KayleeC14

I had the lap band put in place five years ago and had issues with it. I regained all the weight I lost because I found foods that wouldn't make me sick. I puked up every meal and snack. Also developed acid reflux and ulcers within my stomach and esophagus as well. I was revised to a sleeve in November and love it! My reflux and ulcers are gone. I don't puke and feel ten times better than I ever did with the band. Everybody is different on how the surgery goes. Yes, there is a chance of the pouch of stretching but there are chances of the band slipping and the pouch that the band creates stretching as well. I have not experienced any cons with having the sleeve like I did with the band. I am bias with saying go with the sleeve, but the choice is all yours and your health care provider. Good luck with your choice, I am sure you will be successful no matter what.

Where I go through for my revision they have everybody go to an educational class on the surgeries. They also have everybody do a psych exam regardless of your insurance. My insurance requirements were already met before going and trying to have a revision. Luckily because there was so many years between the two surgeries and different surgery it was billed as a new surgery rather than a revision with BCBS

i think the original point was its not okay to treat someone like a piece of garbage based on being overweight. you would not treat a smoker like they didnt have a right to live just because they were still smoking would you?
but its not just about being fat, its appearance.. there are a lot of angry, hateful people out there. did you hear about the 3 year old who was asked to leave KFC because the scars on her face from being mauled by 3 pit bulls were "scaring" the customers?
as a species, we have a lot of growing to do. ????

I believe in body acceptance rather than fat acceptance. I believe any one big or small deserves to be happy in the skin they are in. I had this surgery to become healthy not to get approval from society on how I look. This topic is interesting to me, because it took years for me to fully accept this is me heavy or not. I was bullied all through school, and partially into my adult life. I can't look at a stranger and think they should loose weight, that's not fair at all. What I actually do is look at food that I used to order or make and think "wow, I can't believe I made those choices. I believe fat acceptance to begin with just something to get people who are overweight and obese to love themselves no matter what. Which everybody needs to do regardless if you are obese. Bullying needs to stop, that so called "kids will be kids" I have deep emotional scars from those kids and adults making my life pure hell.I love myself before having this surgery, and in love with myself even more now because I am becoming healthy.

I think we all know people, even ourselves, who ate right and exercised and could never keep the weight off.
I don't think that obese people should be discriminated against. I think that everyone should be treated the same.
But to say that its wrong for people to try to lose weight is just crazy. I was surfing through a lot of fat acceptance and HAES blogs, and there's a lot of crazy there. There's also a lot of people who are just tired of fighting and tired of not losing and have given up.
Hey surgery isn't for everyone. We all have choices to make. If someone prefers to stay obese and just accept it rather than have surgery who am I to judge?
It's the black and white thinkers who I think are stuck in Cray Cray.

Oh I bet, that's cool you live in East Lansing. I work in East Lansing but not at MSU, my boyfriend works at MSU though. I have heard of the Beaumont Weight Control Center before, known many people who have went through there and heard wonderful news about them. I am from this area so it was easier for me just to go through Sparrow. It's neat to hear about the different health systems here in Michigan implementing weight centers for bariatric surgery.

Here is my story: I met my fiance a month and half before my surgery. My surgery was private other than my father/ mother/ and sister in law knowing. At first I didn't know if the relationship was going to be serious or not, but we went out on dates... dinner being one of them.. they see how you eat. THAT is going to change, HE will have questions.. I didn't tell him at first because I didn't want him to judge me at all, and didn't want him telling anyone. Then we started having sex. HE sees my body, he sees every mark, and then I think WTF is going to happen if this gets even more serious... It starts to eat at you!! I saw it this way, do I see a future with this man? Do I see this being something that lasts? YES... so after one of my dr appointments he asked why I was going to the dr so much and I told him. HE smiled and said he supported every choice that I made, and it wasn't his secret to tell. And it has been that way since. You really need to think about where your relationship with the guy is going to go... if you see it going further and serious... be honest. He is going to have to help you with your adjustments as well, and can be more understanding of your changes.

I live in East Lansing! But I'll be going through Beaumont weight control center because I'm from the east side of the state(Macomb)... I also live off campus at MSU, but I work in the cafeteria as a cook, which is sometimes hard for me.

Coming from somebody who works for a PCP it is great to have one because after your follow-up visits with your surgeon after surgery your PCP will be doing the rest. I know it sounds ridiculous to have a PCP established, but in the long run the weight loss institute is looking out for you well being. My insurance required me to have a PCP established but no letter. I already had mine write a letter anyways to the doctor at the weigh loss clinic stating I need this just a precautionary measure.

When you go swimming with your old bathing suit and the bottoms fall off when you get out...or when you look in the mirror and notice how skinny you are getting like my shoulders, back, stomach, legs, and boobs.

Hi there! I am 24 and in college! I had surgery smack dab in the middle of the semester and only took a week off from work and school to heal. I let all my teachers know in advance that I was having this surgery sometime in the semester and finally told them the date and they were cool with it. I do not stay in dorms because I am in a community college, so I don't have the temptation of the cafeteria food around me just temptation at work because they don't always eat all that well. There are always the fear with any surgery that something might go wrong. Where in Michigan are you from? I am from Lansing and went through Sparrow Weight Management.

Now that I think about it, there's also all of the saliva being produced during the act so I may be swallowing a lot more volume than I thought.... I feel like more research needs to be done on this subject...

Well I finally saw a new "lower"number on the scale today! I have been bouncing from 156 to 159 for the past 2 months. Today I saw 155! I actually weighed myself twice to make sure I was seeing the right number.

Raises hand very proudly. I had a few health related issues from being overweight. Hell I am still on this journey, its not over yet. But in the recent months I have really have come out of my shell. Always had a super high self esteem growing up, I come from a family with overweight family members. Growing up my mom was big until she went and had her surgery done back in 2007. So, growing up for me I always was taught to dress to impress and also wear makeup. Which I hate makeup to this day but wear it. So even at my highest I was happy with how I looked to begin with. I have a boyfriend, he finds me sexy who cares what the world says. But I was depressed at the same time because I knew at 397 the chances of me having kids where very slim, and also living longer was slim as well. Something needed to change and here I am. I tried weigh loss surgery when I was 18 and did it for all the wrong reasons, and I will admit that. I have changed and grown since then and love my revision to the sleeve. Well now that I have lost 106 pounds and into sizes I haven't worn since I was a freshman in high school I am feeling more confident than ever. I love how everything looks on me even more, and take that extra mile at times. My boyfriend who has been with me through this whole journey reminds me daily that I am beautiful, and that means a lot. I am now proud of myself more than I ever have been. And here's the kicker the "bullies" that teased me at school are wanting to know my secret or better yet are overly apologetic. I accept and move on, hopefully when the class reunion comes to I can slap them in the face with the new me.

Raises hand very proudly. I had a few health related issues from being overweight. Hell I am still on this journey, its not over yet. But in the recent months I have really have come out of my shell. Always had a super high self esteem growing up, I come from a family with overweight family members. Growing up my mom was big until she went and had her surgery done back in 2007. So, growing up for me I always was taught to dress to impress and also wear makeup. Which I hate makeup to this day but wear it. So even at my highest I was happy with how I looked to begin with. I have a boyfriend, he finds me sexy who cares what the world says. But I was depressed at the same time because I knew at 397 the chances of me having kids where very slim, and also living longer was slim as well. Something needed to change and here I am. I tried weigh loss surgery when I was 18 and did it for all the wrong reasons, and I will admit that. I have changed and grown since then and love my revision to the sleeve. Well now that I have lost 106 pounds and into sizes I haven't worn since I was a freshman in high school I am feeling more confident than ever. I love how everything looks on me even more, and take that extra mile at times. My boyfriend who has been with me through this whole journey reminds me daily that I am beautiful, and that means a lot. I am now proud of myself more than I ever have been. And here's the kicker the "bullies" that teased me at school are wanting to know my secret or better yet are overly apologetic. I accept and move on, hopefully when the class reunion comes to I can slap them in the face with the new me.

I went to for my yearly check up with my gynecologist and she said that since I have had regular periods since October, that I am cured of my PCOS. My husband and I tried for a baby for 3 years before I decided to have the sleeve done. This surgery has been such a life changer for me!! Now just to go back to my surgeon in July for my one year check up in hopes that he'll release me to have a baby!!!

I use myfitnesspal.com - I love that it has a pie chart option with carb, Protein, and fat designation so I can see how I've eaten for the day. Great phone app and easy to use online as well.

Well I am still in transition of becoming the new me...but I do not miss weighing in at 397 pounds. I have no regrets at all. The only thing I wished that stayed were my boobies lol

Hey Kimba! To do a little check in, I have lost 5 pounds so now I am down 70 since surgery which will be six months tomorrow and lost 106 all together since I started this journey. I am 291 now, hoping by next Wednesday I will be in either the high or mid 280's. All this weekend for me has been a "not wanna eat" days. I didn't hardly get in the calories I need for the days and also the Protein. But I am back at it today. Been really good at not eating out! Yay me! But what I have done because I crave sweets SO much I talked with my doctor and he said in very careful moderation to have some sweets. So I had three chocolate covered pretzels and yesterday some sugar free Chocolate covered peanuts. It satisfied me and that was that. I can now fit into a size 2X at Old Navy. Had to get a new swim suit bottoms since the other ones fell right off me when I got out of the pool the other day. I have been working out, at least 5 times a day. Tonight I will be swimming then right back to the boot camp challenge. Hope your week is going well. Also welcome all new people! Its great to hear from other people around Michigan who have done WLS and also their journey!

Ha! I will probably make my husband eat two and then lick his lips! People will hide their children's eyes from looking at the porno taking place in our booth. Those crispy golden edges....aargghh! You're right, the biscuits must be pharmaceutically enhanced to be that crazy good!

Well, it's been about 4 months and I'm getting sick of cooking my same ole dishes and bored with only eating at home. The wife's birthday came up and in accordance with usual event celebrations ........it called for eating out at a restaurant.
So.......next question.....where and what?? Finally decided on Red Lobster. And the results were pleasantly unexpected. Instead of searching for some mini-appetizer or kids meal, I ended up ordering a huge Shrimp Trio. Turns out, with the Shrimp Scampi, I could count the shrimp for easy portion size in addition to shrimp being great for Protein. Not to mention, I love shrimp. I enjoyed it thoroughly an just boxed up the rest which will provide a few more meals at home. Had a couple of small bites of the wife's cheesecake to top it off and the whole outing stayed well within my daily food quotas, while being quite satisfying.
Not such an ordeal after all. Once you get over the whole mini-meal hangup, eating out can be quite routine.

What I packed today for work was:
Mid Morning Snack:
1/2C of Cottage cheese
Three cubes of fresh watermelon
Lunch:
2oz Swanson canned chicken
2 TBS of fresh garlic hummus
Whole wheat Pita
Afternoon Snack:
Weight Watchers Low Moisture cheese stick
Two mini red sweet peppers
Two pieces of raw califlower
What I pack for work changes daily except for the cheese stick and cottage cheese.

It's been 7 months since I had my Vsg. Love I my sleeve!

I started a blog about 4 years ago, and I have decided to utilize it to keep track of my surgery journey. Hopefully the forums don't frown upon this. If it's a no no, I will remove the link. This isn't a ploy for any monetary gain, just wanted to share my thoughts with the group.
I would love to get some opinions or meet other bloggers and sleevers. Support will definitely be needed as I get closer to the surgery date.
My blog can be found at http://www.bigfatloserblog.com
I look forward to seeing your opinions here.

So today I hit the 70 pound lost mark! Exciting huh? That's about the weight of a 4th grader. Well, this is about the 4th time I've hit that mark. The other 3 times I hit a plateau, got frustrated, long story short, I ended up gaining all of it back with an extra 50 pounds. So I declare war on the 4th grader and I'm going to bust through this curse this time and make it history! Onward and downward!!