound myself, I'm always a bit surprised that some people go into WLS apparently knowing so little about it -- based on the questions they ask and the comments they make post-op. I also think that many WLS surgical practices fail abysmally in preparing their patients for WLS and what they must do to avoid future problems and be successful. Finally, and this is seldom said out loud, I think some people are ill-equipped intellectually and/or emotionally for this journey and are badly served for not having been screened better pre-op. Some folks who don't or can't make the necessary behavior changes post-op (due to lack of education, lack of initiative, or their inability to understand and undertake those changes) may wind up even worse off physically and psychologically post-op than they were pre-op. Recovery from obesity is a tough slog, and WLS as a treatment for obesity (generally speaking) has a long way to progress.

My GERD is a little worse post-op (I'm 11 months out). But I'm managing it well so far through diet and use of Ranitidine. I did aggravate it badly a few weeks ago when I got stuck on a long road trip (as a passenger) without any Water. I drank about 20 ounces of (flat) diet Coke and yuck! Never mind about the carbonation -- the soda's innate acidity really screwed me up for a week. Won't do that again. Live and learn.

Oh, @@CowgirlJane ... ! Two-stepping is THE BEST. Thirty years ago during the post-Urban Cowboy western dancing craze, I danced myself into a 25-pound weight loss and for a couple of years had a BALL. Yes, those cute, cute boys who are also great dancers are the best. And it's all (relatively) just good, clean fun. The Western dancing tribe is just that -- a tribe. Yeah, there's a little you-know-what happening in the background. But mostly, it's people who enjoy doing the same thing doing that. I hope this really catches on for you -- it's a wonderful form of exercise and amazingly fun socialization.

None of you guys are going to starve to death in a few months or get anemic from not eating enough veggies. In fact, there's very little about the first few months post-op that continues past that point. Your restriction will remain, but as your stomach heals it will expand. In 6-12 months post-op most of you will have enough room for 5 veggies and fruits a day. Take your vitamins/minerals. Like all who came before you, you'll all figure this out. If you're fretting now, you'll wind up fretting the rest of your lives. Relax. Do today what you have to do today. Don't worry today about tomorrow. Be happy.

It's not just the bubbles in carbonated sodas that are a problem ... and no, I'm not worried about bubbles stretching my smaller stomach. But diet sodas are very acidic and aggravate GERD terrifically bad. I learned this from ONE awful day a few weeks ago when I was stuck for hours with nothing to drink but diet sodas. Ugh. And I really mean ugh.

Guys have plastic surgery, too.

Pre-op I had stress incontinence. That's a nice way of saying I peed on myself all day long and wore heavy-duty pee-pads. And now, 90 pounds later, I don't do that at ALL! What a relief! Like others who've posted above, I also don't get up to pee as often at night -- maybe once. Sometimes never. And my knees / legs don't ache (I run around all day without pain now), so I don't resist drinking water to save steps going to the bathroom. Jeez, what a different life I'm living today than a year ago. No comparison at all. And that's not even close to the Top Ten Non-Scale Victories I'm enjoying.

Jeez, @@bunnybunny626 ... you are doing eeeee-mazing! You must be a young'un to be able to lose that much weight so fast! Honestly, I'd stop answering people's stupid "How much have you lost?" questions. Just tell 'em: * I'm only weighing once a month now, so I don't know. * I have no idea. My scale broke. * Thanks for asking. I'm doing great! (Translation: Now, please f**k off and stop asking me that!) * These days my focus is less on the scale and more on nutrition and exercise. Thanks for your support. (Translation: See above.) * So far I've lost 871 pounds, thanks to my shrink who's encouraging me to get rid of the toxic people in my life. (Translation: See above.) * Great question! How much do YOU weigh? (Translation: See above.)

OK, you can feel better after reading this, then: The first two weeks post-op I lost 6.8 pounds. Who the f**k cares. I have reached my weight loss goal (3 months ago) and am now 5 pounds under that goal and maintaining very well. Those who lose the fastest the first few months post-op were the fattest to start with. They also tend to be younger males with lots of muscle mass. Your pre-surgery weight was similar to mine -- you were 222, I was 216. That's actually pretty light-weight for WLS. And for obvious reasons we lose slower than the heavyweights do. Your success with WLS has absolutely NOTHING to do with how much you lose the first few weeks or the first month. So stop making yourself crazy. You're going to be fine.

Since I haven't seen much rigorous research around the regain after weight loss issue (other than at the National Weight Loss Registry), I don't know if the opinion piece above is correct or not. I think those three behaviors cited would be obvious contributors to regain, but it's not exactly an insight to suggest that "noncompliance" is the reason for WLS failure. There are other things happening post-op and post-goal with some patients. I know several very disciplined, intelligent people who dutifully track every bite and swallow who, after reaching goal, are eating 1200 calories or less (!) daily and at least 60 grams of Protein -- but they're still slowly regaining weight. They report needing to eat 800 or fewer calories to lose weight -- and then it's very slow progress. Weight loss, weight maintenance, regain, and associated issues continue to be areas that should attract rigorous, reliable research. I sincerely wish there more of it.

Sorry to hear that. Nonetheless, it looks like you're losing weight quite well. Congrats about that.

When they took 85% of your stomach, you lost the part of your body that produces ghrelin (the hunger and thirst hormone). If you're waiting to feel hungry or thirsty to eat and drink, you'll wait forever. For the next few months you'll need to eat and drink what you're supposed to eat and drink whether you "feel like it" or not. That's the deal for those who are newly sleeved. Over time, your body will figure out how to produce more ghrelin and your appetite / thirst will partially return. But for now, enjoy the hell out of it. And still eat and drink your daily requirements.

The first place I'd start is to make an appointment with my WLS surgeon and see if something physical is happening. Seriously. Good luck to you.

I was 68 years old. I didn't have any more time to waste.

Good thread. Ninjas / blenders / choppers are great for getting you through the purees and soft food phases. Otherwise, follow the food choices your surgeon permits. Blended or mashed -- doesn't matter.

Dating is VERY hard work. It's not just you. A lot of people do not enjoy it at all. But the magic can sometimes happen. And when it does it's all worth it. And you sure as heck won't find someone sitting at home all the time. Don't forget -- you can also find Mr/Ms Right in a grocery line, a shoe store, a restaurant, or standing at a crosswalk. A nice smile and a friendly "Hello!" is all you need to start the conversation. Good luck!

From where I sit, having had WLS and seeing how it has changed my life dramatically and all for the better in less than a year, I would definitely equate weight loss surgery with choosing to live life fully. You should, of course, educate yourself about weight loss surgery -- what's required pre-op, post-op and lifelong to be successful with it. There's a lot you don't know yet, but you will learn if you do choose to have the surgery. Most people I know have taken their spouse with them to an introductory lecture about WLS, as well as to pre-surgery consultations with the surgeon. Your surgery will impact their lives, too, and you will want your husband to support you through this experience. There's NO way he will understand what's involved -- the benefits, the risks, the journey itself -- unless he can (like you) get educated about it. Don't shut him out of it. Invite him to learn about it as you learn about it. Obesity (like many other diseases) is a family disease in that it can impact everyone in the family. Your bad health has affected your family, and your increasing good health will affect it, too -- just differently. Hang in there. We all had to make the same decisions you're making now.