Hollyhock

Great idea!
I'm new here, just logged on for the first time today.
I am 49 years old and mom to 11 kids. Five are adults are on their own, 6 still at home. The 5 youngest were all adopted internationally over the last 5 years. All 6 kids at home have Down syndrome. I have 5 grandkids. Two years ago I arrived home from Serbia with one of our newly adopted kids, and the next day went for my routine mammogram. I ended up being anything but routine, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I ended up having a bilateral mastectomy and going through chemo. I had 14 major surgeries in 20 months. In my spare time I ride my motorcycle, unfortunately it hasn't left the garage in two years. I was hoping this would be my year, but life is still in the way. I love to do crafty things, like clay sculpting and oil painting. I'm not very good, I just like doing it.
Chemo did a big number on my body, but through it all my weight has stayed pretty much the same. I've gone up a little, but nothing exciting. I just can't move anymore. I have chemo-induced arthritis through my entire body. But my cancer is estrogen fed, and fat holds/produces a small amount of estrogen when I don't what a single cell of it in my body! My oncologist wanted 60 lbs gone as soon as I could do that in a healthy way. Unfortunately the stress of being told I "have to" lose weight sent my scale the wrong direction. I just finished 6 months of the dietician visits my insurance requires, and received approval from the psychologist. Now I just need insurance approval and hope to be on the surgery schedule early November.
So who am I? I am am wife, mother, grandma, biker babe, breast cancer survivor, warrior b***h!

@
I hope that's how it is for me too.
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Hi @@jenrae1
No, no Hair loss for me, at least not so far.
If anything, my hair got healthier and grows really quickly now.

I had the surgery after the shock of being diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes is gone. everything else is gravy. I feel great. I can go all day. I can do anything I want from yard work, to hiking, to swimming or boating - walking the dog - time with my husband - and just keep going. I have done projects around the house that sat waiting for 5 years before surgery and I just keep ticking them off one by one.
I did not have any complications or hernia repair - nothing like that - and I can eat anything I want to, just I am satisfied with a small portion. I'm real good at knowing what to put up and how to reheat - so I don't waste anything.
the weight is coming off slow and steady and I am thrilled with everything. Feels great to have normal blood sugar all the time.

@
Did you have any hair loss?
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@@Dub
I'm a newbie and I love reading your posts. So inspirational! But the pictures and smiling face say it all. Thank you for sharing! You look fantastic!
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@@Dub ....I've seen your pictures before, and every time I do it just makes me all tingly.... hehehehe.....Don't tell my husband! You really look great and have the personality to go with it.

@@Dub
OK, grateful, handsome devil
Yes, it is wonderful for newbies to see what a wonderful difference this surgery can make, and it is great to see the actual fabulous changes in people later post op.
I am also very grateful, even at just 6 months post op, the changes are amazing. I love my sleeve!

6'4"
Starting weight July 2015 = 478 lbs
Weight on surgery day October 2015 = 423 lbs
Current weight in September 2016 = 290 lbs
Weight related injuries and co-morbitities were dragging me down. I was miserable. Hurting all the time and having to consult with circulatory surgeons, spine surgeon, knee surgeon and my pcp was very concerned with me. I was 47 years old and making it much into my 50's was looking more and more like a challenge that I'd lose.
One memory of those days occurred in June 2015. It sums up how things were for me post op....more accurately, it sums up where I was and where I was heading. It was not going well.
It was early in the morning and I was doing my best to get ready for a doctor's appointment. It was with a spine surgeon. I was in intense pain the likes of which I'd never experienced before or since (including post op pain from knee and hernia surgeries.....this back issue had me in the dirt).
Made it through a shower and mostly dressed. Simply could not get my socks and shoes on. Asked my wife for help doing this last thing before she drove me to the appointment.
She did so....but told me I needed to "man-up".
Those words cut through the pain. They cut through the haze of the double dose of pain meds and muscle relaxers I'd taken in preparation for making the 30 min drive to that appointment.
They pissed me off......not at her so much as at myself. I was mad for letting myself fall into such a rut. The back injury could have occurred if I'd been lighter.....but not so likely.
Turns out I was unable to get into her car....it was too low to the ground and I couldn't do it. I finally managed to get behind the wheel of my little pickup and drove myself to that appointment.....yelling out in pain at every railroad track or pothole. It was a morning full of suck. My little 4WD truck is a stick shift....no way she could've driven. I made it there and back....using crutches and cussing a lot.
Spine surgeon's advice that morning was to load me up with a battery of meds.....and get me to weight loss surgery. I didn't protest and a few months later I had my sleeve surgery. In many ways, I owe the spine doc tremendous gratitude. He did nothing other than review my x-rays and MRI and write some scripts......but his advice was spot on. Grateful I took it.
I went into a whole heap of detail with the above description of a single morning of my life........but it was how things were then. I missed 6 weeks of work for that back problem......and then 3 more weeks recovering from my sleeve & hernia surgery. This from a guy who's never hardly missed any work in 21 years with my employer.....only for surgery recoveries. Tough times.
I'll be much more brief in describing life since my sleeve surgery.
Let's just say that I seldom miss the opportunity to "man-up" now and I put my back into it.
I am almost 11 months out from surgery and a long way from where I want to be.....but I am enjoying the process and have learned a great deal about what makes me tick and what I want in life. More importantly....at 47 years old, I can now see having plenty of life left to live and enjoy.
This was pre-op me......taken the day before my October 2015 VSG & umbilical hernia repair....you can see the hernia looking like it's going to explode, lol. No wonder my back was messed up. I was 55 lbs lighter in this pic than I was at the beginning of my bariatric appointments in July 2015. So....this was the "new" slim and trim me, lol.
Old stretched out 6xl tee-shirt in the pic, too.


Most recent pic I have....taken on September 1, 2016.....10.5 months out from sleeve surgery.

Here's a goofy couple pics........but the last full length pics I could find. I was trying on a brand new 2xl t-shirt.....over the top of the shift I was already wearing.
It fit.


No more daily prescription meds for high blood pressure, cholesterol, pain and etc.
There is no single aspect of life that's not been improved....some by a little.....some by a tremendous amount.
Approaching my 48th birthday but feeling more like I did at 28 and grateful for it.
carpe diem

Great question! I have to be honest and say that the first three months was a struggle for me. You completely break up with food, and once your able to move around more you feel great. I would definetly do it again if I had to. Actually, I wish I had done it years ago. As for things I can do now....what a difference. I feel great!! I've lost about 56lbs. I can now cross my legs, purchase clothes out of a regular store. My stamina has increased, no more pre-diabetic stage, no more high blood pressure medication. My skin is now glowing!! I go more places and participate in more activities because I'm no longer embarrassed by my weight. You will feel like a new person. And all of the things krakow57 mentioned above. This site is very supportive. I don't think I could have gotten through those first few months without the helpful advice of others on this site. Do it for yourself!!! You will be happy you did.
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@@AshNic
Yes, like @@LisaMergs wrote, it is a valid pre op question.
For me:
No more fatty liver
No more pre-diabetic stage
Feel lots happier
My face looks 10-15 years younger, and my eyes are "bigger", basically not surrounded by swollen face anymore
I can cross my legs, touch my toes
My bra is 2 sizes smaller and I don't need an extender anymore to do my bra up.
I can wear clothes I couldn't wear for few years, and no longer live in sarongs
My food costs are a 1/3 now to what they used to be before
My back ache is gone
My hair is healthier
I can look in the mirror again
There is more room in my shower now
I eat healthy again
My feet and ankles are no longer swollen
I actually have shapely legs and thighs now
My bottom is much smaller and I can wear nicer undies again
I am no longer snoring. I never snored before I became obese
I still have 22Ib or so to lose, but I am seeing a big difference now, after 6 months post op

I'm still moving through this journey but how quickly the changes happen is amazing! I just had my surgery 3 and half months ago and I've already lost 70 pounds from my highest weight.....changes include a lot of the same things mentioned by @LisaMergs.....and in addition I'm walking on average about 10 miles a day now and am actually letting my granddaughter teach me to jog....I'll be 57 years old in December and have never jogged in my life.....I honestly can't believe that I'm able to do it!!!

OK I feel like I owe it to my community to give you guys an update on my weight loss and how I feel about my surgery being that I use this app as a tool early in my surgery and it was what got me through the new adjustment! I want to say that I am having the best time of my life it is so much fun losing weight and I hate that I cheated myself out of this opportunity for so long if anyone out there is on the fence about their decision this is EVERTHING! I am 60 pounds down from March surgery and I feel and look AMAZING!!!!!!
Kindest regards, phuckyourtruth

Oh, man, that is annoying . . . I can relate. I made it all the way through one hospital's program, with all classes, approvals, etc., only to be told on the day of surgery that the doctor was worried about complications and wouldn't do the surgery on me. I had to go to a second hospital and jump through all the hoops again. Then they denied me too.
This is my third try . . . hopefully this time it will actually happen!

Wow! That's extraordinary!

So sorry to hear of your complications! I hope it all works out for you!
make it a great day

This is so awesome! My highest weight ever was 302 and I got down to 251 on my own but just struggled with the up and down yo-yo of losing weight then gaining for the past 3 years. food was an addiction to me and I needed help. I started having all of these issues with my health and I was so unhealthy. I'm so happy I got sleeved despite everyone who said I won't look right! I got sleeved 8 22 16, today I went to my follow up and I now weigh 214.6!!! I couldn't help but cry because I haven't seem that number in years! I still have a way to go but I'm so happy I let go of the negative people in my life and finally I'm doimg what makes me happy! I'm taking this journey one pound at a time! I'm just so happy!!
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Have you watched any YouTube videos about WLS or gastric sleeve? I highly recommend them, they are kinda like video diaries of the entire process and help me a lot. I love Clusie L (you search and find her) but recently I have become a huge fan of Less of Sarah. She addresses this very topic. Yes, WLS is drastic, but the odds or a person losing 50 pounds and keeping them off for at least 5 years is 2%. Seriously 2%. Most of us have more than 50 pounds to lose (I have twice that much) I like the surgery odds of keeping it off much better. I can't keep going on like this forever.

I've not posted yet, but lurked for months. I can relate 10000% to the presurgery freak outs. I'm scheduled on Sept 7. And second-guessing my decision almost every time I see food. I'm on my presurgery diet which allows me to eat small amounts of food (abt 600 calories), so I'm starving. And I hate the feeling of being hungry. That's why I am fat. It's so helpful to read success stories @@Dub I needed to read that I *should* be able to eat normally in the future. I needed to read that this morning--thanks to all the amazing vets that share their wisdom and stories! You are impacting more people than you know! Now off to find my liquid Protein breakfast....
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As many others will say, this was the best decision of my life. It is normal to be scared leading up to the surgery. I was still thinking the oh my gosh what am I doing thoughts as they put my on the operating table. But now 11 months later I am so grateful for the new lease on life I have been given and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was easier for me to decide.
i was 47 years old. I'd had plenty of experience losing and regaining weight.
I'd lost as much as 120 lbs in a health kick at 45 years old.....only to regain after an injury and surgical repair that kept me outa the gym for a while. I healed but turned that "while" into way too long.
Anyway.....a bulging disc at T-12 knocked me on my arse. Outa work for an extended period trying to heal it and avoid surgery. Back surgeon suggested bariatric surgery and that losing a significant amount of weight would allow my back to heal itself.
Suffice to say that pain is a powerful motivator.
That back injury was the most painful thing I've ever experienced....and that includes knee surgeries, broken bones and two prior hernia repairs......those back spasms were a beyotch.
Within a month of having my VSG my back started to heal. At five months I was taking vacations and having an absolute blast. Live was good again........and has been ever since.
Weight is coming off nicely.
I can eat anything I choose to eat, just choosing weight loss friendly foods now.
I can eat smallish to normal sized portions at meals.
Nobody I'd meet today would ever know I'd had wls if they didn't see older pictures. Nothing in my daily life would reveal this.
Living like a normal person......eating normal foods......normal portions.
What, exactly, is your fear ??????????????????
A better life awaits you.
Get lean.
Enjoy the results.
Gotta run. 14 hour shift awaits me.....and I have tons of energy to burn. Will even hit the gym during lunch break.
VSG life is good !!!!
Edit: VSG life is GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is completely normal!! I had my surgery booked about a month and a half before, and it didn't hit me until about 1-2 weeks prior where I was second guessing everything. Even down to the day we flew down to Mexico I was freaking out. But now that I'm post-op and seeing results from my hard work (whereas I would rarely see results before), it's all been worth it. But this choice is purely your own, you have to be certain this is what you want. Just keep in mind those questions and doubts are normal.

Mine is the same day as yours! I had those same freak outs but Ive tried almost everything to keep this weight off. I feel like everyone goes through the pre freakouts once they actually get accepted.

I received my surgery date (9/20) and all of a sudden, I'm freaking out. Is this the right thing for me? I've tried diets, and exercise but I don't know how dedicated I was to it. Maybe I haven't tried hard enough yet on my own... The sleeve is SO permanent and once I do it, there is no turning back. Is this normal?
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Hey Zenlife, I'm from NZ too! I was sleeved 15th August. I put my scales away but snuck them out and was disappointed by the number and remembered why! I wish you all the very best with your journey x
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