Over 60 and having the sleeve

[Suzannesh 376]

Hi,

Well, it is the 20th right now and I know for a fact, that you are going to do great. It usually is the fear of the unknown. We are all here to support and help you every step of the way.

All you have to do in get on here and post an E-mail and there are so many great people on here who are more than happy to try to help with your questions.

Keep us posted to how you are doing.

Hugs,

Suzanne

I am 62 and will be having my surgery in three days on April 20, 2012. Two weeks ago I was terrified about the upcoming surgery, but reminded myself of the health benefits it would bring me and got over it. I am ready and looking beyond the surgery and any difficulties adjusting afterwords. You all are so inspiring. Thank you for being here.

[janerose 109]

Notime; I was 62 as well (turned 63 two days after the procedure) I am three months out - have lost 50lbs and feel great. Down three sizes in clothes.

Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest; after all these years, you know your body best.

I had a few minor issues; reaction to the adhesive on my stomach and my blood pressure dropping fast - both were easily resolved.

Now I eat what I want - but much smaller amounts - I know what I can and can't do and try to adhere to the Protein first rules.

The first month will fly by; take it easy and let people take care of you. I was back at work in 10 days!

keep in touch

[4ALongerLife 329]

Kudos to all of you and best wishes!

My father died at 63. He said many a times he wanted to do something like this, but I don't guess he ever gained the courage to pursue it. IDK if he would have, would it have helped him live longer, but there are many a days (if not every one of them) that I wish he was around for me to have found out.

I wish you all the very best luck with your surgeries and I wish you a successful journey!

[ssmith 2]

I'm 65, almost 66 (July) and I had my sleeve on March 19th, 2012 at Viriginia Hospital Center and I love it. I lost 38 pounds in preparation for the surgery and 22 pounds since after 5 weeks. This is the greatest tool I have ever found to lose weight. I feel so good it's amazing. I have my right knee replaced two years ago and my surgeon said I needed to have my left replaced sooner rather than later because it is bone on bone but even it feels good now. I want to lose 60 more pounds by the end of the year and I just might make it. Thanks for starting this forum.

[Suzannesh 376]

Hi,

Congratulations to you. I am 66 and I lost 105 pounds almost 4 years ago. I hadmy surgery when I was 63. It was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I have not regrets. You will love it when you have lost all your weight.

Keep doing what you are doing. And congratulations on your choice. It is a fabulous tool.

Hugs,

Suzanne

I'm 65, almost 66 (July) and I had my sleeve on March 19th, 2012 at Viriginia Hospital Center and I love it. I lost 38 pounds in preparation for the surgery and 22 pounds since after 5 weeks. This is the greatest tool I have ever found to lose weight. I feel so good it's amazing. I have my right knee replaced two years ago and my surgeon said I needed to have my left replaced sooner rather than later because it is bone on bone but even it feels good now. I want to lose 60 more pounds by the end of the year and I just might make it. Thanks for starting this forum.

[canidothis? 16]

I am 63 yrs and should be getting a surgery date soon. Right now I am very concerned about the the 2 week pre-op diet coinciding with my pre-op nerves. My other concerns besides surgery complications are dealing with head hunger and Hair loss. But I know if I haven't managed to lose all this weight in the last 30 years I am not going to without this type of help. So glad there are 60+ people to talk to.

[janerose 109]

You will be fine - I turned 63 three days after surgery; and am now four months out and doing fine. The recovery time may be a little longer, I was exhausted for the first two months after, but that now has subsided. I followed my Doctor's advise but also followed my own body. I did have some issues with my blood pressure dropping low - but that was quickly remedied. I was back to work in two weeks.

Alot of what we go through is in our minds; and a 63 year old mind is definetly different than a 30 year old mind - so be prepared to find out things about yourself you did not know before (or covered up) Head hunger is just that - it did not happen often for me - my body dicated what I should do.

I followed the pre op diet (mine was five days) the doctor told me it made the surgery much simplier for him and the healing alot quicker - you can do this, take it one step at a time So far no hair loss for me! so don't worry about something that may not even happen !

I have lost 56lb to date - down from a size 24 to a 16 - the results are worth any struggle you may have at the beginning. I feel better than I have in years.

Breathe in Breathe out - move on!

[canidothis? 16]

Thanks, Janerose. I am really glad for your encouragement. There is still an unreal quality about going through this surgery. Sort of overwhelming. Helps to "talk" to others to make it a real option that I can do. Braver about it some days more than others. Kathy

[notime 340]

I am 62 and had my surgery April 23rd. I have had a good recovery and am very glad I had the surgery. The pre-op diet is bothersome, not difficult, and it is for only a short period of time. The in-hospital recovery from surgery was not too bad. I was in the hospital three days and the first two had their moments, but since then I have been fine. It was not at all as bad as I had imagined. Once I got home, I recovered very rapidly. The uncomfortable stuff is short term, the improvement in health is long term.

Before the surgery, I had trepidations until I reminded myself why I was having it. In my case, I was borderline diabetic and was worried about that and the other health consequences of living as an obese person. Once I got that straight in my mind, my fears were gone.

The people here will help you as you go through this.

You can do this and will be glad you did. Welcome.

[ssmith 2]

I'm 65, almost 66 (July) and I had my sleeve on March 19th, 2012 at Viriginia Hospital Center and I love it. I lost 38 pounds in preparation for the surgery and 22 pounds since after 5 weeks. This is the greatest tool I have ever found to lose weight. I feel so good it's amazing. I have my right knee replaced two years ago and my surgeon said I needed to have my left replaced sooner rather than later because it is bone on bone but even it feels good now. I want to lose 60 more pounds by the end of the year and I just might make it. Thanks for starting this forum.

Well, here is my latest update. It's now April 19th and I've lost 76.6 pounds and continuing on to my goal weight. Things are going well and I feel wonderful.

[ssmith 2]

I'm 65, almost 66 (July) and I had my sleeve on March 19th, 2012 at Viriginia Hospital Center and I love it. I lost 38 pounds in preparation for the surgery and 22 pounds since after 5 weeks. This is the greatest tool I have ever found to lose weight. I feel so good it's amazing. I have my right knee replaced two years ago and my surgeon said I needed to have my left replaced sooner rather than later because it is bone on bone but even it feels good now. I want to lose 60 more pounds by the end of the year and I just might make it. Thanks for starting this forum.

UPDATE! It's now June 15th and I'm up to 91 pounds lost and continuing. Thanks for the support. I turn 66 in less than a month and I feel great.

[JoAnnB 0]

Ginny C

I am 63 and had a band(that had gone bad) to sleeve revision 3 weeks ago.

It was hard on me for the first few days. I stayed overnight at the hospital and my husband drove me 150 miles home. I had a migrane for the first few days at home. I was wishing I had never had it done. But after a few days I felt fine and was very happy I had it done! I have lost 23 lbs in the 3 wks since my surgery. The best thing that happened to me is I found this forum.

I am on a pureed diet til next week when i go on a soft diet for 2 weeks. I cant wait. I walk a mile on my treadmill every morning. I still get weak at times, but they are getting less and less.

good luck with your surgery!

Jeri

[Suzannesh 376]

Hi Everyone,

You have all leaned that it is NEVER too late to have WLS. I am so thrilled to see that we are doing great. Your hair will grow back, and in the mean time buy a cute wig, that is what I did. You will always struggle with head hunger. We have spent a lot of years eating and doing just what we wanted and then we got fat. I have talks with myself--do I NEED THE food OR DO I JUST WANT THE food. Most of the time it is a "want". So take the time to ask yourself if it is a need--how long has it been since you ate or is it a WANT thing?

It was almost 4 years ago when I lost 105 pounds and have kept it off. I am always out here if you ever have any question or problems or just need to talk. Life really is great, and I feel so much healthier. I am off 95 % of my medication that I used to take, I walk all the time for exercise, and I love buy clothes now!

Hugs,

Suzanne

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I hope this 60's forum is an active one. I'll be turning 60 next month.

I still love my sleeve, and sometimes can't believe it's been 3 years already. I wish I still got full on a few tablespoons of food the way I did the first year though. It takes a lot more will power now. I am determined not to gain back anymore weight though.

I was 5 lbs below goal, and now I am 5 above goal. It's really hard :-(

[Kaj 88]

Hi all -

I am new. Very new. And I have read all of this forum over the last few hours. It has been a comfort to know that 60+ is not a big issue in regards to WLS. I was somewhat concerned about that. I have battled my weight since I my first pregnancy at age 18. I have had some success here and there, even manged at one time to lose 110 lbs on an all liquid diet and kept it off almost 10 years until I hit menopause and a host of other emotional roller coasters. I have been counting weight watcher points for almost 2 years now and initially lost 50 lbs but hit a plateau about a year ago and have not been able to break it...then I began to gain again. I guess from what they call "portion creep" because I got to guessing about my portion sizes. I have paid almost $20 a month for 2 years and I finally just threw up my hands in frustration a few weeks ago when the scales once again registered another couple pounds gain during my saturday morning weighing. I cancelled my weight watchers online membership, and yesterday when it finally ended, I quit counting points. Yesterday was a day of eat what I want which wasn't much, but I felt guilty with every bite! I am 59 and 11 months today and found out last week that there is a good chance my insurance will cover it. I work for the VA and have gov't insurance and it seems that they will cover me. That is when I began to look into the surgery. Then I read about the sleeve and got serious about it. I have been doing lots of researching and thinking. I am going to go to an information seminar on the 18th.

I have some concerns, obviously my age was/is one of them. But also, I have been on antidepressants AND antianxiety meds for more than 6 years. I see my psychiatrist quarterly and my MDD and anxiety have been in remission/controlled for most of the 6 years I have been taking meds. I am not so much worried about the prozac as I am concerned about whether the benzos would be an issue. I don't have a tolerance built up and have taken exactly the same mgs (0.5 mgs in the AM and again in the PM) for 6 years with successful control of my bigemy PVCs and accompanying panic attacks (the PVCs and beta blockers to control them is what precipitated my MDD/panic episode 6 yrs ago.) but I know enough about benzos to know that even though I am not "addicted" in the strictest definition of the word, my body is definitely dependent on them. Afterall, part of my job involves working with addicts, so I know my stuff. I am the breadwinner in our family and know that I can't afford to take time off to "detox" and then take more time off for surgery without negatively impacting my job and our finances.

My other concern is that I have Meniere's Disease which not only caused complete deafness on my right side, but also causes vertigo. Many days of the week, I am a bit "left of center". It is mostly controllable with Bonine. If it gets too bad, the addition of phenerghan handles it - but occasionally a vertigo attack hits really fast and hard and that results in incapacitating dizzyiness coupled with repeated vomiting for sometimes an hour or so. I am worried this would make me a non-candidate. I can only imagine how a bout of vertigo would impact a newly stapled stomach!!

I come from a long line of Type 2 diabetics and have so far managed to not go there, but I am close and my metabolism is VERY efficient..it takes a miracle to drop weight. I own a treadmill and get on it for an hour or so every few days for a few days then become darn near incapacitated due to the pain in all my joints and muscles from pushing my mid 200 # body so hard. I spend most weekends laying on my fat butt in bed becase by the end of the week of work, I am too tired to do anything lay around preparing to go back to work on Monday. I WANT to have the energy to not only walk my treadmill daily, but also to go play on weekends! I want to hike and hunt and garden and enjoy my life instead of just working, resting and working again. But I have to dump some weight to have that energy and I don't know how to do it, how to do it so it works and stays off!!

So yeah...I'm ambivalent. I'm afraid to get my hopes up for fear this won't work out, I'm afraid it WILL work out and I'll die on the damn operating table because of my age, I'm afraid insurance will cover it, I'll qualify medically as well as mentally, and I'll live through the surgery only to find that I have after surgery complications and lost a bunch of time at work, or worse lose my job and have to carry that stress and strain and guilt.

Some of the good things I have going for me is that my husband does ALL the cooking, and we have been eating "healthy" with a few occasional exceptions involving holidays (and my nightly addiction to 50 licorice jelly bellys which =5 points) for the past 2 years, and I'm really not a big fan of food in general. I would be perfectly happy to be able to take a "food pill" 3x a day if such a thing existed! I hate eating in front of others, I am an excruciatingly slow eater and everyone ends up waiting on me to finish. So in some ways I'm pre-wired for this.

So...glad I found this place. And I'll keep reading and I'll let y'all know what's next for me.....

Kaj.