ouroborous

OK, guys, as someone who's over two years out, a few things.
First, it DOES look bigger, and it GETS bigger; not only does the removal of the fat make it look bigger, but there's more, uh, USABLE size.
Possibly more important, it gets HARDER. Touchy subject, but a lot of heavy guys have problems with blood pressure and other things that can make it hard (har har) to maintain a super firm erection. Nowadays, my boners are so hard I'm surprised ... well, I can't say it in public, but yeah. It's a pleasant change; I think my ladyfriends have enjoyed the extra hardness even more than the inch or so extra visible length.

OK, guys, as someone who's over two years out, a few things.
First, it DOES look bigger, and it GETS bigger; not only does the removal of the fat make it look bigger, but there's more, uh, USABLE size.
Possibly more important, it gets HARDER. Touchy subject, but a lot of heavy guys have problems with blood pressure and other things that can make it hard (har har) to maintain a super firm erection. Nowadays, my boners are so hard I'm surprised ... well, I can't say it in public, but yeah. It's a pleasant change; I think my ladyfriends have enjoyed the extra hardness even more than the inch or so extra visible length.

OK, guys, as someone who's over two years out, a few things.
First, it DOES look bigger, and it GETS bigger; not only does the removal of the fat make it look bigger, but there's more, uh, USABLE size.
Possibly more important, it gets HARDER. Touchy subject, but a lot of heavy guys have problems with blood pressure and other things that can make it hard (har har) to maintain a super firm erection. Nowadays, my boners are so hard I'm surprised ... well, I can't say it in public, but yeah. It's a pleasant change; I think my ladyfriends have enjoyed the extra hardness even more than the inch or so extra visible length.

Hello, one quick question: I was under the impression that a gallbladder removal could happen during the same surgery as the VSG. In fact, I vaguely recall my surgeon mentioning that he wanted to do this because it was safer.
However, the surgical center staff now claims that it can't be done during the same op. I'm not sure if this is an administrative issue or a surgical limitation.

I have seen a couple of posts from people worried about taking in too little food, and I thought I'd post this handy hint I learned a long time ago. It's called the "rule of threes" and is a rule of thumb for how long you can survive without basic necessities:

3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter
3 days without Water
3 weeks without food
3 months without hope

The point of my post is that you can survive for three entire weeks without a single bite of food. Obese people like us, perhaps four. So if you're only able to eat 400-500 calories a day, don't fret. You're not going to starve for a long, long time. Just try to make sure that the calories you ARE getting are high quality (enough Protein, enough micronutrients, etc.)
And as the "rule of threes" shows, getting water is MUCH, much more important and urgent than food, and yet even here you could (theoretically) survive three whole days without a single drop (including the water you get in your food).
So, if you're fretful or a hypochondriac like me, don't worry quite so much. Do everything the doctor tells you, tell him/her about any strange or worrisome new symptoms, and focus on recovery -- not "what could go wrong."

OK, guys, as someone who's over two years out, a few things.
First, it DOES look bigger, and it GETS bigger; not only does the removal of the fat make it look bigger, but there's more, uh, USABLE size.
Possibly more important, it gets HARDER. Touchy subject, but a lot of heavy guys have problems with blood pressure and other things that can make it hard (har har) to maintain a super firm erection. Nowadays, my boners are so hard I'm surprised ... well, I can't say it in public, but yeah. It's a pleasant change; I think my ladyfriends have enjoyed the extra hardness even more than the inch or so extra visible length.

I guess I'll be the token male on this thread!
I'm not single, however, but I encouraged my girlfriend to get the surgery once she'd made up her mind (and once I was convinced that it's safe). Not just for the obvious, "noble" reasons -- it's good for her health, she'll live a longer, happier life, etc. But also for one very un-noble, "selfish" reason as well: I wanted a skinnier girlfriend.
Mock me if you'd like, but let's be honest. Men -- especially single men -- are visual creatures. We care, very much, what you look like (even when we protest that it doesn't matter, it matters). Hopefully, if we're good guys, that's not all we care about, but it's pretty important.
So, I can't speak for other men, but I can speak for myself, and I bet I speak for a lot of men. Mostly -- at least in the "first impressions" department -- we care that a woman is healthy, and looks good. This surgery achieves both of those goals. Sure, you may not want to give him every gory detail, but that kinda goes without saying (a new relationship isn't usually the place for detailed talks about former medical procedures). If you need to explain anything (for instance why you eat so little, or why you can't have carbonation), just explain that you had stomach surgery in the past, and it's doctor's orders. Most men really won't care beyond that, as long as you're healthy.
But honestly? I think a guy will just be thrilled to be with a "skinny" girlfriend, to the point where he doesn't really care HOW she got skinny.
In the long run, hopefully, we'll move beyond caring so much about appearances. But the truth is that we NEVER get completely past it; we always care at least a bit what you look like (which is why the sleeve is such a great thing for relationships!). Once we start moving beyond first impressions/lust, we should just be thrilled that the surgery is making YOU happy, and less judgmental about it. In other words, as the immediate visual draw becomes less important, our caring for you should take over, and in that department lap sleeve is a plus, too.
There will likely be a small percentage of exceptions, but honestly I think most will be happier with the results and not care how you got there. The exceptions who will make a fuss about it, aren't worth your time.

OK, guys, as someone who's over two years out, a few things.
First, it DOES look bigger, and it GETS bigger; not only does the removal of the fat make it look bigger, but there's more, uh, USABLE size.
Possibly more important, it gets HARDER. Touchy subject, but a lot of heavy guys have problems with blood pressure and other things that can make it hard (har har) to maintain a super firm erection. Nowadays, my boners are so hard I'm surprised ... well, I can't say it in public, but yeah. It's a pleasant change; I think my ladyfriends have enjoyed the extra hardness even more than the inch or so extra visible length.

Make sure that you're taking care of yourself -- in particular, getting enough Water, Vitamins, and Protein (you ARE seeing a nutritionist, right?), and getting enough sleep and exercise.
If all of these things are in order, it's likely just normal post-operative "shock." If you get dizzy or have trouble breathing or begin vomiting (or a bunch of other potential issues including severe pain, high fever, yellow eyes, swollen abdomen), run to your doctor immediately. But if you're just run down and you're doing all the things you're supposed to do, that's pretty normal.

I actually had almost zero issues from a pain perspective, and very little feeling whatsoever on the restriction for fluids. I too had to be told to slow down, since drinking too fast was causing my reflux. Now that I'm pacing myself, reflux is better.
If I could just kick this nighttime woozy feeling (other thread), I'd feel great and I'm only 3 weeks out.

That thing hanging in the red boxer, is that a banana? Lmao! You did good

Thanks My next big goal is to get the BMI below 25. I'll even take 24.9, because according to the BMI charts, that's "normal" weight. Not morbidly obese (been there), not obese (been there), not overweight (technically there now), but "normal." HUZZAH!

Thanks My next big goal is to get the BMI below 25. I'll even take 24.9, because according to the BMI charts, that's "normal" weight. Not morbidly obese (been there), not obese (been there), not overweight (technically there now), but "normal." HUZZAH!

You have done AWESOME in 4 months!!! Good for you! BTW, we have the same doc. LOVE HIM! He did my lapband in 2010 & I had colon surgery for a large precancerous polyp 1 month before that. PSSC literally saved my life! Keep the posts coming so we newbies can be encouraged.

http://journals.lww.com/co-clinicalnutrition/Abstract/2006/07000/Nutritional_consequences_of_bariatric_surgery.24.aspx
Numerous citations, Google Scholar finds a dozen articles that all indicate the same things -- sublingual or nasal B12 is superior to ingested supplements.

congrats! Best wishes!!!

(No pictures this time. I HATE photos; I'm so damned pale and washed out that I always look corpse-like and OLD in my photos, whereas in real life I'm looking pretty damned HOT! )
So I was sleeved in May 2010. It's about two and a quarter years out. I started at 338 lbs.
At that weight, I was miserable. I was sick all the time, everything hurt all the time. No clothes fit properly, unless I just bought everything in tent-like proportions. I had multiple chins, moobs (man-boobs), rolls and rolls of fat around my waist, a fat ass, fat legs, everything. I felt awful. I couldn't walk very far without becoming winded and my feet hurting. I couldn't stand upright for very long without my lower back aching, and my thighs would chafe like I was being scourged by the Furies.
And my self-esteem was just awful. I felt slovenly, ugly, unsexy, unsexual, unmasculine, frumpy, and ashamed all the time. I felt -- fairly realistically -- that no woman would look twice at me, let alone want to take me as a lover. It was okay, though, because I was in a monogamous relationship, so I didn't need to "date." How disrespectful that is to my girlfriend, I can't put into words. But that's a separate issue. That's between us.
Fast forward, past VSG surgery, past two years of steady weight loss, careful eating, ups and downs, plateaus and sharp drops, past fitfully starting and restarting my fitness program, to today.
Now, I work out at the gym almost every day. I like it. I look forward to it. It's how I start my day! It's still challenging, I'm still exhausted, but I look forward to it. I usually lift weights, but some days, like today, are all about stabilizers and athletic performance -- today was focused on speed and agility, on building muscle memory. My trainer agreed with me that I'm still pretty uncoordinated, but also was impressed at how fast I improved; he claimed that maybe, under years of sloth and a sedentary lifestyle, just maybe I was a natural athlete who never developed his abilities! I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I think that I have a lot of potential, and better late than never -- let's leave it at that.
I'm getting ripped. With my shirt off, my chest and shoulders and arms ripple with muscle; they have a lot of that classic bodybuilder look (without that nasty veiny zero body fat/covered in baby oil thing). I realized today, and pointed out to my girlfriend -- that I'm actually developing a six pack. Me! Mr. Fat-ass! Mr. Lazy! A six pack!
I'm down to just a hair over 200 lbs. That means I've lost over 130 pounds, and (more importantly) am maintaining it (and, in fact, am still losing, slowly). At the same time, I'm steadily building muscle mass (contrary to myth, muscle building is slow, but all my measurements show a steady gain). My stamina and energy are the best they've ever been. EVER. Even when I was a kid, and I'm 42 now! My latest testosterone measurement was 611 ng/dL, which is pretty phenomenal. Reference range is 300-800, so this puts me on the high end, about on par with a kid in his 20's; this is just stunning for a man in his 40's, and bodes very well for my continued sexual and physical well being into middle age and old age. It will protect me from injuries, keep me strong and fit, and even boost my mood and libido going forward.
My self-esteem is way up. My girlfriend and I opened our relationship up to other partners (if you want to discuss open relationships/polyamory, I'm available to talk, but please don't post here, that's not the point ), which means I'm dating again. And I'm having FUN! I'm finding that women that I used to consider "out of my league" are now tongue-tied around me. I messaged a woman on my poly-friendly dating site; I thought she was super sexy and probably way too pretty for me, and she responded that she hadn't contacted me because she thought I was out of her league. I mean, holy crap, Batman! Who'da thunk it!
But it's not just vanity. I'm finally, finally, finally coming to accept that I'm a handsome, interesting, attractive, sexy, sexual, masculine man. Along with being wicked smart, with an IQ approaching 200, I'm becoming something of a jock. I'm hiking, bicycling, running, lifting weights, and soon I'm going to start swimming laps at the local pool. I go out to concerts and clubs, I date, kiss, make love, have fun. I'm fit, in shape, and healthy as an ox. Yes, I'm middle aged, so my only regret was that I couldn't have found this when I was 20.
But you know what? I'll take it. I'll take it! This is the life that I think many people wish they could lead. And in a lot of ways, I owe it all to the sleeve!

Well, to be honest, this kind of behavior is very manipulative and controlling, not to mention passive-aggressive. If you don't confront and address it now, you're probably going to have to keep dealing with it. In fact, he's quite likely to start trying to sabotage you to make you "safe" for him again. Not cool. Real love goes on even if the object of our love isn't with us anymore. In other words, real love -- as opposed to jealous, fearful clinging -- doesn't require that we be the center of attention, and real love is happy for the object of love's happiness, instead of trying to sabotage it to make the other person feel safe.
Honestly, I'd recommend marriage counseling. This is That Big of a Deal.

Woot woot!! Nice!!
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I live in ky pretty much anything goes here. I am originally from nyc so this read definately culture shock for me. When my husband and I got our marriage license they asked if we were related I looked at them like they were crazy after a certain age you can marry your first cousin here you just have to be old enough to not be able to have children I think with parental given you can be 14 the rules are different here
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Yes, polyamory, polygamy, and polyandry are much more common than people realize. And trust me, it can be quite a challenge to stay monogamous when it's two men in a relationship. Men can separate love from sex, whereas most women can't (sorry gals), which most people don't understand. More importantly, America seems to be stuck on its irritating, arcane self-righteousness about the whole "one man one woman" thing. But don't get me started on that one...

As long as you're not doing goats or little kids, more power to you! Enjoy the NSV!!!

Brothah...you gotta do what you gotta do. I'm not a fan of marriage as it pertains to today. People settle so often in life...I did and now I am happily divorced. But anyone's opinion of you, your choices or life...is none of your business. When you characterize them into that...what they say can't take up real estate in your mind. Tell them to piss off and enjoy your life. You have been hiding due to your weight long enough! Go and live!!

So, I was on a first date yesterday. It was a lot of fun, we met for coffee, talked for a couple of hours, and then parted ways. When the evening wound down, I walked her to her motorcycle which was parked out in front of a skeezy dog park in downtown Seattle. Lots of drunks and sketchy folks hanging out.
When we got to her bike, after a little more small talk, we had a nice good night kiss. A VERY nice good night kiss. In fact, it turned into a bit of a make out session in full public view (prompting, I **** you not, a round of applause from the bums drinking in the park!). As we were drawing apart, ready to go our separate ways, she had her hands on my waist, and she commented "wow, nice abs!"
I have never had ANYONE in my ENTIRE LIFE say "nice abs" to me before.
THANK YOU, SLEEVE!
(edit: realized I was being overly defensive about my life choices... without need. Changed the tone!)