Where are the 50's??? -- all I see is a topic about wrinkles! How has the surgery changed your life?

I am 57 and just sleeved last Tuesday. I had no problems- no pain or nausea. I am getting my fluids in fine and can't believe how easy this has been. I have lost weight so many times, only to gain back double. I am so looking forward to turning back time and feeling 40 instead of 70!!!

I guess I am just baffled as to how after surgery you can consume enough food to gain weight back. Can the stomach stretch back enough to consume that many calories?

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Even if you can't eat very much at one time, you can always eat something again in a couple of hours. There are people who graze all day long, or if they are like me, have problems in the evening. It's easy to snack and gain weight, with a handful of this , and later on , a handful of that.

That's why when you get to maintenance, it's important to know how many calories you eat and burn.

Hi...my name is Sandy, i am 58 and this is my first post. I have been reading this site for a little over a month.

I have not been sleeved but that is my goal. I have completed my program seminar, NUT, mental eval and even met the surgeon.

I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, asthma, diabetes and sleep apnea...Starting weight 325 ... in Jan started on high protein/low carb and an now at 294...

When my PCP and i started talking about WLS in November 2011 we discussed the band...then in December we found a office here in town the does the pre and post op appointments for people in this area. After researching the program on the internet, i decided the sleeve is the right surgery for me. The office is here but surgery is done in a city about 100 miles away... The program has offices around my state (Washington) so patients don't have to drive so far for follow up appointments. It is a 2 year program and lifetime use of exercise equipment... The surgeon drives up here weekly for appointments.. So we only have to drive the 100 miles once.

We found out that my husbands insurance does pay for WLS, but so far they only have a contract for bypass and band.... So the finance lady says she (Anna) will submit everything to insurance company next week so they can "negotiate" a contract for the sleeve...

When i set my mind to something, i want it yesterday ... So this is driving me crazy. But i will survive!

Since i have found this site to keep me motivated, inspired and informed i feel like i can do anything ... Thank you all for posting ..... Your words are an inspiration!!!

Crossing fingers that the negotiating goes quickly:

Sandy

Hi sandy, welcome. Like you I read all the forums and I only post now and then. I too am impatient and want things now if I have decided on it. My surgery is 3 April, I live in the UK but I am hvaing my surgery in Europe as a self pay. Unfortunatly my BMI (44) was not high enough to be considered for free surgery on the NHS so I decided enough was enough and I would pay. I will be 53 when the surgery takes place. Cathy

Hi Sandy!!! Welcome to a very exciting new journey you are on! I am also 58 and was sleeved just 3 days after my birthday last October.....good for us 50 somethings! The only downside to this so far for me is that I was very tired months after my surgery (could be my age, or it could be that I wasn't home when I had it done, but if you can believe it, I was on a year long trip!....not ideal for major surgery, but I made it work). Please take a look at my weekly blog; I think it will be encouraging to you since we are the same age (as a blog of another was to me). Good luck on the sleeve negotiation; I think it's a very wise decision and I hope your insurance recognizes that.

Keep us posted and keep reading the forum; it is very supportive!

www.queenofcrop.com

A Year in Life of WLS

Sandy, Congrats on getting your process started! The time will fly, get all your ducks in a row and you will be there!

Hi Sandy

I am new to this, too - I'm about a month behind you in process. I, too, have to travel 100 miles for my first surgeon appt and for surgery. It's nice living In the quietness of rurality, and we do have some nice medical centers very near, but the closest bariatric program is so far... Luckily my surgeon comes reasonably close every month, too.

Good luck on your journey and I'll look for you on here again. We have droves of supportive knowledgable people on here!

Hey ladies.....100 miles for this is cake! I traveled from Holland to Germany to have this done, and after the surgery (they kept me 8 days which was nice) I walked to the train station to catch a train home back to Amsterdam....after 4 weeks recuperating in Amsterdam, I then traveled for the next 3 months.....just now I am back in Hawaii.....I'm not recommending this plan by the way, I'm just saying it's all logistics to get healthy!

Good luck to both of you!

Sunday blog. www.queenofcrop.com

A Year in Life of WLS

CQ:

You're right. Anything to get the job done.

For the record, I was a big city girl (read that as you like!) up 'til 13 years ago, so anything over 10 miles is " long distance" to me!

Also, let the record show how insanely jealous I am that you ( or anyone for that matter) gets to live and breathe anywhere in Europe. I've studied in Austria and been over several times since, but to live there.....<sigh>....

Thanks for the wishes of luck.

PS this luddite can't figure out how to submit my email to your blog for updates nor how to send PMs to members of this forum. Any help?

Thanks for the nice comments.....and yes, Europe is a different animal as you know; which is why we're headed back in the fall....

For my blog, just click on SUBSCRIBE either on the top purple bar next to ABOUT ME or on the side bar and simply enter your email. Each Sunday you will get an email when I do a post.

For the forum, if you want to respond directly to someone (like I am here to you) click on QUOTE instead of MULTIQUOTE.

That's it!

s

CQ:

You're right. Anything to get the job done.

For the record, I was a big city girl (read that as you like!) up 'til 13 years ago, so anything over 10 miles is " long distance" to me!

Also, let the record show how insanely jealous I am that you ( or anyone for that matter) gets to live and breathe anywhere in Europe. I've studied in Austria and been over several times since, but to live there.....<sigh>....

Thanks for the wishes of luck.

PS this luddite can't figure out how to submit my email to your blog for updates nor how to send PMs to members of this forum. Any help?

Hello everyone decide to go ahead and schedule the surgery. I'm scheduled for the 21st I'm very nervous I'm not still sure if this is the right thing to do. My height is 5 foot 8 and I weigh 240 pounds. What I started this process I was 266. I have this nagging feeling that I should do this on my own without going through surgery. Ideally I would like to be 140 but I would be happy at 180. Very very anxious is still on the fence. I'm convinced that the only way to really lose weight and keep it off is to just change my eating habits. Not trying to be judgemental but also concerned with being further stigmatized.. can someone please talk to me about the exhaustion after the surgery. I have a very stressful job and am concerned that I may not be able to return to work as quickly as I planned

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Thank you all for the warm welcome and kind words....this site is fantastic ....

I love my sleeve. I am lucky my Surgeon and Hosp is 45 min away. Good luck to you with getting your ins to cover it. IMO This surgery is worth all the hassles you have to go thru to have it done. It will change you for the rest of your life

Good morning all: This is for Dyesee: I think many of us felt at some point we should / could do this without surgery and in fact, if you read the posts (I wasn't one of them) many people have lost lots of weight in the traditional way; only to gain it back again. Having the sleeve is not a cop out! It's just a more effective tool at getting the weight off and keeping it off (with work) so you can be healthier.

As for the exhaustion; every one is different of course. But if you keep up your B12 injections (I screwed up on that one) that will help. I started getting my full energy back at about 3 months; but I know many people who not only have gone back to work, but they have little kids at home!

If you can take some medical leave off; then you should do it for your long term health; if not, maybe you could go back half time or work at home. But you will see once you start feeling better YOU become more important than other things; like work. I speak from experience as I know for a fact, that work was always the priority for me; and an excuse of why I couldn't exercise, or why I gained so much weight because I was so stressed or always working......

You'll get through this just fine and although it isn't a breeze in the beginning; it gets better every day and it sure beats feeling deprived on a diet. Just so you know, at the moment, I'm losing 1 lb a week on 1000 calories a day....which I'm just fine with since I'm on the home stretch....but could I do 1000 calories a day easily without the sleeve? NO! I don't feel deprived at all and I am eating what I want and it's easy to make healthy choices.

Keep us posted and it's normal to feel anxious....this is a big decision, but as you can see from reading the posts; there are few regrets.

www.queenofcrop.com

A Year in Life of WLS

Hello everyone decide to go ahead and schedule the surgery. I'm scheduled for the 21st I'm very nervous I'm not still sure if this is the right thing to do. My height is 5 foot 8 and I weigh 240 pounds. What I started this process I was 266. I have this nagging feeling that I should do this on my own without going through surgery. Ideally I would like to be 140 but I would be happy at 180. Very very anxious is still on the fence. I'm convinced that the only way to really lose weight and keep it off is to just change my eating habits. Not trying to be judgemental but also concerned with being further stigmatized.. can someone please talk to me about the exhaustion after the surgery. I have a very stressful job and am concerned that I may not be able to return to work as quickly as I planned

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Hi Cathy!

So sorry your insurance won't cover this.....but good for you for just paying it; I did, and believe me, after reading so many posts about all the red tape and frustration with the insurance, I was happy to pay!

Where are you going for your surgery if I may ask? I had mine done at Krankenhaus Sachsenhausen in Frankfurt and was very happy with the care I recieved.

www.queenofcrop.com

A Year in Life of WLS

Hi sandy, welcome. Like you I read all the forums and I only post now and then. I too am impatient and want things now if I have decided on it. My surgery is 3 April, I live in the UK but I am hvaing my surgery in Europe as a self pay. Unfortunatly my BMI (44) was not high enough to be considered for free surgery on the NHS so I decided enough was enough and I would pay. I will be 53 when the surgery takes place. Cathy