Hi All,

Let me begin by thanking you all for your stories of your experiences and for your dedicated efforts in providing details of your journeys to help soothe / inform others who are going through the same. Thank You! I'm greatly appreciative for it.

I'm Mr. Sharp, a 6'1 325 lb 25 year-old male from New York City. I have been overweight all my life and severely obese in the past few years . However, this is the biggest I've ever been. After countless of years of being unhealthy, unhappy, depressed, and just not okay with myself because of my weight, I came to the realization that I needed help. Thus, I started researching Bariatric Surgery and came to the conclusion that a VSG would best suit my goal. Presently, I'm awaiting acceptance from my Insurance and can't wait to move further through the process. It's been a week since my surgical coordinator sent in my pre-certification to Oxford, so I'm going to follow-up later today to inquire the status.

One of my main concerns, is the excess skin dilemma. Assuming all goes well and I'm given a surgery date, how soon would i be able to exercise after surgery? Would lifting weights minimize excess skin? I've also heard that since I'm younger i'll most likely have better elasticity with respect to my skin.

Would appreciate any feedback. Thank you all!

Will post pics soon.

You can start walking pretty much right away but I would ask your doctor when they approve for you to start heavier exercise. I think you have to wait till your incisions heal before swimming and weights are, I think but do not quote me, 2 months out. Your doctor will know better.

Congratulations on starting your journey! A big welcome to the group.

Hi All,

Let me begin by thanking you all for your stories of your experiences and for your dedicated efforts in providing details of your journeys to help soothe / inform others who are going through the same. Thank You! I'm greatly appreciative for it.

I'm Mr. Sharp, a 6'1 325 lb 25 year-old male from New York City. I have been overweight all my life and severely obese in the past few years . However, this is the biggest I've ever been. After countless of years of being unhealthy, unhappy, depressed, and just not okay with myself because of my weight, I came to the realization that I needed help. Thus, I started researching Bariatric Surgery and came to the conclusion that a VSG would best suit my goal. Presently, I'm awaiting acceptance from my Insurance and can't wait to move further through the process. It's been a week since my surgical coordinator sent in my pre-certification to Oxford, so I'm going to follow-up later today to inquire the status.

One of my main concerns, is the excess skin dilemma. Assuming all goes well and I'm given a surgery date, how soon would i be able to exercise after surgery? Would lifting weights minimize excess skin? I've also heard that since I'm younger i'll most likely have better elasticity with respect to my skin.

Would appreciate any feedback. Thank you all!

Will post pics soon.

Hi Mr Sharp, welcome and good decision. Lucky you can fix yourself so early in your life. I think the skin is a combination of luck, age and genetics, so fingers crossed. Exercise will help definition but some people will need surgery despite working out.

Look forward to seeing the pictures of your weight loss journey.

Jane x

Congrats on making a great decision and for doing it while you are young! You will be happy.

Not sure about the excess skin yet, you do have age on your side, though. I am able to start my regular workout routine at 6 weeks, this includes 10-20 pound weights and each week the weight limit increases. I walk now for exercise, I'm 3 weeks post-op. Check with your doctor and see what his guidelines are for exercise, all doctors are a little different.

First of all, Congrats on taking the steps at your age to avoid a lot of problems later in life. I wish I hd this as an option when I was your age. I am 5'11, have been as high as 320+. I am also 49 years old so my skin has a lot less elasticity. I have very little issues with saggin/ skin, much to my surprise. I am presently at 187 and took some before and after pics a month or so ago. My neck and thighs were really bad after say 4 or 5 months but as the loss slowed, it snapped back. Here is the URL to the post with shirtless pics. so you can get an idea. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/17584-before-and-after-pics-caution-naked-man-boobs/

Great news guys! I received my approval from the Insurance company and have a surgery date for this Monday 6/20/11. I have an appointment with my primary doctor tomorrow to fill out paperwork and for medical clearance. I've done all my analyses two weeks ago so Im good to go from that aspect. I also have an appointment with my surgical coordinator tomorrow as well, where she's going to explain what and how to prepare for pre and post surgery. I am super excited and can't wait to start my journey. I cant believe I was able to get a surgery date within a week of my approval. Totally stoked!

As a fellow native New Yorker, wooohooo you go! Congrats on your date and it is going to be the best decision you have made for yourself.

Mr. Sharp,

Congratulations on getting your date! And so soon. I'm oober jealous. I think being so young your skin is going to look awesome. Please keep us updated

Mr. Sharp,

Good luck to you. Are you having your surgery done in New York. Mine was done by Dr. Mitchell Roslin at Lenox Hill. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I had my surgery performed on 7/13/2010 and I could not be happier with the results. I have lost 120 pounds in 11 months. Don't worry too much about the excess skin. Your age is definitely on your side and if there is a problem, you will cross that bridge when you come to it.

Again, good luck and know that we are here to support you.

Brian

Thanks all for the support!

I will be having my surgery done in Lenox Hill with Dr. Yatco. Everything has been finalized and I'm so excited. Will post pics of myself at my current weight and will post pics periodically throughout my journey.

Congrats on your surgery date!!! So exciting! 6 more days, wow! Are you nervous? I am wishing you the best! I began walking immediately after I woke up from surgery and a week or so later I did the treadmill for 15 minutes and I slowly progressed to 30 minutes. By 6 wks I was in the gym for an hr and I was cleared for weights and whatnot. (I was told I could do 15lbs or less weights before my 6wks). Now at 10 wks post op I do about an hr and a half a day between 4 to 6 times a week.

I was pretty worried about loose skin too. At goal it is much better than it was a first. When I was losing fast I had a lot of sagging skin. When my weight loss slowed down I started to tighten up. I was not allowed to use weights or any high impact work outs until 4 months out. But I asked at every appointment. My surgeon just wanted to be careful that my stomach had time to completely heal. I walked until then. Now I am running and saving for a boflex:) Good luck to you.

Hi all,

Had my surgery this past Monday. Was discharged on Wednesday and now Im back home feeling better and better everyday. Still experiencing a bit of soreness in my stomach. However, It gets better by the day. I weighed in at 321 the day of surgery and down to 307lbs. 14lbs down in four days seems great to me, couldn't be happier. Day after surgery was a bit tough to get any clear liquid down. I literally had 3 tspoons of Jello, two tspoons of chicken broth, and about 4 fl ounces of Water. I could actually feel the liquid moving down my system. However, today I feel way better. I drank my Isopure zero carb Protein shake, had some chicken broth, and have been able to get down two bottles of poland spring. Big improvement in a matter of days. I'll keep everyone posted on a frequent basis. Will try to get pre-surgery pics up in the next few days.

Take Care : )