Hi, I'm 38 years old, I live in in South Middle Tennessee. I have been overweight since my daughter was born in 1995. The day I found out I was pregnant I was a size 7, the day I delivered I was a size 22. I have lost some of the weight but just can not seem to keep it off. On top of my weight problems I also have a sleep disorder Narcolepsy, ( I get very sleepy, and with out my meds I would sleep all day). So being a single mother for many years, and always being tired, it was hard for me to excersize. Well I have decided it is time for me. The past 15 years has been all about everyone else now it is my time.

I'm tired of being embarassed when I can not fit in a booth, or when I go to a concert and can barely fit in the chairs. NO MORE.

I was in the US Navy for four years, and I am seen at a VA hospital, for the past four years I keep asking if they allow weight loss surgery, and kept hearing NO, NO, NO, until I was assigned a new doctor, and she has become my angel, she looked into and because of my health issues, put in for me to get approval, and they did approve me last October.

So I thought that was it and I would be having the surgery before Christmas of last year. LOL boy was I wrong, even though the VA approved and I turned in my requirements, I made the mistake of telling my nutritionist that I eat , at night, man that was my mistake and on top of that I have mild sleep apnea, my sleep disorder doctor said I was okay, that i really did not even need a cpap machine, but my surgeon insisted on it, so after 4 months finally received my machine, and was found that I did not have nite eating syndrom, my surgeon finally approved me for surgery.

I go for my preOp appointment on August 16, and my surgery date is August 24, 2010.

I'm very excited, but also starting to get scared, what if I can do everything I'm suppose to. NO, I can, and I know I can. I have to if I want to be alive to see my daughter get married, etc.

I will be spending the next 5 weeks everynight on this site to read, what everyone has to say.

Hi Sunshine. Welcome to the site! Since beginning, I have been an obsessed viewer of the Vertical Sleeve Website. But it has truly given me wonderful insight and has become a real beneficial tool. I too will be having my surgery soon and hope you get the encouragement from other wannabe Sleevers like me.

Peace out, Deb :thumbup:

Welcome to vertical sleeve talk. Be sure to ask us anything you need information on. We are all glad to help.

Welcome and best of luck.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I don't feel so alone anymore. We have a support group but it only meets once a month and no one in there has had the sleeve, they all had the bypass. I will get to meet with them one more time before my surgery.

Hi Sunshine, and welcome. We're glad to have you with us. Your story and mine sound familiar. I was a single mom for many years as well, and everything was about my son and his well-being (as it should be). But, there was a part of me that realized that I was not giving 100% to him because my obesity held me back in many ways that other parents didn't understand. I was exhausted all the time. After school activities were limited because if I wasn't working to provide for us, doing housework, focusing on homework with him, etc etc, I was sleeping or eating. I did diet and work out over that decade, but I never could keep it off. I actually added up one day through all my journals that I had lost and gained the same 400+ pounds in 10 years. I'm so glad I was able to lose weight, and have a fighting chance to keep it off for the first time in my life. Your daughter will reap many benefits from your weight loss as well.

The sleeve is fabulous, and you'll feel fabulous once the weight starts coming off. That's not to say that there won't be rough days, or struggles, but believe me, the victories outweigh the struggles any day of the week. Keep us posted on your progress, and keep reading, learning as much as you can. If you have questions, let us know, we're here for you ! ! !

Congrats on getting your date ! ! !

Welcome Sunshine,

Jane x

Welcome, and good luck.

I know this board has been keeping me sane for the last 4 months while I get me supervised diet out of the way. It's great to see everyones progress and reinforces that this is definately the right choice for me.