TodayItEnds

I am so excited/nervous only 4 days away from WLS that took 15 years to commit to. 1/11/16 will be the day that I can always remember that I changed my life for good! I would love to keep in touch with anybody who is having surgery around the same time I am. Other than my Mom & of course my wife of 16 years, I have not told anybody! It would be nice to message with someone who knows what you're going through and having the same LIFE CHANGING journey around the same time. I would love to have some sleeve buddies, whom I can trust, support and help along the way and vice versa! Of course this journey won't be easy for any of us, However with this tool that is getting done to us (VSG), if we all stick to it...there is no doubt we can all accomplish our own personal weight loss goals!! There are many advantages to not telling everybody in your life about getting a VSG, however the biggest negative is the lack of a support system I won't be getting. I have lost over 50 pounds over last 18 months to prepare for this surgery however I find most people whom have not been overweight their entire lives (LIKE I HAVE) really are judgmental about WLS and overweight people in general. It makes me sick and really question what the hell is wrong with these people! So personally speaking I choose to keep it private since I think this will be hard enough journey to accomplish without these negative nellies, making the situation even harder. I envy the many people on here that have such a great support system of friends and family but unfortunately I don't! I am not on Facebook so would prefer private messages/conversations. If interested, send me a message or post in this thread. I wish everybody good luck with their upcoming VSG and WE WILL SUCEED! Sorry for the long rant

Thanks and I agree! Timing worked out perfectly, now just have to succeed! Congrats!!For some reason, the preop diet has been so much easier than I expected, not sure why. I also think a lot for me has to do with after 15 years of deliberating.... I am finally ready for WLS!! Best of luck to you and hope we can keep in touch durning this Journey!!

I am doing a robotic VSG in CT on 1/11 and it costs $20K which included pre-op and 3 months of Post op. Best money I ever spent on myself. Payment was required to be paid in Full 5 Days prior to surgery.

January 11 for me, so excited/nervous. Good luck to all!!

January 11 for me, so excited/nervous. Good luck to all!!

So back in mid November, I made the decision to get a VSG. After 6 weeks of ups & downs with so much pre-op testing…. I am finally cleared for surgery for 1-11-16. I am so excited/anxious but most of all determined to succeed with this HUGE lifestyle change. After contemplating WLS for 15 years, I decided it was going to be the best gift I was ever going to purchase for myself. Here is the irony, there was never a set Surgery date in mind and I was confirmed today that I am actually having the VSG on my Birthday. My insurance is horrendous and it would take year at the minimum to hopefully get approved (with no guarantees), work is slow so I fast tracked it as a Self Pay Patient. Is anybody else getting sleeved on 1/11/16 or the same week? Would love to have some sleeve buddies going through the process at a similar time. I am actually grateful of all the Pre-op testing; however the anxiety and waiting for results was beyond nerve raking. It still has not set in that this is happening so soon! Thanks for any tips/advice!

Good Luck, You will do great. Keep us updated. God Bless

So a crazy few weeks of ups and downs. So after getting the crap scared out of me by the Dr. who did the upper G.I series and stated he saw some things that were not right. I was able to find an endoscopy center that could do one earlier than Christmas Eve. So last Wednesday I did an endoscopy and that Dr. was amazing and said he saw a bunch of polyps in my stomach and some irritation. He said there were no ulcers or bleeding. He took many biopsies and just got the results today that all were benign. Whew I was beyond nervous but feel so better that I can once again focus on my Jan 11 Surgery date! I have done all the requirements except for an EKG which is scheduled next week so that is my last hurdle. So as promised, I would update thread when I heard the news.....greatly appreciated all the support. Can't wait for my surgery date to be here already!

Congrats you are so close. The classes I have been to have been beyond informative. My only complaint is they that pretty much everyone except me are going for the Gastric Bypass instead of VSG. So not to much time specifically spent on the sleeve, however most of the questions/answers still are beneficial.

So yesterday I met with the surgeon late in the afternoon. He was planning on doing a endoscopy in his office but now since Upper GI showed some questions ( either multiple ulcers, spots etc...) I need to get an endoscopy that can take a biopsy so we are trying to find one asap. The earliest we can get one done at this time is Christmas Eve..Yuk but really can't go any further until we get those results. Did the H pylori breath test and blood work yesterday as well so waiting anxiously for those results. Thanks for all the support will keep this thread updated as this progresses, hoping/praying for the best case scenario.

Your 100% correct, I need to not let this frustration stop this path to a healthier life, thanks for the reply and advice! I agree my imagination is running wild, just hate this waiting game. Thanks for the encouragement!! I am so glad you posted your personal situation, this really made me feel a lot better. So I need to ask, how long were you on Meds and do they have to do another Upper GI or EGD to be cleared for surgery? I want to be sleeved on my original date of 1/11 also I hope this is enough time to clear things up. Greatly appreciate your post!! Thanks again for sharing your own similar experiences and advice which are greatly appreciated. I was really concerned that if I have an ulcer that I might be pushed off for many months or even worse not be able to get a VSG so I will post an update after my visit with Dr tomorrow.

So I was on track for a VSG on 1-11-16. However had an upper GI Series done as part of my pre-op on Tuesday and something was not right. First off that tests really sucks, the Barium for that test was beyond disgusting. Having said that got beyond freaked out since in the middle of the test the Dr. left the room and all I was told by the tech was he went to look at something in a higher resolution display. Then the tech leaves and I am on this weird table/device for about 5 minutes alone trying not to have a panic attack. The tech returns and asks me I have any metal on or if I had ever had surgery....I reply no to both and then leaves again for another 5 minutes. Then he returns alone and says he wants to take some additional X-rays of my stomach because the see something not right but of course he is not allowed to discuss it with me. So in the middle of that the Dr. returns and says we are doing the entire test over again. It was god awful the first time and now I was like Please explain to me what is going on...So Dr. says it's not cancer or a tumor but something does not look right. We then begin the same disgusting drinking and I did everything in my power not to vomit or burp since they said if I did either we would have to start all over again. In total I drank 8 different versions of barium drinks and barium pop rocks. Now I have to wait until tomorrow to review results with my surgeon. So Tuesday night I got so violent sick from all that barium that I can't even begin to tell you. I have never felt worse and all I can say without making anybody sick it was like a concrete mixer leaving my body. I Drank 100 ounces of Water to try to get it out of my system, finally feel better today. Now just beyond worried that the results tomorrow will stop me from having a VSG. It took me 15 years to finally commit to doing a weight loss surgery since I am obviously a wuss..LOL! Now I am finally mentally ready, lost 51lbs in in preparation, walking hour a day six days a week and now this unknown. So my question to others who have had a Upper GI Series, has anything ever been found wrong with your test? I have never had an ulcer (That I known about) or any real stomach pains so I am beyond worried. I have a endoscopy already scheduled before this for next week. Hope this does not derail my VSG. Any advice/comments/opinions are greatly appreciated! Weill update this thread tomorrow after meeting surgeon. P.S I have the H. Pylori test tomorrow morning so maybe that will help determine what is wrong? If it is an OLD Ulcer has anybody here been able to have a WLS with an Ulcer?

Best of luck to you. I am having mine on January 11. My Dr. said there is always a small chance day of that he has do it open but regardless we are going to succeed either way!!

Best of Luck on your Journey, You will do it!!

Thanksgiving was tough for me as well. Good Luck with your Journey!

welcome welcome and welcome always room for one more hey dude love your "handle"@@TodayItEnds i heard that gastric bypass "re-routes" your intestines possible malbsorption problems don't want to go there lapband works for many i have heard of too many problems -ie erosion, band slippage that might occur over the years that's why i said no thanx to lapband many docs don't perform the lapband anymore because of possible issues LAPPERS pllllease don't shoot me!!! i love you all i'm just saying what i've heard and my thoughts covering my new and improved"little" assss to say the lapband can work great for many our "fearless" leader who started this board ( @@Alex Brecher ) has had the lap band for "about" 10 years very successful my biased thought - you have made a great choice with the VSG happy you have been researching Knowledge is Power!! many people on the board will give great advice info, suggestions, experiences glad you have finally committed to having WLS one thing about complicating surgery for 15 years is still thinking for 15 year and 1 day!! sleeve hopefully will give you no problems normal side effects of possible gas, tiredness etc most of us have been there done that i can't imagine the fear of hospitals maybe you've never had to go to hospital?? i am pretty sure many others are in the same boat as you try to mentally prepare yourself for surgery MAYBE you could even visit hospital, check things out doc could even explain that hospital should/will be safe no second guessing yourself if you are scared of hospitals i have confidence that you can do this the end result of having successful surgery out "weighs" LOL being a little uncomfortable/scared good luck kathy Thanks Kathy for all the insight! I think I am finally MENTALLY there just wish it hadn't taken 15 years to commit. however, I guess it is better late than never. Thanks for the Warm welcome! Great point, thanks for the reply. Wow this post really hit the nail on the head for me. I will check out that book for sure, I greatly appreciate your wisdom and recommendations!! Thanks and Congrats on Amazing job with your VSG. I know this will be a lot of work but you all are truly inspirational for me! Amazing post!! I love how you say Comfort zone, I felt exactly the same way. Good Luck with your Journey but I have no doubt with your attitude you will be beyond successful! Christmas scares the Hell out of me and going to be a Huge challenge for me but I HAVE to look past the food aspect of it and enjoy the family and friends more importantly!! I agree feel like 2016 will be the beginning of my new life and not to be overly corny (my Wife tends to say that I am, LOL) I choose my VSG on my birthday and feel like I am getting a shot at a new HEALTHIER life!! Thanks to all for the replies and inspiration. As an outsider of this forum, I have been lurking for a while and your threads/posts/Knowledge mean so much to many of us newbies!

Exactly the same reason why I switched to VSG, thanks for the reply!

Thanks @@jane13 for the welcome.

New to the forum…. About a month ago, I woke up said to myself “Today It Ends!” For over 25 years I have been the typical yo-yo Dieter. I have done pretty much every diet out there and initially lose some weight, then hit a plateau…. Try everything to get over the hump… get frustrated and go right back to my old eating habits and the weight returns & then some. When I think back in my lifetime (43 years old) the amount of weight I have lost and regained over and over it is utterly ridiculous and embarrassing. I have been considering weight loss surgery for over 15 years but never pursued it since I have a huge fear of hospitals. So I decided it was time to get over that and make this huge life altering decision for most importantly myself and my family. Before my first contact with a surgeon, I was 100% wanting a RYGB. I went to the initial weight loss surgery seminar and afterwards felt like I was 110% wanting a da Vinci RYGB. However, the more research I did online (specifically this amazing site) almost instantly I changed my mind and felt that VSG would be the better choice for me. My surgeon performs every WLS but in my opinion he seems to prefer RYGB rather than VSG since there seems to be better long-term results with RYGB. So having said all that, unless something comes up with all the pre-op tests…. I am having VSG in mid January! I have some questions for the members here. What was the biggest single reason you choose VSG over any other WLS? Any regrets with your decisions? What was the hardest thing to adjust to post-op? Thanks in advance for any input, I hope to be an active member of this forum and looking for a January Sleeve buddy as well. This journey is exciting/terrifying and it would be great to have somebody to communicate with along the way, going through the same stages.