Hi Everyone -

I'll take the plunge!

I'm 5'6", and started at 333. Charts list my ideal weight as between 130-145, so I figure I can claim the 200 lb group.

I was banded 1/23/03, lost my band to erosion 7/04, and was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali 8/14/09. As of Monday I am down 100.4 pounds - woot!

Of course, my situation was a little accelerated, as I had complications and was on liquids basically from my surgery date until Christmas, so those of you who had normal recoveries shouldn't be bummed if your journey hasn't gone quite so quickly.

Donali

Hi Donali,

I'm 6' and am around 450+ and should be at 180 or so.

I am scheduled to have VSG on the 20th of this month, however, that remains in limbo right now as I have been sick for a month with a never ending group of issues, sinus problems, severe coughing, a cold now it appears. My wife and son appear to keep passing it around.

Excellent work on the 100.4 pounds, I bet it feels great.

I can only hope all goes well. Thank you for being the first poster. I look forward to your updates.

Les

Hi LowKee! Thanks for posting, isn't it funny how doctors have us tall folks weighing so little? I'm supposed to weigh 170? Go figure, my bone structure itself weighs more than that! hehehehe. . . we'll see what happens. . . Good luck on your surgery, I had mine on 12/29 . . it's a little weird in the beginning and you'll find it strange, but bear with it, follow the doctors orders and walk alot, you'll get used to it and soon enough will be so happy you had it done. . . I've not regretted a day since. Just remember that the weird food issues are only temporary and do me a BIG favor? Get rid of your scale, don't become a scale slave, you'll only set your self up for dissappointment. . . I threw mine out the day i came home from surgery and only weigh at the doctor appointments. . . the 1st week and half check up i had lost 32 lbs and now on the 16th i'll be going for my first 7 week check up . . . we'll see what i've lost then. . . but if you get rid of the scale, you miss those stalls everyone talks about and gets depressed over, you have no earthly idea whats going on with your weight and when you do weigh at the doctors office, you are so excited and happy it keeps you going and your not depressed and sad. . . good luck again. . .

Just a quick update, due to ear infection, surgery is postponed until March 15th, I am so bummed.

Hey guys!

I am planning to have surg end of March in Puerto Vallarta with Dr. Joya. I am still debating the Realise Band vs. the VGS. I am 440 lbs and 32 years old. I am really seeing this as my last chance before comorbidites set in. My goal is to get to 180 lbs (my high school graduation weight).

Anyone else out their with post experience after the VSG?

Tracy

Tracy,

Nice to see you post here. I am not real familiar with the realize band although the regular lap band has many convertees to the VSG. From my point, 39 years old, I have been overweight all my life and obese for most of those years. I view the lap band as a temporary solution, one that I can remove in 5 years when I lose all the weight I want. Well that just won't cut it. Odds are I will put weight back on even with VSG after I hit goal weight, so what are the odds of me maintaining my weight after I have the band removed?

Chances of erosion are there with banding and at 440 lbs, you cannot afford the chance to get diabetes or other problems. Pick the VSG, it's for life and obviously you can't control your weight in the first 32 years, what makes you think you can resist the temptation to remove the band later?

Also, VSG is no maintenance. That's just the way I see it, make it permanent and move on to doing something with your life that does not involve Cookies, cakes and a bunch of horrible items to put down your gullet

Please post again Tracy, I would love see your progress, because I was in your shoes at age 32, now 39, my shoes are bigger (edema) and my blood sugar is high. Good Luck.

Les

Hi everyone, I am a 50 year old woman with a long history of obesity. I dont think I consciously chose to overeat as a child. It just seemed to be one of the few things i could control. Until my mother caught on, and then she give me about 1/3 of the food she gave my brothers. Anger and Rage set in for lots of reasons. From then on, it has been one diet after another after another. I had the band three years ago and lost 40 pounds, a fraction of what I needed to. Then, nothing for the last 18 months no matter what I do. I actually went to a physical therapist 5 days a week who monitored- yes actually stood there and watched me do cardio and strength training. Still, no weight loss. I am trying my best to schedule a VSG, but I am trying not to be scared since my surgeon has not done this kind of revision before. I would be the first. I am doing everything need to do to make this happen, I just think the little voice is saying don't.

Hi everyone, I am a 50 year old woman with a long history of obesity. I dont think I consciously chose to overeat as a child. It just seemed to be one of the few things i could control. Until my mother caught on, and then she give me about 1/3 of the food she gave my brothers. Anger and Rage set in for lots of reasons. From then on, it has been one diet after another after another. I had the band three years ago and lost 40 pounds, a fraction of what I needed to. Then, nothing for the last 18 months no matter what I do. I actually went to a physical therapist 5 days a week who monitored- yes actually stood there and watched me do cardio and strength training. Still, no weight loss. I am trying my best to schedule a VSG, but I am trying not to be scared since my surgeon has not done this kind of revision before. I would be the first. I am doing everything need to do to make this happen, I just think the little voice is saying don't.

Hi Karen and welcome to VST.

I had a band as well, and revised to VSG. It's the best decision I ever made for myself.

Maybe you could find a surgeon that has performed band to sleeve revisions, and that would help you in the decision making process. I wouldn't want to be someone's first revision as the band being there can make things more complicated.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me via the private messaging system on here.

Hi everyone, I am a 50 year old woman with a long history of obesity. I dont think I consciously chose to overeat as a child. It just seemed to be one of the few things i could control. Until my mother caught on, and then she give me about 1/3 of the food she gave my brothers. Anger and Rage set in for lots of reasons. From then on, it has been one diet after another after another. I had the band three years ago and lost 40 pounds, a fraction of what I needed to. Then, nothing for the last 18 months no matter what I do. I actually went to a physical therapist 5 days a week who monitored- yes actually stood there and watched me do cardio and strength training. Still, no weight loss. I am trying my best to schedule a VSG, but I am trying not to be scared since my surgeon has not done this kind of revision before. I would be the first. I am doing everything need to do to make this happen, I just think the little voice is saying don't.

Karen,

This reminds me of the Holiday Inn Express commercials. " I AM NOT A VSG SURGEON BUT I STAYED AT A HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS LAST NIGHT."

From everything that I have I read, everybody is happy about the VSG from the band. Why are you not picking one of the well know doctors discussed on this board or even anybody else with some experience?

Les

Tracy,

Nice to see you post here. I am not real familiar with the realize band although the regular lap band has many convertees to the VSG. From my point, 39 years old, I have been overweight all my life and obese for most of those years. I view the lap band as a temporary solution, one that I can remove in 5 years when I lose all the weight I want. Well that just won't cut it. Odds are I will put weight back on even with VSG after I hit goal weight, so what are the odds of me maintaining my weight after I have the band removed?

Chances of erosion are there with banding and at 440 lbs, you cannot afford the chance to get diabetes or other problems. Pick the VSG, it's for life and obviously you can't control your weight in the first 32 years, what makes you think you can resist the temptation to remove the band later?

Also, VSG is no maintenance. That's just the way I see it, make it permanent and move on to doing something with your life that does not involve Cookies, cakes and a bunch of horrible items to put down your gullet :sad0:

Please post again Tracy, I would love see your progress, because I was in your shoes at age 32, now 39, my shoes are bigger (edema) and my blood sugar is high. Good Luck.

Les

Les,

Thank you for your comments. I am finding myself doing a bit of soul searching as I move from my plan for the LAP or Swedish band, which I am seeing has a poor success rate, to the VGS.

I am a nurse, so the idea of removing part of an organ is hard to stomach (Pun intended :thumbup:). But the more information I read and the great comments I have read on this sight is really pushing me to the VGS. The lack of maintance is definatly a positive.

I'll keep everyone informed of my progress and how it is working for me.

Tracy

Hey guys!

I am planning to have surg end of March in Puerto Vallarta with Dr. Joya. I am still debating the Realise Band vs. the VGS. I am 440 lbs and 32 years old. I am really seeing this as my last chance before comorbidites set in. My goal is to get to 180 lbs (my high school graduation weight).

Anyone else out their with post experience after the VSG?

Tracy

I had the gastric sleeve on 02/20/2010 in Tijuana. My surgeon was Dr. Mario Almanza. He is an excellent surgeon. I have lost approximately 25 pounds in the past 2 weeks. There seems to be a preference for the gastric sleeve as it does not require fills and there is no concern regarding deterioration or slippage. The procedure was easy and I recommend it. I am 5' 9" and weighed 375#.

I had the gastric sleeve on 02/20/2010 in Tijuana. My surgeon was Dr. Mario Almanza. He is an excellent surgeon. I have lost approximately 25 pounds in the past 2 weeks. There seems to be a preference for the gastric sleeve as it does not require fills and there is no concern regarding deterioration or slippage. The procedure was easy and I recommend it. I am 5' 9" and weighed 375#.

I am 59, weighed 375 and am 5'9" tall. I highly recommend losing as much weight as you can before the surgery. This will increase the safety of the procedure and will make the surgery easier for the doctor and yourself. My pain was very well managed after the procedure and I stopped all pain medications 2 days after my surgery. Travel light with a small suitcase with rollers. Don't worry about looking glamorous until you return home. I expect you will do well with this procedure.

Hello everyone,

I'm kinda new here. am so glad i found this site, where i found all the information i needed to finally decide on this operation. I suffered with my weight issues basicaly my whole life. I was a chubby child, and then from there i Yo-Yo dieted my way into adulthood. So one can imagine the kinda damages this had done to me, physically and physchologically. However, i always fought back. i have this one dream, that one day i'll beat the crap outta this beast:D and I WILL .. (god-willing)!

In result of Yo-Yo dieting all these years, it just scares me how i got here to my all time high. I now weigh 433 and and 5"8. My ultimate goal is to get down to 154. So as you can see i got along way to go. But am excited, full of energey and determination to get this over with once and for all. !! i WANNA start living life like everyone else.

I wanna do things i've never done b4.

I wanna experience feelins i've never felt b4 ..

Anywayz, am pretty sure alot of ya; either relates or know eactly what am talkin about .. so i dont wanna make this any longer. I'am sechduled for Operation on the 13th of April YaaaaaY ! :thumbup1: ... Cant wait ...! Yet i dont know why since i got the news about the date, and fear started creepin in :S Am scared to death ! Hope it all goes well so that i can start my journey of shrinkin with you guys

wish me luck

Hello everyone,

I'm kinda new here. am so glad i found this site, where i found all the information i needed to finally decide on this operation. I suffered with my weight issues basicaly my whole life. I was a chubby child, and then from there i Yo-Yo dieted my way into adulthood. So one can imagine the kinda damages this had done to me, physically and physchologically. However, i always fought back. i have this one dream, that one day i'll beat the crap outta this beast:D and I WILL .. (god-willing)!

In result of Yo-Yo dieting all these years, it just scares me how i got here to my all time high. I now weigh 433 and and 5"8. My ultimate goal is to get down to 154. So as you can see i got along way to go. But am excited, full of energey and determination to get this over with once and for all. !! i WANNA start living life like everyone else.

I wanna do things i've never done b4.

I wanna experience feelins i've never felt b4 ..

Anywayz, am pretty sure alot of ya; either relates or know eactly what am talkin about .. so i dont wanna make this any longer. I'am sechduled for Operation on the 13th of April YaaaaaY ! :thumbup1: ... Cant wait ...! Yet i dont know why since i got the news about the date, and fear started creepin in :S Am scared to death ! Hope it all goes well so that i can start my journey of shrinkin with you guys

wish me luck

Your determination, and optimistic attitude will serve you well during this journey.

Congrats on getting a surgery date, and please keep us posted on your progress ! ! !

I had the gastric sleeve surgery on 02/20 in Mexico where a lot of Americans go and save a lot of money. The surgery was easy. The hard part is learning to adapt to the restrictions after the surgery. That will come in time and the results will be worth the lifelong restrictions. Go for it!

Your determination, and optimistic attitude will serve you well during this journey.

Congrats on getting a surgery date, and please keep us posted on your progress ! ! !

:thumbup1: Hey thanks alot! and yeah i will defintely will be posting my progress on the site.