Helen the Cat

I am 62 (for another month anyway) and am so happy that I had my procedure! It is the best decision I ever made! I am so much healthier and a lot happier. I have been able to stop several of my medications, and know that I feel SO much better! Have never had any real complications. Loving my Sleeve!

Prayers coming your way! Be sure and keep us posted as you progress post operatively! We love to hear how everybody is doing!

Linny, I am SO sorry that your family doesn't choose to support you in your decision. My husband was "iffy" about my surgery to begin with, but has been really supportive since I went ahead with it and have done really well. I didn't tell my Mom, not because she wouldn't be supportive, but because she is 90 years old, and I didn't want to worry her. At the time I had my surgery, she was living in Iowa, and I was living/working in California. So there were prolonged periods of time when she didn't see me anyway. I told my sister, who lives down the street from Mom ( Mom is still in her own home, driving, her car, playing the organ for church, leading sing-a-long at local nursing home, etc. Very active!). My sis knew what was happening, and I left it up to her to tell Mom if anything happened to me. Fortunately, nothing at all happened, except that I have now lost 100 pounds. I have since moved back home to Iowa, and Mom has never asked HOW I lost the weight, and so I haven't said anything to her about the surgery. But it must break your heart to have your Mom making comments like that to you! Please know that you are in my prayers! I don't think we ever outgrown the need for our parents approval, and itcan hurt so much when a parent makes a comment about things we have done that can't be changed! Although I know that my Dad loved me a lot, he was always unkind about my weight. I don't know if he realized how much it hurt me to hear his comments. I don't know if he realized that I didn't CHOOSE to be overweight, it is just the way I was. Sadly, he did not live to see me down 100 pounds. Am keeping you in my prayers. My heart goes out to you!!! Love and Hugs and Prayers!!!! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Congrats on the upcomoing surgery!!! I think it is so worth it. I am thrilled evetry single day with how I look and feel now. In spite of the controversy being stirred up over leaks, complications, etc. the majority of us do very well with the VGS, recovering fairly quickly, and going on to have a very satisfying weight loss and improvement in our health status, Will be praying for you the day of your surgery! Best of luck!

Soon NOBODY will make that mistake! Welcome (in advance) to the Looser's Bench!

Two summers ago I was helping my daughter strip wall paper and paint the 14 room house that she and her husband had just purchased. (Is an old Victortian house, beautiful, but badly needed redecorating!) Every single room was wall papered and needed to be stripped. I was up and down the ladder about 500 times a day. By the end of the day my legs hurt SO badly! Finally one day I fell getting off the ladder. Since they weren't living in the house yet, I was working there alone (daughter Sarah and hubbie were working all day long). I couldn't get up and laid on the floor for over three hours till Sarah came over after work to check on me. The ladder fell when I did, and there was nothing in the room to help me pull myself up. I was SO embarassed and I hurt terribly! I was laid up for almost two weeks getting over the contusions and abrasions. To add insult to injury, we put up new wall paper in a couple of rooms, and I have always laid it on the floor when I put the paste on it, I couldn't get down on the floor and then back up again with the wall paper. Had to hire one of the grandkids to help me pick up the wall paper off the floor AFTER I managed to pick myself up each time (a very laborious process at the time!). SO EMBARASSING! Am so thrilled to be rid of 100 pounds of fat, and able to get up and down off the floor time after time with NO PROBLEM at all today!!!!

I already announced my big news on my blog today, but just had to tell EVERYBODY! When I got up this morning and hopped on the scale, I was thrilled to death to see that I had lost a total of 100 (that's right ONE HUNDRED) pounds! I lost 20 pounds prior to my surgery, so that makes my surgical weight loss 80 pounds for a total weight loss of 100 lbs! I have to say, I am LOVING being down 100 pounds! I NEVER thought it was possible. I never expected to get fantastic results like this from my VSG! I love it! I love it! I love it!!! Would put a new picture on this if I could figure out how, and if I had one to put on here. Actually I just figured out how to add a photo, and so I added one of me, my sister in law and a friend. I am the one in the middle. Pretty sad isn't it? We all needed (despartly) to loose some weight. My friend on the left HAD Roux N Y surgery about 10 years ago. Lost a bunch of weight and has gained a lot back. Gal on the right is my sister in law. She is a Weight Watchers participant. Has lost over 100 lbs on WW several times, and gains it back each time. She is going to WW again and has lost about 70-80 pounds since this was taken. (Photo was taken in March of 2011 on occasion of my Mother's 90th birthday party.) Second picture is a head shot of me that I took to use for my FaceBook profile picture, about 15 pounds ago. Wish I had a full length photo of me. Will have to get my hubbie to take one of me so I can post it. Anyway, just want to encourage all of you out there who are still making the decision to have or not have surgery, and to you who have had it and are not as far along as I am. (I am 7 1/2 months post op, surgery was June 18, 2011.) It is definetly worth the effort, the hoops insurance companies make you jump through, the pain, everything you have to do. I am SO thrilled! Just couldn't be happier if I tried! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Melanie, Bless you for taking the initial step towards a more healthy, more fit you. A wonderful side effect of bariatric surgery, is that it makes us so much happier with ourselves! I too thought about bariatric surgery for several years. My first cousin is a bariatric surgeon, and I even went to see him for a consultation. He even offered to do my surgery for free if I could pay for the anesthesia and hospital stay myself. (He said he felt guilty about how mean he always was to me when we were growing up. We lived in the same household, and he was (is) like a brother to me.) The problem being that our insurance company won't pay "one thin dime" towards weight loss surgery. My husband is retired, and has retirement health insurance through the union that he retired from. My theory is that since the policy is for retirees, they (the insurance company) would just as soon have us die, so they won't have to cover us anymore; So they don't pay for things like bariatric surgery, as that would make us healthier and live longer, and they would have to continue to insure us and pay for our medical care! I finally cashed in one of my retirement 401k plans for the cash needed in order to go to Mexico and pay for the surgery myself. Which is exactly what I did on June 18, 2011! I am SO happy I did! I have lost 100 pounds (as of today). I am so much healthier. I am off my BP medicine, my cholesterol medicine, my allergy meds, my anti-inflammatory meds, my blood sugar medication. I am so much healthier, and I FEEL so much better. I have lots more energy, and I certainly feel SO MUCH BETTER ABOUT MYSELF! Nothing is the same, everything is better! The people who frequent this web site are SO supportive and will be there for you! If you have a problem, questions, concerns, etc, here is the place to go for help. I see your first appointment is tomorrow. I will be praying for you! Hope it goes well, and you get your questions and concerns addressed. Keep posting and let us know how everything is going! We are here for you! Love and Hugs and Prayers coming your way! Kathy D (Alias Helen the Cat)

Best of luck to you with your appeal. My insurance company refuses ALL requests for bariatric surgery! They do no pay $0.01 towards weight loss surgeries. No appeals, no second chances, nothing, no how, no way! So I went the alternate route and paid for the surgery myself. But I am so glad I did it. As of today, I have lost 100 pounds! It is such a wonderful feeling knowing that I finally did something for me, to make me healthier and feel better. Looking better is just the frosting on the cake! I am so happy I did this for me! Hope you get approved! Love and Hugs and Prayers coming your way! Kathy D (Alias Helen the Cat)

Dear Gmanbat, Hey! Congratulations!!!! Your weight loss is inspiring and tremendous! And especially congratulations on the loss of the diabetes! I wish I could convince my husband that this this is the way to go! I have lost 100 pounds (as of today!) and my health is SO improved. He also needs to loose about 100 pounds. He also is diabetic, has had two heart attacks, a stroke, and other co-morbidities. But he absolutely exploded when I suggested he persue bariatric surgery. But back to my original point..... CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!!!! You are doing just great! Keep it up. Rock your sleeve! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Hey Missbv, Good of you to post and ask your questions. This is a wonderful forum! It was from reading the posts on this forum that I got up the nerve to follow through and have my surgery. And my results have been nothing short of a miracle! As of today, I have lost 100 pounds! I did a sort of minii celebration this morning after I got off the scale. Unfortunately there was no one here to celebrate with me! But I am celebrating anyway. I have ALWAYS been big, fat, fluffy, large sized, Queen Sized, etc. What ever you want to call it. And I have done EVERYTHING to try and lose weight. I am officially labeled as a "Re-Offender" at Weight Watchers. Been there, done that 18 times!!! (I read somewhere that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity! I just didn't realize that it applied to weight loss efforts!) Anyway, besides Weight Watchers, I have done The Weigh Down Workshop, Over Eaters Victorious, Over Eaters Annonymous, Jenny Craig, Diet Center, NutraSystems, OptiFast, MediFast, and too many more to remember or name. I Always lost, but I Always regained what I had lost, and often gained a few more pounds too. I started thinking about weight loss (bariatric) surgery a few years ago. My first cousin IS a bariatric surgeon, and I even went and saw him in consultation. He is so sweet, we grew up in the same household, and he was always mean to me when we were little. He said he felt guilty and offered to do the surgery for free, if I could pay the hospital and anesthesia, which he said would be anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. Well, I don't have ten to twenty thousand just sitting around, and our insurance wouldn't cover $0.01 of it! So against my husband's best judgement, I went to Mexico and had the procedure done there. I paid for it by cashing in one of my retirement 401k accounts. Bill (my hubbie) was AGAST! And very much against it. But I persevered. I talked and talked and talked to him. I researched it to death, and found a hospital that was JACHO certified in Mexico. JACHO is the "Gold Standard" accrediting organization for health care in the Unites States. They also do International Certifications. It is a guarantee that you will get the minimum standard of care, at the least. Hopefully it will be lots better than minimum standard! I also stressed to my husband that I wanted to do the surgery for health reasons, not just to look better. I have been able to get off 8 of my 10 medications! My cholesterol is normal now, my blood sugar is normal, my allergies are almost non-existant anymore, I have been able to stop my anti-inflammatory medications, my blood pressure is normal. So many things health wise are normal for me since I have lost so much weight. As far as your husband, talk to him, explain to him, tell him how you feel, what you want to do, WHY you want to do it. Talk, talk, talk! Bill is diabetic and has lots of other health problems. (The least of which is he is also about 100 ponds overweight.) And I have to admit, we are having some problems since my surgery, But we have been married for 42 years, and I for one, am committed to working them out. I know Bill is committed to our marriage also, so I know thngs will eventually get better. Hopefully better than they have been in years and years! I know he is very threatened by my weight loss. I casually mentioned to him once, when he was complaining that he needed to lose some weight that since he is now on MediCare, and they cover bariatric surgery, that he could also have surgery and lose weight., He exploded! He said "I suppose you don't love me now that you are skinny and I'm still fat!" It took me a long , long time to convince him that I loved him NO MATTER WHAT!!! Guys must have SUCH a sensitive ego! But anyway, best of luck, no matter what you decide! This site will help you in SO many ways. There is endless information on the Sleeve surgery, and everyone is so helpful to great you information when you are wondering about something. So research and read, ask questions and discuss. Know WHAT you want and why. And again, BEST of LUCK! Keep us posted, keep on telling us how you are doing. Everybody here will support you! Love and Hugs and Prayers coming your way!!! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Wow girl, that is fantastic!!! I have to say, I wish I had kept as close a track of my measurements as you have! I just sort of hopped on the scale every few days, and made a sort of mental note of how much I had lost. I never even did any measurements. Wish now I had. I do know that pre-op I weighed 258 pounds. I wore a size 26-28 top and 22/24 pants. Today, as a matter of fast exactly TODAY, I weigh 158 pounds, for the very first time! I am wearing size 8 jeans and either a 14/16 top or size large. I recently had to purchase some scrubs to wear to work, and I bought size SMALL scrub pants! I was so excited. I tried on the mediums, and my sister said "those are gonna fall off you, they are to big!" Wow, I loved it. The sales lady told me it was because they were unisex scrubs and they ran large, I told her (nicely) to SHUT UP! I didn't want to hear that, I was in a small for the first time in my life, and I wanted to shout it out to everybody! Anyway, You are doing GREAT! Keep rockin that sleeve. It is a wonderful tool! Big congratulations!!! Keep us posted you skinny minny you!

One of the things I FINALLY figured out (and it took me long enough to figure it out!) is to always eat protein first! I would dish up my meal, and dive right into the small amount of carbs I was allowed. I LOVE carbs, be it potatoes, rice, pasta, breads, sweets; I LOVE carbs! But I have found that if I do the protein thing first, usually I don't have room for the carbs, and my weight loss seems to be more even, less of the yo-yo thing when I get my protein in. I am still struggling with getting all the protein that I am supposed to have (and I am 7 1/2 months post op now!). But weeks when I am good and drink my protein drink and eat my protein first, I see more of a weight loss and less of the yo-yo thing, where I gain a pound, lose a pound, gain a pound and half, lose a pound, etc. I don't know why it took me SO long to figure this out. I had read it here on this very web site dozens of times. But it really does work, protein first, then a few carbs if I still have room. Best of luck to you! Keep it up. (BTW, I have lost 100 pounds as of today! WOO HOO!)

Merydia710, you have made such a smart choice! It is hard for the little ones to "get it"! Even my 7 year old grand daughter can't grasp or understand the whole weight loss thing. I just had my surgery in June of last year, and she saw me on an almost daily basis before and after my surgery, doesn't comprehend or understand the whole thing. When I make a comment to her mother about how much I have lost, she will say "did you lose weight Grandma? You look the same to me." I am now smaller than her mother (who weighs a normal weight for 5'3") and she still doesn't understand that I used to weight twice as much as her mother. It is just so hard for the younger ones to grasp any of it. But take heart in the fact that you are on the road to being healthier, and willl still be around to love your daughter when she is an adult. Something that she can not appreciate right now, but surely will when she grows up! My two daughters tell me all the time how happy they are with my weight loss, as they know I will be around a lot longer to bug them, be there for them, etc. now that I am healthier and slimmer!

I have been waiting for nearly 8 months to write the following sentence "I have lost 100 pounds since last June!" And today is the day I can officially write it! WooHoo!!! 100 pounds gone off this fat old body! I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be able to do it. Daily when I get up and get on the scale, I am amazed, I mean, literally AMAZED that I can (have) lost this much weight. Thank you Sleeve, Thank you Dr. Rodriguez, Thank you 401-K that I cashed in to pay for the surgery. Thank you to my cousin, (the bariatric surgeon and recommended the sleeve to me.) THANK YOU GOD for giving me the determination, guts, fortitude, etc to go through with the surgery. And lastly, Thank you to Bill, a HUGE thank you to Bill, my husband, who although he didn't want me to do it, stood by me and went with me to Mexico for the procedure! Thank you Everybody!!! The last 8-10 weeks the weight loss has been really slow, and at times, I was convinced that the weight loss period was over, and I wouldn't lose anymore. But as I step on the scale and see the numbers change ever so SLOWLY, I have seen a gradual weight loss that is SO Gratifying! It seems I will gain and lose the same 1.5-3 pounds for days, some times it seems like weeks at a time, and then all of a sudden, I will loose a pound or two. When I was hovering around 170 pounds, it almost drove me crazy, 170, 169, 170, 168.5, 170, 169, 168, 170, etc., etc., etc. And then, all of a sudden I was 165. Now (I hope) I am FIRMLY in the 100 pounds lost column! I am sure I will do the same thing, up a pound, down a half pound, up a pound, down a pound and a half, etc. But I can live with that. I know that I have firmly hit one of my goals and even if I do the yo-yo thing up and down for a while, I know I will eventually come back down! Anyway, just want to encourage all of you out there, who aren't quite as far down the road as I am. It will happen! It DOES happen! And boy, does it feel good! Keep rocking your sleeve. Keep on Keeping On. It does work! It does happen. And best of all, it feels SO good! I don't have a new full length photo of me since I have lost so much, but am attaching (at least TRYING to attach) a photo of me just before the surgery (I am the one in the middle) and a head shot of me taken for Facebook recently, so you can see a little bit of the difference.

Congratulations on starting your journey! And welcome to the "loosers bench"! I can so identify with your problems at the airport. I flew (by myself) back to California from Iowa after my surgery. Had to go through O'Hare in Chicago, which is an old airport, with no "moving sidewalks", trams or such. I walked from one tereminal to another to catch my connection. By the time I was done, I had walked for almost an hour! I was so upset with myself that I didn't think ahead to book a wheelchair for myself. By the time I got to my gate I was so tired that I fell asleep waiting for my connection! Take care of yourself, and best wishes! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

You look FANTASTIC!!! Keep up the great work. I am almost 8 months post op, and have lost alm ost 100 pounds. It is such an exciting journey! Keep going, you are doing great!

Great to hear that you had a good report at the doctor's office. As far as the Plavix, listen to the cardiologist! He is the expert on this! And as to the Lexapro, I would say that is up to you! You are the only one who knows how you feel and how you are doing mentally/depression wise (I assume the Lexapro is for depression or some similar condition.). I was on Lexapro, and wanted to come off it, and my doc wanted me to stay on it. I insisted that he couldn't "jump inside my skin" and know how I was feeling, so when I said I didn't feel that I needed it anymore, I felt I was the best judge. He finally agreed to help me taper off of it. Congratulations on your 48 lb loss! That is FANTASTIC!!! Big changes ahead! Best wishes!!! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Good job! Great for YOU! I too have been in some situations where I was made to feel that I was being "stuck up" over what I ordered. Stick to your guns, and always remember that you did this for yourself! I keep telling myself "I did this for ME, no one else!" when I am in a situation where I am made to feel uncomfortable because of what I am eating, whaat I am not eating or what I ordered or didn't order. Keep telling yourself, it is for YOU!

Thomas, You are doing really great!!! Am very happy for your and your wife's success. I am 7 1/2 months post op and am down 98-99 pounds (depending on the day). I am so thrilled with my results. I am 10 pounds from my goal, and even if I never lose another ounce, am thrilled! I think the sleeve is a tool that will work well for me the rest of my life. Just wish it had been available 30 years ago! I am 62 (almost 63). Wish I could have benefitted from this in my 20s or 30s. But still am thankful for it now! Keep on posting to those of us that follow the boards on a regular basis will know how you are doing! Again, Congratulations! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Hey Carmen, Welcome to the "loosers bench"! It is an exclusive club, and we are all loosers! I am 7 1/2 months post op, and have lost 98-99 pounds (depending on the day). I am the grandma of this group, I am 62, almost 63, and wish so much that this procedure had been available years ago. I too have struggled all my life with my weight. Have tried EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING) to loose weight and keep it off, never with any long term success! But now I finally have found a tool that will help me for the rest of my life, and I am thrilled with it! Congratulations on your 13.5 lb weight loss. It is only the beginning! Be sure and keep us all posted. We love to Celebrate your victories with you! Kathy D (alias Helen the Cat)

Hang on Jen. The pain gets better really soon. My doctor never ordered ANY narcotic medication for me at all, even while I was in the hospital, and I was SO worried. I had a laprascopic surgery the year before my VSG for a hernia repair, and took narcotic pain medication for almost two weeks. So I was worried BIG time. But by day 5 or 6, I was completly pain free. I really think the key is to get up and get moving and keep moving. The day of surgery, I slept most of the day, so that night, I couldn't sleep. I got up and walked the halls almost the entire night. And I kept walking the next couple of days. By the time I was discharged on my second post op day, I was feeling really good, and had worn a rut in the hall way where I had walked almost 24 hours a day for the previous two days. I had some pain pills left over from the laprascopic surgery the year before, and I took them to Mexico (had my surgery in Mexico) with me. And I never needed a single one, and believe me, I am a wuss when it comes to pain! Keep active and you will feel great in no time. Keep posting and let us all know how you are doing!

Thanks everybody for all the nice remarks. My mom used to say "nothing tastes as good as slender feels!" I was never able to identify with her words till now! And boy, do I identify now! I love it!!!

Well, I just had to write a few words about what happened today when I went to see my primary care physician. Let me tell you a little background first. I am seven and a half months post op. I had my surgery June 18 in Tijuana, MX. And I am thrilled to no end with my results so far. Have lost right around 98 pounds. (It varies depending on the day.) I was living and working in California when I decided that I wanted to have the surgery. I am a travel nurse, but my home is in Iowa. I traveled home to Iowa in June for a couple weeks off, then my husband and I were going to fly to San Diego and travel on to Tijuana for the surgery. I went to see my PCP the day before we flew to San Diego to get my meds refilled. I hadn't seen him again till today, so hadn't been in his office since June of 2011. When the nurse called my name today, I got up to follow her to the exam room. As usual, she led me to the scale on the way to the exam room. In the past, I have frequently declined to get weighed, as I didn't want/need to be depressed by what it said. But in my new, current life, I am not afraid of the scale anymore. So I hopped up on the scale to see what it would say. (I had already weighed myself at home this morning and was 160 lbs without a stitch on!) The digital readout of the doctor's scale said 162, which is about right, since I had a pair of jeans on and a pair of boots. The nurse went to write it down, and said "hold on a minute! What is your name again? What is your birthdate? When were you here last?" I told her my name, birthdate and that I was last seen there in June of 2011. She then replied "well who ever weighed you that day is an idiot! They wrote the wrong weight down. They wrote that you weighed 260 pounds!!!! I need to change that!" I laughed and told her there was nothing wrong with the weight in the chart, that I had lost almost 100 pounds in the last 7 1/2 months. She was amazed and had all kinds of questions. When I told her that I had undergone a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy she didn't know what it was. So I gave her a short course on VSG. Anyway, I guess I can count this as one of my NSV! P.S. the doctor told me I looked amazing, and was SO encouraging. He thought I made the right decision and told me to keep at it.

Well, I am 7 1/2 months post op, and just the other night I was laying in bed, noticing how much my stomach gurgled! Most of the time I don't pay any attention to it, but sometimes, like when I am trying to go to sleep it is annoying. But I wouldn't trade the gurgling to go back to weighing what I did before the surgery for anything! I am SO loving what I weight and the size I am now! Have to tell you a funny story that happened today. I was living/working in California last June when I had my VSG done. I did see my PCP in June shortly before I had the procedure done, but hadn't seen him since till today. I moved back home in December of last year. So today I had an appointment to see my primary care physician for the first time since I had my VGS done. Just needed to get my routine meds refilled. Well they always lead you to the scale on your way to the exam room. I jumped up on it ( I used to tell the nurse I declined to get weighed!) and she read the digital readout and went to write it down. It said 162, which is about right. I weighed 160 buck naked this morning, but at the doctor's office I had jeans and my boots on. All of a sudden she says "what is your name again? And when is your birthdate? When were you here last? The last weight recorded here says 260, we must have the wrong chart, or the nurse wrote the wrong number last time you were here." I laughed and told her she had the right chart, and the weight last June when I was there WAS 260 pounds. She was astonished. So she started asking me questions and I gave her a short course on Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.