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!

Good luck to you. And you will do fine on the diet. Next week will get hear so fast you won't be leave it so you can do it. Tues I will be sleeved for one week and so far I' m doing great.

New to the forum. I am 36 years old. 5'11" tall and weight in at a lovely fluffed out 278 lbs. I can hardly tie my shoe laces anymore. My job performance and energy level have deminished over the past 10 years as i packed on the weight. I am 9 days away from having my vst completed. I am so excited to get my new life started.

HI, I'm new to the forum too. I have begun my VSG journey! I'm 37 and a single mother of one amazing 16 yr old daughter. I had my first appt with my surgeon last thursday the 25th and if all goes well I plan to have my surgery on 12/12/12 how cool is that! I'm looking forward to making some new friends on here, staying informed, and having a place to track my progress.

Have a great day!

Hi, I'm 37 and a single male. I just had my surgery on the 22nd of October (one week ago) after just under a year in a program to help ensure my success after surgery (My first appointment was in November 2011) I measure in at 460 lbs and just over 7 feet tall. I'm diabetic and due to complications with my feet I've spent the better part of the last 10 years off of them, gaining about 100 pouns in that time. Recently these problems have finally ended and I've found myself in a place where I'm too out of shape to do enough excercise to lose weight. I have been swimming but I'm still not supposed to walk great distances (not that I could if I tried) Anyway I got the surgery to help kickstart my weight loss journey. With the change in diet and the excercise I can do I feel confident that I can get to where I want to be. Ideally I would like to weigh 300 lbs. I know that seems like a lot but when you get to be my height and body type the numbers get bigger too.

Hi. I am new to this community and I thought that here was the perfect place to introduce myself. I am 31, almost 32 year old, single gal. I had the my sleeve done on September 24th of this year. It has been a bit of a struggle. I wound up in and out of the hospital for the first two weeks, but as for now I am doing well. I am a high school teacher, Social Studies, and I am also working on my second master's in School Counseling. I love music and could not live a day without it. I have struggled with my weight since I was a child, but it was not until my dad had quintuple heart bypass surgery that I realized I needed to do something or I would be him at a younger age. There are definitely foods that I am missing (chinese food and pizza), but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Hey everyone in VST . I am here to get support and other Q and A and pros and cons about the Sleeve. I am actually farr very far from getting one, still have to prove that i need it throught medical reports of failing to lose etc. But my BMI is almost at 50! I am only 21 and have 2 youngs boys i need to be able to be healthy and have energy for them. I hope one day i will be able and approved to get the surgery, and get to my goal of being healthy me. Anyways if anyone knows about Anthem Blue Cross through Medi-Cal here in CA please let me know. I do not know for sure if they will approve me because i dont have any documentation of dieting and excercising. I still have to meet with my PCP and get a referral. Wish me luck

What a fabulous idea! My name is Raven, but my friends and fam call me Rae. I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world (the reason behind that would be another story for another day, but boy... it's a tear jerker!) We have 4 beautiful little girls and have been together for 9 years. My big 30th birthday is coming up on Dec 27th and I'm thinking that is the ballpark time that my surgery will be scheduled for. So, Happy Birthday to me!!

I wasn't dealt any easy cards in life and have struggled with a whole lot since I was a child. I have a heart condition known as Long QT Syndrome. I also suffer severe daily pain and fatigue due to my Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis, to boot. I have Chronic Migraines and no meds have ever been able to stop them. But the hardest challenge of all? Schizophrenia. I was diagnosed when I was 25. I wasn't born with it. I showed onset signs which grew worse and worse as time progressed. I didn't know what was happening to me. I was so frightened and felt all alone (yet not alone at all.) After a couple of trips to the psychiatric hospitals where I was evaluated and tested like a lab rat with different anti-psychotic meds, I am finally able to live a fairly normal life as I remain on my meds and see a therapist weekly and a psychiatrist monthly.

Enough with the sob story, because I certainly don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm happy. I really am. I have a very supportive family and bunch of friends. I'm passionate about life. I put my heart and soul in all that I do.

Speaking of what I do, I'm a photographer. I find that it's a great artistic outlet for me. I love setting a mood, or capturing one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE creating masterpiece compositions. When I'm not busying myself with my camera, you will find me at a local karaoke bar singing my butt off - oh, how I love to sing! I also write (mostly poetry) as a hobby.

I absolutely adore animals. I have a Black Lab named Osiris, two Tabby cats (one orange named Quinton and one "tuxedo" named Sidney) and one big ol' fat all black cat named Dante.

I'm quite geeky when it comes to techy stuff like PC's and video gaming. I'm a huge gamer. I'm mostly into RPGs. My favorite games currently are Skyrim and Call of Duty. I would like to get Lollipop Chainsaw and Dragon's Dogma real soon.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. I look forward to hearing more from you all and getting to know each and every one of you better!! Cheers to new friends!

First, I would like to thank everyone for the support that I have received in only a week on this site. Secondly I want to wish you all the best! I believe that everyone deserves to have as positive experience with much love and support, especially as we all make this journey together. We may be at different points in our journey, but we all share a singular goal. That all being said, my name is Samantha, I have been married to my wonderful husband for almost 11 years. We have 3 beautiful children that keep us on our toes. I am don't currently work, I chose for my kids to go out of our zone to school and therefore am required to spend 2 hours in car lines everyday. I am trying desperately to get into a nursing program and have been for the past year but every school in this area has a long wait list or messed up point systems an I slide in under the cut off because of my mispent youth aka my first semester of college (14 years ago).

I was never a heavy child or teen. I may have had an extra 5 pounds on me at anytime until I hit 19. I married the man I shouldn't have because I was told I needed to. I have always been overly eager to please my parents. I was pregnant and entirely too young to deal with the choices I was making. The baby was premature, she lived not quite 6 weeks and the marriage died with her. This was the first time I started really eating when I was depressed, but I only gained 15 pounds. I stayed this way until I met my wonderful husband. I was a little older and had learned to cook somewhere along the way. Truth be told, it was a old man who was my neighbor that taught me how to cook. I enjoy cooking, it relaxes me in the way that gardening or other hobbie do for other people. I had 3 high risk pregnancies and 3 beautiful healthy happy kids in less than 4 years. With these kids came bedrest and special diets. I did always seem to lose a chunk weight after I had them though. The last baby, my mini-me, I had gestational diabetes and bedrest, I actually gained more weight after I had her than I did when I was pregnant...only me lol! I had a few other surgeries for miscelaneous issues and with each one I seemed to put on 10 pounds. I was put on adipex and lost about 50 pounds in a few months. I maintained until I had a hysterectomy later that year. I put all of the weight and then 10 pounds more on. Tried everything since to lose it and have been at a stand still. I am pre-diabetic, pre-hypertensive and a hormonal train wreck. I got sleeved on October 30, 2012 and it was by far the best thing I have done for myself. EVER.

I want to be able to keep up with my kids and enjoy their childhood with them, not watch from the sideline. I want to be able to be healthy and set a good example for my kids most of all. As I said earlier, I love to cook and I mean I can cook almost anything. I am almost always the place to go for the holidays because we always have a good spread! I have also perfected a moist and flavorful turkey, which is something my mother has never done...think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Yup, thats her turkey. The big thing for me now, is to learn ways to cut the calories from some of the food my family eats while still having the kids actually eat. It is a work in progress, I sneak healthy stuff in every chance I get! So now to the end of my long winded speal, I am a mom, wife, cook, and soon to be fabulous again! Thanks for making it this far!!! God bless and I look forward to sharing this incredible journey with you all!

What a fabulous idea! My name is Raven, but my friends and fam call me Rae. I'm married to the most wonderful man in the world (the reason behind that would be another story for another day, but boy... it's a tear jerker!) We have 4 beautiful little girls and have been together for 9 years. My big 30th birthday is coming up on Dec 27th and I'm thinking that is the ballpark time that my surgery will be scheduled for. So, Happy Birthday to me!!

I wasn't dealt any easy cards in life and have struggled with a whole lot since I was a child. I have a heart condition known as Long QT Syndrome. I also suffer severe daily pain and fatigue due to my Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis, to boot. I have Chronic Migraines and no meds have ever been able to stop them. But the hardest challenge of all? Schizophrenia. I was diagnosed when I was 25. I wasn't born with it. I showed onset signs which grew worse and worse as time progressed. I didn't know what was happening to me. I was so frightened and felt all alone (yet not alone at all.) After a couple of trips to the psychiatric hospitals where I was evaluated and tested like a lab rat with different anti-psychotic meds, I am finally able to live a fairly normal life as I remain on my meds and see a therapist weekly and a psychiatrist monthly.

Enough with the sob story, because I certainly don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm happy. I really am. I have a very supportive family and bunch of friends. I'm passionate about life. I put my heart and soul in all that I do.

Speaking of what I do, I'm a photographer. I find that it's a great artistic outlet for me. I love setting a mood, or capturing one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE creating masterpiece compositions. When I'm not busying myself with my camera, you will find me at a local karaoke bar singing my butt off - oh, how I love to sing! I also write (mostly poetry) as a hobby.

I absolutely adore animals. I have a Black Lab named Osiris, two Tabby cats (one orange named Quinton and one "tuxedo" named Sidney) and one big ol' fat all black cat named Dante.

I'm quite geeky when it comes to techy stuff like PC's and video gaming. I'm a huge gamer. I'm mostly into RPGs. My favorite games currently are Skyrim and Call of Duty. I would like to get Lollipop Chainsaw and Dragon's Dogma real soon.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. I look forward to hearing more from you all and getting to know each and every one of you better!! Cheers to new friends!

Hi Danielle, I have a difference of opinion regarding wanting to know the things you posted on this forum. Because I feel strongly about what this site has done for me, I am sharing this with you.

When I get on VST I look for forums on things that I am experiences now, I learn from others how to keep going if I don't have any experience in an area, like when do I start the gym, why am I still nauseous after 10 weeks, ect.

I did not get any help from your post, liking kitty kitty and being scared of spiders does not give me any info or tools to help with weight loss surgery.

When I went to your profile and read you have lost 116 lb.,s and you have lost your inhibitions......that is useful information and why I come to this spot. I know I only have to read the forums I want. Like I said earlier, this site has become very important to me and wanted to share a different point of view. With that being said, you have inspired me with your 116 lb weight loss and sticking too it for a year. I too have that journey ahead of me and am 10 wks post op. Thanks

I am 26, a country girl and married to a Marine. We grew up together and been together 8 1/2 years now (married 5 of those). We have 2 beautiful children. Our daughter will be 5 soon and our son is 2.

I am currently a stay at home mom but long to get a job doing what I love. I plan to go back to school to finish getting my degree. Kind of hard to do right now being military and moving a lot. Plus not all colleges offer what I want to major in and not able to take it online.

I love animals and my true passion in life is horses. Before my husband joined the Marines I use to train and show horses and not being able to do that now due to moving around and being obese kills a little piece inside me. I still ride whenever I get the chance and I still work with horses but not being in the greatest shape makes it a little hard to do. I cannot wait to get back to doing what I love!!!

I love being outside and getting dirty..lol. We have a jeep wrangler and we take it out on trails and get it muddy and of course we get muddy on the way:) I love trucks, 4 wheelers, dirt track races, cookouts, country music, tight jeans, cowboy/girl boots, rodeos, county and state fairs, and demolition derby. Even though I'm not much of a girly girl I still love the color pink, pedicures and shopping:)

I watch mostly HGTV, Hallmark, Lifetime, and ABC Family. Oh my favorite tv shows are Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, and Ducky Dynasty!!!!

Hey, a girl after my own heart. We are in the minority here as horse enthusiasts. I own a small farm and show Arabians. I'll send you a PM and we can share more about our love of the horses and country life if you want.

I am 26, a country girl and married to a Marine. We grew up together and been together 8 1/2 years now (married 5 of those). We have 2 beautiful children. Our daughter will be 5 soon and our son is 2.

I am currently a stay at home mom but long to get a job doing what I love. I plan to go back to school to finish getting my degree. Kind of hard to do right now being military and moving a lot. Plus not all colleges offer what I want to major in and not able to take it online.

I love animals and my true passion in life is horses. Before my husband joined the Marines I use to train and show horses and not being able to do that now due to moving around and being obese kills a little piece inside me. I still ride whenever I get the chance and I still work with horses but not being in the greatest shape makes it a little hard to do. I cannot wait to get back to doing what I love!!!

I love being outside and getting dirty..lol. We have a jeep wrangler and we take it out on trails and get it muddy and of course we get muddy on the way:) I love trucks, 4 wheelers, dirt track races, cookouts, country music, tight jeans, cowboy/girl boots, rodeos, county and state fairs, and demolition derby. Even though I'm not much of a girly girl I still love the color pink, pedicures and shopping:)

I watch mostly HGTV, Hallmark, Lifetime, and ABC Family. Oh my favorite tv shows are Sons of Anarchy, Dexter, and Ducky Dynasty!!!!

Hi all! I'm a newbie to forms/blogs and this is a first ever post for me.

My name is Steph and I'm a 30 year old single lady from Chesterfield, MI I work in the advertising industry in Michigan and absolutely love what I do. I love ready, music and watching BRAVO. I am super close to my family who have been supportive in my decision to have the sleeve done. I have 2 dogs who right now are my happy place during this 2 weeks liquid fast in preparation for my surgery on November 20. I have been on it for 6 days and its been quite the emotional roller coaster for me, but today is the first day it doesn't seem as bad... so progress is in the works!

I have had a ton of health problems in the past 4 years and tried a ton of diets, so after a lot of research and consultation with my doctors, I believe this will really help me become the healthy person I want to be. I also have a trip to Hawaii next summer for my BFF's wedding that I plan to look a feel great for!

Thanks everyone for sharing... this site has eased some of my anxiety about my surgery coming up!

Hi! I'm 27 and married with four children. I have an 8 year old son, 5 yr old son, 4 yr old daughter, and 2 yr old son. I'm in my second marriage. He is a wonderful husband and great step father to my kids. He is extremely supportive of my up coming surgery. I'm a college graduate in pharmacy. I just got approved and am just waiting to be scheduled for surgery.

_{Hello My name is Dee and I am scheduled for surgery on the 4th of December and have been through this journey before . I had lap band surgery in May of 2008 and lost} 75 lbs and had a tummy tuck and then the dreaded happened and I found out I had cancer and there went my tummy tuck and the weight loss . I had to have all of the fluid removed from my band due to my chemo and radiation and somehow the band stopped working due to the radiation. So needless to say I am sooo ready to get the sleeve done in a few weeks and feel normal again lol. I just turned 40 years old this year and am happily married (2 1/2 years) and have a 15 year old daughter and 11 year old son. I just graduated from college with a bachlors degree in teaching. I hope to gain a lot of insight and helpful information from everyone here.