Imnotpicky

I had my surgery on March 1st. I’m feeling fabulous! Down 14.6 pounds and couldn’t be happier. The first 3 days were a little rough as I was exhausted and mostly slept the whole time. By the 4th day I could feel my energy creeping back up and today (8days post op) I almost feel 100%. I’m so glad I did this. Good luck to everyone!

March 1st for me. Nervous and excited.

Oddly enough, no. I have been overweight my entire adult life and obese for over 20 years. I've had all of the typical awful, humiliating moments and had considered the surgery for over a decade. Then one day, with no particular trigger, I just got tired of feeling like trash and decided to put wheels in motion and do it.

Okay well I’m so sorry that you ever felt like “trash”.
Hopefully now that the decision has been made, you can make some strides in the way you look at yourself.
All of us deserve to look and feel like the best versions of ourselves that we can and this is a GREAT tool to help achieve that.
Do you have a surgery date yet?

I wanted to take my kids kayaking and my son didn’t want to go. He said I was too fat and he was afraid i would sink in the boat. 🤦🏽‍♀️ I finally realized how fat I had gotten. And I wanted to be a healthier example to my daughter.

I had my surgery a little over 3 months ago. Trash is an understatement. I felt awful, physically and mentally every day, As of today, I am 46lbs. down, for a total of 66lbs. counting the pre-surgery diet. I still have a long way to go but I am so, so, happy I did this. I was walking up the subway stairs the other day and thinking that I used to have to do that with an extra 66lbs. on my back. That's like carrying a small child everywhere you go, 24/7. Before surgery I was concerned more about how the weight looked, but now I realize how badly the weight feels.

I completely understand that feeling. I’m less than 2 weeks out and down 22 pounds from surgery and 37 from my starting weight.
Even that much has made such a significant difference

March 12

I was sleeved on 2/6. Down 23 pounds so far

I know the number one reason for wanting WLS should be to be healthier but was there ever a pivotal moment for you that wasn’t health related?

We were on vacation in Mexico this past January and we went on an excursion that was to be a horse back ride up a mountain to a waterfall. When we got to the point of getting our horses assigned the handler looked me up and down and walked over and brought back a mule, as in pack mule. I looked around and watched and everyone was assigned beautiful horses except for myself and one other heavier man who also got a mule. It was obvious why we were assigned the mules.

As I’m typing this it’s sounds so shallow and vane, but it really was embarrassing for me. Not to mention when the company sent us the photos and here I am almost dwarfing the poor animal sitting on it. It’s a little bit funny for me now but at the moment it wasn’t.

Just wondering if anyone else felt like sharing. Maybe it was a moment, photo or a comment from someone that made you say “I’ve had it”.

Imnotpicky
Surgery date: 3/1/19 for GS
5’4” 210lbs

Congratulations - ur an amazing survivor !!i know u will get where u need to be , and most importantly happy and healthy !

Mine was 2 events that happened within a couple weeks of each other.
Back in 2009 I was diagnosed at the age of 40 with TNBC, which is automatically a stage 3 and is mandatory chemo.
After a year of chemo and radiation (guess who actually managed to GAIN 40 pounds while on a year of chemo-yup, this girl) I decided that I was never again going to get cancer.
I fought so dang hard for my life and knowing that the #1 risk factor for cancer is obesity, I vowed to lose weight. And I did.
I spent the following 3 years running 10-15 miles/week, going to the gym, hiring a personal trainer, and religiously logging food and eating under 1600 calories/day.
I lost 40 pounds in those 3 years.
Then I got laid off of my job, had a a death in the family and loads of stress. Regained the 40 pounds in under 8 months.
Fast-forward to January 2018.
I went in for a mammogram and I had several enlarged lymph nodes, so my oncologist was convinced I had lymphoma.
Also in January we had a family girls trip to universal Orlando and I fully had to sit out of half the rides because I couldn’t fit.
Okay so I didn’t have lymphoma, but that scare along with the family trip convinced me something had to give.
I still took many months talking to health care professionals and doing my homework and making sure I was truly ready to make this leap, but on 2/6 this year I was sleeved.
Since then, I’m down 20 pounds. And down 35 overall from when I started.
HW: 259
SW: 244
CW: 223
GW: 150
Height is 5’6.5

Mine is health related but in a round about way. I’ve had high bp, diabetes, high cholesterol, Migraines, the list can go on and on but you get the idea. But that was my every day life and I was complacent about it. One night when all the kids and grand kids were over I was making dinner. At the time I had a granddaughter that would hardly eat anything other than Mac n cheese. While reaching to the back burner to stir another pot my pinky was up against the boiling pan. I didn’t feel a thing until it was already a 3rd degree burn. That was my ah ha moment. I had no idea my nerve damage had become so severe in my hands and feet from my diabetes . I’m not sure I can reverse any of that damage but I’m sure praying that it’s halted.

I am very active , spin and yoga , and ride my horse in 3 day events which include cross country jumping . At 238lbs my poor mare and I could not make the time and my fiancé told me last May I was the fattest person riding . I said enough and headed to the doctor . Sleeved in December , in 190’s and floating down to hopefully the 160’s as goal . Best thing I ever did !

Many reasons why I got the sleeve but what really triggered it was when I got a CT scan and the doctor said they had trouble seeing details because of my weight. I was ~410 lbs at the time and 6’2” tall at 26 years old. I knew I was bound for a lifetime of health issues if I didn’t make this change and I didn’t want to die because the doctors couldn’t see details in a CT scan...best decision I’ve made in my life! Down 55 lbs in 2 months!!

Thanks for the awesome stories guys! This is going to be quite the inspirational thread. Having a great “why” makes any “how” bearable

I’ve had a lot of friends who have had various types of WLS and as a yo-yo dieter I’ve thought about it for years. Then my degenerative disc disease became serious chronic pain. I sought out a better PCP to talk about the pain and my weight and she recommended WLS. As a health at any size activist and feminist, I said “no way.” Then I read about Roxanne Gay’s surgery. My back got worse. I started representing the company I work for at conventions and they put my pictures all over social media. Pictures where I was usually trying to hide my middle. One more friend got a VGS and lost 100 lbs. I talked to her and met with the surgeon shortly after.

I know the number one reason for wanting WLS should be to be healthier but was there ever a pivotal moment for you that wasn’t health related?

We were on vacation in Mexico this past January and we went on an excursion that was to be a horse back ride up a mountain to a waterfall. When we got to the point of getting our horses assigned the handler looked me up and down and walked over and brought back a mule, as in pack mule. I looked around and watched and everyone was assigned beautiful horses except for myself and one other heavier man who also got a mule. It was obvious why we were assigned the mules.

As I’m typing this it’s sounds so shallow and vane, but it really was embarrassing for me. Not to mention when the company sent us the photos and here I am almost dwarfing the poor animal sitting on it. It’s a little bit funny for me now but at the moment it wasn’t.

Just wondering if anyone else felt like sharing. Maybe it was a moment, photo or a comment from someone that made you say “I’ve had it”.

Imnotpicky
Surgery date: 3/1/19 for GS
5’4” 210lbs

My moment that really solidified this choice for me was when I had to take my son to the hospital. He was six months old and suddenly got sick. I had to take him to the children’s hospital. He was miserable and he was crying and being walked around helped him calm down a bit. I could barely do it. I have gotten so heavy that my hips, knees, and back ache. I am so fat that I couldn’t comfort my baby as good as I should have. I don’t ever want my weight to impact my children so I’m doing something about it. It’s a big commitment and not something I’m taking lightly. I need to do this, though.

I walked in a popular 5K in June 2018. I was actually training myself to run it, but it didn't happen that way.

I'd taken a picture with my participation medal, and the picture was posted by the photographer on a website so that people could go and grab theirs if they wanted. Before I was able to get to the website, I got a notification that someone Id met at the race that morning posted the pic and tagged me on FB. When I saw the picture, I broke down in tears. I was angry that the girl posted it because it seemed weird for he to post a picture of ME, but I was disgusted at the way I looked. I tried so hard to find good in that picture and I just couldn't.

That did it. I was 100% tired of being big.

-AtA

It was 2 things that happened within a week of each other. I work on the fifth floor and we had an emergency drill which I had to go down 5 flights of stairs ( I actually thought about staying behind on the 3rd floor and hope no one would notice). All I could think about was if this was a real fire not only would my life be in danger but anyone trying to help me would be in danger because of my weight! The following week (December 2018) I had to go to my daughters college graduation for her bachelors degree . It was an indoor stadium and I could not fit in the seat. I had to squeeze myself side ways, half hanging out of the chair and praying that the seat didn't break. I was in so much pain by the time my daughter got her diploma that the tears were for my pinched legs and not so much for the special moment and I was so glad when it was over! I promised myself in that parking lot after taking the most horrible pictures that by the next year for her last graduation I will fit in the seat!

My moment was when I couldn’t buckle my seat on a flight and being too embarrassed to ask for a seat belt extender. So I sat the whole flight with my arms across my belly in hopes the flight attendant wouldn’t notice. I also haven’t been able to play and chase my 9 year old like I use to. I have gained 45-50 lbs since May 2018 due to bipolar medications. Now I am the happiest and most content I have ever been in my whole adulthood. So I am ready for my outside to match how good I feel on the inside.

I know the number one reason for wanting WLS should be to be healthier but was there ever a pivotal moment for you that wasn’t health related?

We were on vacation in Mexico this past January and we went on an excursion that was to be a horse back ride up a mountain to a waterfall. When we got to the point of getting our horses assigned the handler looked me up and down and walked over and brought back a mule, as in pack mule. I looked around and watched and everyone was assigned beautiful horses except for myself and one other heavier man who also got a mule. It was obvious why we were assigned the mules.

As I’m typing this it’s sounds so shallow and vane, but it really was embarrassing for me. Not to mention when the company sent us the photos and here I am almost dwarfing the poor animal sitting on it. It’s a little bit funny for me now but at the moment it wasn’t.

Just wondering if anyone else felt like sharing. Maybe it was a moment, photo or a comment from someone that made you say “I’ve had it”.

Imnotpicky
Surgery date: 3/1/19 for GS
5’4” 210lbs

I have a very similar story, Amanda. I started thinking about doing this three years ago and actually met with a doctor at that time--but I kept thinking I could lose this weight on my own (and I'm sure I could, because I have lost and regained the same 60 pounds multiple times over the past 30 years).
Fast forward to 2018. I was having a physical and my doctor said I needed to lose weight. I am 59, and he told me that at my age there was very little chance for me to lose a meaningful amount of weight and keep it off without surgery. Then he said that if I didn't have the surgery, I had about 10 to 12 more years before having a massive stroke or heart attack. That did the trick!
I will admit, however, that it will be nice to board a plane and not have everyone looking at me and thinking, "I hope the fat guy isn't sitting next to me."

It was my mom. She is having vsg next week and one of the things she said was she wanted to play with her grandkids. 2 of those grandkids are my kids and I can't play with them the way I would like. It hit me that if I didn't do something now at 38 I would still be yo yo dieting when I am her age. I knew my insurance would cover it because my coworkers had done it. I called my insurance and found out what I needed to do and signed up for a seminar

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