Surely you are someone outside of your surgery and struggles with our weight. You have interests and dislikes and families- jobs and hobbies. And honestly- yes it is exciting to have this stool and to be on the journey- but hasn't there been enough focus all our lives on just our weight?

I know VST is dedicated to our VSG stories, but I sort of think that who we are makes our VSG surgeries that much more meaningful.

So I'll go first...

I'm Danielle. I'm 27 and I have three sisters and one nephew. I am unmarried and have no children. I work full time running the office for a respiratory company. This semester I am also attending college full time via online classes. I'm now also trying to squeeze in going to the gym three times a week.

I suffer from PCOS and had this surgery to help increase my chances of having a family of my own one day.

I am a TOTAL girly girl! I love the color pink, I like Hello Kitty the way others like Betty Boop or Tinkerbell, and I HATE HATE HATE spiders! I'm not much of an outdoorsie person- my idea of roughing it is five girls and one bathroom. That being said I do love to garden and can't wait for spring.

I love anything to do with 16th century european history and am a total fanatical nut when it comes to Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I. My favorite movie and book of allllllllll time is Gone With the Wind. I love watching old movies with my mom- our favorites are Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, anything with Doris Day and the Tammy movies. We also make a point of watching A League of Their Own together whenever it is on tv. I'm close with my Dad but sometimes I feel like we don't have anything in common.

Prior to surgery I loved home cooked food! (Along with chinese and pizza hut haha) I still enjoy cooking for my family (One sister, my parents and I all live together for economic reasons) and resumed cooking them meals within a few days of coming home from the hospital. I have a dog, she is a chihuahua/yorkie mix. Her name is Gypsy and well... she is sort of a monster!! I <3 her tho!

Now it's your turn!! Tell us who you are!

Hi everyone,

I am 44 years old and live in Minnesota. I have been married for 15 years and have one step daughter who just graduated from college. I work in health care. My husband and I love boating and traveling. I enjoy reading and participating in sports. I will be glad to get back to my work outs.

Hi, all -

I'm 51, happily married with no kids, just two Cardigan Welsh Corgis. My husband and I, who have been together for almost 14 years now, are geeks by trade and by preference (we both work in segments of the software industry), and love to travel together, both in the US and abroad. I'm also a musician, a theater nerd, do a variety of crafts when the mood and time permits, and love reading.

At this point, I haven't made a final decision between doing a LAP-BAND or doing the VSG, so in part I'm here to try and understand the VSG from the patient's perspective. I'm likely to have no problem being approved for either, as I have a BMI of 45.5 and I'm a fairly recently diagnosed type-II diabetic. I've just started the 6 months of medically supervised diet that my insurance requires for either surgery, so my likely surgery dates will be in March/April 2013 timeframe.

Hello, My name is Kim Im 44 yrs old. I have been married for 19 yrs to my high school sweetheart & we have 3 kids. My son is 23 a pro quad racer, my daughter is 20 & is in her 2nd term of nursing school, my baby is 15 and a sophmore in high school. I have been overweight since the birth of my first baby. I have lost 100lbs on a low carb diet, then when my mom passed away in 2007, I gained it all back plus extra! I was lucky enough to be a stay at home mom for most of my kids lifes, but went to work in 2007. I have been on & off diets for years now & cant seem to keep any of it off. I went to visit Dr. Scott at the request of my other dr. who thinks I needed wls. Dr. Scott thinks I would be a perfect candidate for this type of surgery because I also have a liver disease, so I guess its not as invasive. I got the ok from my insurance on Aug 30 & Im scheduled for surger on Sept 18. Part of me is looking forward to this & the other half of me is scared to death. I have read most of the posts on here which are positive, then there are a few that arent so great. I came here looking for the support because most of my friends are totally against me having this surgery. My family (husband & kids) are very supportive of me having this. So, If anyone can offer any advise on what to expect after surgery, & the months to come, I would be greatful!! Thank You for your insight!!

I'm 51 and had the surgery on Feb 27th It's the best thing I ever did for myself. Noone really knows how the weight effects you don't let your friends discourage you. Your family will support you.

I'm 25 from nh. Struggled with my weight since I was 12. Up and down, everywhere, I gave birth to the most wonderful baby Girl a year ago and have the privilege of bein a stay at home mom with her . this journey for me started in January... It's been a roller coaster. I had my endoscopy in June only to find I have neuroendocrine cancer in my duodenum. I had 3 tumors and a hiatal hernia. I am beyond thankful for choosing this procedure, because they would have NEVER found my tumor had I not. It was up and down on whether or not I would be able to get the sleeve or not but m happy to say... I am having my sleeve this Friday, sept. 7th!! Ahhhhh!! As far as the cancer, as of now it's a low grade slow growing tumor, so they will go in ever 6 months with an endoscopy to scrape the area and remove any growth. I'm ready to be happy, healthy and to keep running around with my Sweet Caroline <3

Hi! My name is Laurie . I am married with 2 boys. I work at Kaiser and Sell homes on the side. I am ready to do this surgery. i think... I will meet with the psychologist in the am. hopefully he will clear me to do the last pre op appts get surgery date etc..I am nervous about surgery and excited at the same time...

Good Luck, It was the best decision I've ever made. 6 months 70 lbs 35 to go.... a new life in the making.

I am a 36 year old mother to an 11 year old girl. After many years of trying to have another baby I was told I have PCOS due to my weight. I am an artist, musician, and fledgling writer.

I'm really not very good at writing about myself. Sorry.

Hello Everyone!! I'm Tina and I am the mother of two smart and beautiful daughters and one spoiled rotten rescue dog; a Black Lab. I am very outgoing but the weight has been holding me back from my best self. My decision to sleeve has nothing to do with what anyone else thinks. In fact, no one seems to understand my plight. I thank GOD for each of you. While I have not been sleeved yet, you give me courage EVERYDAY...I've been watching and learning from y'all. I'm sooo looking forward to my surgery hopefully by the first of October. Pray for me and I'll pray for you!!!

Ok here we go, I'm terrible at sharing but here I am. I'm a 43 year old man from London England. I had a Sleeve on 31 Aug 2012. I am married with two lovely boys. My wife is very supportive but I am finding things a little daunting still. My surgery was successful but one of the incisions has become infected and the treatment for that has been quite unpleasant and much more uncomfortable than the operation itself. I have a large amount of weight to lose but I am confident once I am over this setback will be possible.

Ok, a little more back ground, I work in the city of London for a large American Bank and we have 2 cats, Scotch and Bonnet. Well thats it really, not much else to say, I will try to share more as things progress.

Good luck to everyone.

Good Evening,

My name is David and I had the Gastric Sleeve on August 22nd 2012. I am 39 years old divorced with 2 wonderful boys who live with her in Mass ( regretably ). I work at Samsung at night and aslo going back to school to finish My Electrical Engineering Degree. I have lived in Austin 30+ years and like it for the most part. I plan on graduatiing in two years and moving to the north east to be around my boys. My hobbies include Salt Water fish tanks, home improvement projects (got to get the house ready to sell in 2 years ), I have had my share of surgerys (appendix , knee and 2 L4/L5 surgeries with maybe an S1 surgery in the near future) .

Not much else to say and i look forward to reading and learning from past / present experiences.

Have a good day

Hi I'm HoneyMcgee, and today I found out that I will have my surgery on October 16. Can't wait, but on the other hand I'm getting nervous just a bit.

Reviving a thread.

I'm Meg, I'm 50 years old (yep... still can't believe it), and I'm 17 months out from surgery at this point. I'm a choir director/teacher. I'm married to my best friend, who is also a sleever--his surgery was a year ahead of mine. We're both still losing (v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y!!), and we joke around about it a lot. We're basically in maintenance, which is just fine--we both surpassed our surgeon's goals and our own personal goals, so that's all good!

My entire family is overweight. My sister, her husband, and her eldest daughter all had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago and they have been successful, but now my sister and her husband have regained a bit of the weight from before and are having to struggle with Weight Watchers, etc. I definitely am grateful to have this tool, my sleeve, as it really does prevent me from volume eating and gives me some restrictions about types of foods it will accept, as well--for some really GREAT and strange reason, my sleeve prefers fruits, veggies, and healthy stuff over fried or sugary foods, so I will take that help all day!!

The weight loss has made a huge difference in my life. I am more energetic, much less self-conscious (which for my profession is a good thing), less afraid, more comfortable expressing myself, etc. I have to say that shopping is a BLAST now, and I have definitely enjoyed putting together a more stylish and work-appropriate closet over the last few months. More than the outside change, though, the inside change has really been big--I feel better about myself, I don't worry that everyone is "looking at the fat lady," and I'm beginning to recognize myself in the mirror--it took a long time. The first time I went into Penney's to try to find a swimsuit, I had a crying attack because I was sort of overwhelmed with not knowing where/how to find anything outside the Women's department--it was so strange to not have any idea of what size I was, how things would fit, etc. I am coming to terms with this new body and getting to know its quirks--can't sit on hard chairs for long at all, need a sweater EVERY DAY in the air conditioning, must eat every 3-4 hours or crankiness ensues, dehydration is a definite if I'm not careful, etc.

So hi to all. If you're new or thinking about surgery, feel free to PM if you have any questions. I don't follow any particular diet, never counted anything and still don't, and probably am not the best person to talk to regarding a disciplined diet/exercise lifestyle, but somehow the sleeve still worked for me, bless it!!

Hi! My name is Stacy, I am 34 years old, married, with 3 beautiful girls! I am scheduled to have the sleeve surgery on Sept 27th and am getting ready to start my liquid diet tomorrow. I have an associate's degree in Healthcare Mgmt and also Medical Assisting. I am currently working at a hospital near my home and really enjoy it. I am excited for the changes that are coming and am ready to work hard for it! Good luck to everyone out there! Looking forward to sharing experiences and getting tips on here!

Hello I live in Michigan with my husband and two kids. I'm interested in the sleeve surgery because I seem to have tried everything else. I wish I could do this by myself but I've just learned over the years that I just can't. It's not something that I can do without this kind of tool.

I haven't really talked about this with my family. My husband is on board but my mom and my sisters I'm sure will have a lot to say about it. I'm not really looking looking forward to listening. I wonder how a lot of you have handled this? I'm not the only one that had to deal with people that were not terribly supportive or understand what it really is like to have to lose this much weight.

I'm 40 years old, maybe I'm having a midlife crisis but I think that if I don't do this now I wont have much of an active future. I have horses. What fat lady needs horses? I want to ride again. I want to go dancing. I want to feel sexy. I want to go and be able to pick out clothes and not go to a fat girl store.

I want to feel more like a women and not like this extra weight defines who I am. I have plans and being fat just does not work with those plans. I want a future and I want to be the one that is driving. I don't want to let this addiction drive anymore. Sure, I'm scared as hell to have this done. I think I shouldn't have to have this done. But I know that I do because I've tried everything else. Actually Im more scared not to have this done. What else is there?

I've read so many success stories on this site. I've seen so many videos on YouTube. It's amazing what this tool can do if you are brave enough to use it.

I'm so excited. I stopped drinking pop. Southern folk that would be soda. In Michigan it's pop. I'm going to start trying to do little things to get prepared for this new life. I can't wait to join you sleevers! Currently I am waiting for HAP approval. Hope to have good news soon. I weight my highest now, 357. I lost about 5bs last year but it's back! Looking forward to reading more of your stories!