Nice to see others of that, as the French say it, "certain age," on the forum. My surgery date was moved up a day to the 13th, because of a cancellation. I figured that I'm going to lose weight, lose hair, and gain wrinkles, but I think that the first one outweighs (if you'll excuse the pun) the other two. I'm a Lap-band revision, because of many complications.

Pat

Welcome! At 55, I'm definitely of a certain age. My skin does look a bit more crinkly here and there, but that's what I expected. My hair is thinner, but not so thin you can see through it and not so thin that I had to change my style.

Lynda

I'm 54 and hope to be sleeved soon. We are trying to be in the Vertical Sleeve chat between 7-9 PM on weekdays. We are all on different time zones so check in if you can. We have a couple of veterans and several newbies with questions. The Vets are happy and eager to help.

Pat - welcome! I will be turning 55 on the 29th of this month. My sleeve was done in February of this year. I couldn't be happier - wrinkles and sags and all. It is great to be sleeved - my only wish is if I had done this sooner.

Good Luck with your sleeve.

Sharon

58 here... More wrinkles, but all in all, I feel, and maybe look younger. Love it!

My DOS is 12/15/11 - my only problem/concern, is that i wish i had done this procedure earlier.

now i'm a "young/old" 58 yr - wish i had done this 30 yrs ago- at least i'm having it done finally

hugggggs to all

kathy

I just turned 59 in October . I'll try to remember to come into the chat room. I used to chat in there every evening and then I kind of forgot about it. Plus my bf pretty much moved in here so I am not on the computer nearly as much as I used to be.

Well, I'm three days post-op, walking like I'm 154, instead of 54, having a terrible time trying to quaff enough Water and Protein, trying not to vomit when I down my crushed meds, my abdomen looks like I'm a cage fighter, sugar-free doesn't taste very good anymore, and I actually ordered a baby spoon, 2-oz. bowls with snap-on lids, and a 5" dinner plate to use at home. Holey moley.

The surgeon was wonderful, the nursing staff divine, and my family is incredibly supportive. Kaiser in Harbor City, CA, was fabulous.

After six years of a overly tight, partially slipped Band, I feel a bit lost. I'm scared to death of dilating the sleeve, I don't know whether or not I'm hungry, and I'll probably be asking some pretty stupid questions along the way.

I'm not sorry at all that I did this. Thanks to you for being so supportive. I just want this to turn out better than that stoopid Band.

Its all unknown territory at first, but soon you will be the expert of your own body... its a process of discovery. Just search the pages here when you have a question... you can find just about anything here... and LOTS of folks that have had the band. The further you are into the process, the more you can figure your body signals out, and things will look rosier. Welcome to the VST site!

Thank you so much for your kindness and support. Six days out, and I feel much better. I always know when I'm overdue for my PPI. The "gnawing hunger" feels like something is trying to chew its way out. Man, that hurts. When I take my pill, it calms down. I'm on protein drinks and creamed soups, and have felt no nausea at all. I don't have to crush my pills anymore, and my chewable bariatric vitamins should be here today. I see my wonderful surgeon on Wednesday. I can't wait to get all these staples out. I have so many that I feel as if I work at Office Depot!

Staples? I had tape and glue. Staples would really suck!

Hi, I am 57 and about to do this still waiting on insurance approval. I need to lose the weight to have a hip replacement down the road. I did ask the question a few weeks ago about complications for the over 50 crowd. I got some very nice responses. I M still working, in a lot of pain with my hip, but keep going forward. I am wondering about lots of things, what are your suggestions for the clear liquid diet pre op? I have many more questions.

Jukecat,

Crop Queen is right, every doctor is different. I drank Isopure (clear) Protein drinks, which have 40 grams of protein in each bottle. They don't taste great, but I made sure to get about 75 - 80 grams of protein a day before my surgery. Lots of decaf tea, broth, diet Jell-O, sugar-free Gatorade and Power Ade, and sugar-free Popsicles. Don't skimp on protein, and don't get dehydrated. And follow your doctor's orders to the letter. To the letter. This is a serious surgery, one I'm thankful to have had, but it's a lifestyle change. May your insurance company do the right thing.

Thanks to all of you over 50 for this blog. I'm seriously thinking of having this surgery but have been afraid because if my age. I'm mostly healthy except for being overweight(189lbs & 4'11" tall) and high cholesterol. I don't care about being skinny--I just want to be healthy, move around better, have people treatment with more respect, and see my wonderful grandchildren grow up. I need to lose 50-60 lbs. some of you may say you can do that on your ownbut losing weight after 50 is daunting if not almost impossible. My metabolism is dead. I don't have time for an hour or more a day of exercise due to the long hours I put in at work. And when I do a diet and exercise, I'll get maybe a 5 lb loss after 2 months of working on it. I' ready to make a life altering commitment but I'm scared because of all the horrible complications I've read about on other blogs here--I guess that's the risk we take for this surgery. I have a desk type of job so how long do you think I need for recovery? Thanks to all you brave after 50 sleeves.

Everyone here has a different story, and yours will be different still... I am 58 and have had an almost perfect time during and after surgery. I did feel weak and out of sorts the first couple of weeks, but by sipping and walking it got better. My work made me take 6 weeks off...because my Doc had a rule about not lifting over 10 pounds for that time, but others here have not had that problem. I would take at least two weeks off... or more just to have the chance to adjust to the new life style, and get onto some halfway normal foods before going to work. I am over one year out and really have a new life now. There are challenges... changing habits and getting up to speed.... stalls and new wrinkles and hair loss and the skin... but all in all it has been a miracle! I am so happy I did it! Most likely you will be too.