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!

My mom and I both had the Vertical Sleeve surgery last year. Mine was in July and hers was in September. One thing we both noticed was that there weren't many resources out there that were just for people that have had weight loss surgery. There were a few blogs out there' date=' and of course this forum and others, but one thing we craved was MORE. We both struggled with making the surgery work in the first few months. What could we eat? How could we make it edible without grossing us out? So many questions. It took us months of trial and error to come up with ways to make the high Protein lifestyle we needed work. Thus, 7 Bites was born. Our first episode has aired on YouTube today, and we are so excited. For those of you that know me, I am also known as JenniJune on this very forum. I owe VST a LOT for getting me through the first few months for sure! I invite you all to come check out our show - and be sure to tell us what you think![/quote']

love the channel and cant wait ror the next week episode. Blessings

Sent from my iPad using VST

Hi my name is Tonja. I have scheduled my surgery for Nov 14, 2013. I am a little nervous. Any pointers?

I have been thinking about doing the lap band for roughly 3 years now. Finally decided to do something about it after my Dad had a heart attach and passed away last October. It was a wake up call.

Edited October 10, 201312 yr by thoopes

Hello all my name is Liz. I'm 42 years old married with no children. I'm actually just considering the surgery due to all of the health issues I've been facing. To be honest I'm so scared of the thought of having surgery. I joined this site in hopes to get feedback on others experiences, fears, doubts before and after their surgeries. I have the seminar tomorrow. I want and really need a support system of people who truly understand what a difficult decision I will be making. Not all of my family likes or agrees with the fact that I'm considering surgery but I don't know what else to do to save my life. I really commend all of you on your courage. Peace and blessings.

Edited October 12, 201312 yr by Cocodrea

I'm Janine and am 51 years old. I'm married (30 yrs) with two kids and five grand kids! I live in the Deep South and sadly they really know how to cook! ( I am originally from AZ.)

I grew up thin and never experienced struggles with weight until the birth of my first child.

My life:

My father was a cruel person who favored beatings and putting you down. There were six kids (two have died, one is a drug addict, the remaining three are/were morbidly obese). I grew up being told women are stupid and I had no reason to doubt him. My mom gained the strength to leave when I was 13 thank goodness!

A turning point in my life was the death of my 22 yr old sister from a car accident and my 17 year old brother who died from Lymphoma when I was five months pregnant with my second child. I stopped gaining weight and the DRs put me on a high calorie diet eating 6 times a day and somewhere in all of that I found that eating was a great comfort to me.

When I met my husband he always told me that I was smart and after the kids were horn I decided to try college- I loved it! I have earned an AA degree in accounting, BS degree in business administration, and a graduate degree in Taxation. I discovered I had a brain and it works pretty darn good! I am currently an audit supervisor for the unemployment office and DOL.

My surviving brother and sister have both had the bypass and both have serious issues because of it. My brother still eats too much and he has hemorrhaged twice due to the stretching. His last episode landed him back for reconstruction surgery which basically left him without much of a pouch. My sister has maintained her weight but has to have blood transfusions at least once a year. I choose the Sleeve for those reasons.

I look forward to a day when I find my old self and continue to live!

Hello all my name is Liz. I'm 42 years old married with no children. I'm actually just considering the surgery due to all of the health issues I've been facing. To be honest I'm so scared of the thought of having surgery. I joined this site in hopes to get feedback on others experiences' date=' fears, doubts before and after their surgeries. I have the seminar tomorrow. I want and really need a support system of people who truly understand what a difficult decision I will be making. Not all of my family likes or agrees with the fact that I'm considering surgery but I don't know what else to do to save my life. I really commend all of you on your courage. Peace and blessings.[/quote']

Hello Liz, It is a very tough decision, I'm still pre op, don't have a date yet waiting on insurance approval. But I looked at my life and the quality and knew I had to do something and after many different diets I came know I could not do it without help. So thru prayer and gatherering tons if info, talking to family, I made the choice that wls was best for me, I am very lucky that my family is very supportive of whatever choice I made. Don't get me wrong my mom is stressing that "that her baby" is having surgery.(I'm going to be 40 next April). I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

My name is Bee and I'm 59 years old. (knocking on the door of 60). I'm retired and sick of yo yo-ing all my life. My weight has stopped me from doing SO many things and I'm ready to live out the rest of my life feeling good and being more active. I've been lurking for a month and I have to say all of you have inspired me so much so I decided I needed to get involved.

I think I've tried just about every diet there is. I've done pills. I've done crazy off the wall things, too. LOL I'm SO ready for this!!

Hello gang, I'm Deb. I am 46 years old. Wife, mother,sister,aunt, daughter and an RN. Currently a stay at home mom and online student completing my BSN. I am scheduled for VSG on October 29th. A dear friend on facebook is also preparing for this procedure,and suggested I join this forum. :-)

Hello, my name is Dave, I'm 47, I'm married with no kids (I'm the child of the household) and I'm a native Floridian. I've had this nickname for many years on other forums, but it really fits here. The name comes from my employment.........I work for the government (nuff said).

I've been through the mandatory 6 months pre-op weight loss program with my surgeon and my surgery is scheduled for Monday October 21, 2013. I am currently doing the doctor's required 14-day pre-surgery liquid diet. It's three Meal Replacement shakes and up to three no-calorie snacks(Jello, ice pops or broth).

I'm a little anxious and nervous right now considering the surgery is only in five more days. Been spending a lot of time lurking the forums and searching the internet for information. In other words, the butterflies are kicking my butt.

So far I've done awesome with weight loss since may when I started the pre-op diet program. The pounds have been falling off with the serious changes in my diet and starting a daily exercise regimen.

Hi All!

My name is Robin. I'm from Maryland but living in Brooklyn, NY now. I'm 30. Single, no children (I couldn't afford them here anyway). I'm in social services and I work with homeless youth. I have been battling my weight since I was a teenager. I have always felt "big" and that turned into feeling "fat" at a very young age. My mother struggled all her adult, post children, life with obesity and finally developed type 2 diabetes. She died at age 63. My father who also struggled with obesity as an adult, had high blood pressure and died at age 69.

My reasons for deciding to get this surgery are many but one is because I'd like to live longer than my parents. I see the road ahead for me - failed dieting, increased anxiety, onset of horrendous health conditions which will kill my life before they actually kill my body, etc. etc. - and I'm saying no to that road. I realized this year that surgery is a tool that I need to take care of my health, and to build the kind of life that I want. I KNOW it will NOT be easy at all but it has given me the kind of hope I have not had to even motivate myself to make better changes.

I happy to say that my life so far and currently is not an awful life. I had tons of support in people that I love and who love me. I have a lot of newfound hope and excitement for my future. I am growing spiritually and emotionally on a daily basis. I am looking for this physical lifestyle change to add to the other wonderful things going on already.

That's a little bit about my journey in a nutshell. I am sooo grateful for this sight. It has put a lot of things in perspective for me and has given me the kind of support I had been looking for when I started this journey.

Hi All! I loved reading your introductions! Congrats to all of you.

I am a 55 year old Mom of 5 and Grammy to a 4 year old grandson :tongue2: . The kids are all grown and hubby and are lost in this big old farmhouse. I have always worked and for the past 15 years I have been a legal secretary/IT Manager. Having been overweight my entire life I now am taking the time and care for myself to do the VGS surgery which is scheduled for November 13th, 2013.

With a husband that loves to cook and a son who is a chef it is all about the food. Now, I look forward to better, healthier choices and making it ALL about the people! These two guys will do wonders with Protein and veggies. My son wants to do something special when I get to goal...climb a mountain or something!

We love to cruise and are going 3 months post op...again, it's about the people not the food. Yay to not wondering if this is the time that I will need to ask for the belt extender on the plane.

Thanks to all of you for sharing and I am very appreciative of the support that is all around me!

I love you motto! It's about the people and not about the food. I feel like that is soo important to remember. It prioritizes what's important, relationships, and decriminalizes food at the same time. Thank you!

Hello, I'm Melissa, a 41-year-old former special education teacher, currently on disability due to major depression. Unfortunately, throughout my adult life I've turned to food as a method of dealing with anxiety, loneliness, and boredom. I now have life-threatening medical conditions due to my weight, and my doctor essentially told me that I need to get my BMI below 35 at the very least or I'll die within 10 years. At her suggestion, I started looking into bariatric surgery.

I've only just started on this journey, and am busy gathering information. I've enjoyed what I've read on this site so far--it's been very informative and helpful. I look forward to participating and meeting you all!

Edited October 17, 201312 yr by G33kg1rl

I'm 37, I have one child a boy age 11, I work at a bank as a Sr. Loss Mitigation Specialist, Im a very private person, and I respect the privacy of others, I'm considerate, bubbly, a little sarcastic, I'm a great cook, I love to be creative, I make centerpieces and wall designs as a hobby and a side gig, I also like to read and watch court shows, there are so many other things in life that I could be involved in or that I'm curious about, but unfortunately as far back as I can remember my weight has always been a struggle that has been masked behind a smile. I made the decision to have the surgery for multiple reasons, the main two being my son and my health.

Hi. I am Suzanne from Saskatchewan Canada. I am 40 years young and I am happily married for 12 years. We have 2 gorgeous children that came to us through adoption. Our son, now 6 yrs old came home with us at 3 days old, only 5lbs and straight from the hospital. Our daughter now 4 came home at one day old also straight from the hospital at 8 lbs, 3oz. We overjoyed to be their parents.

I love to play guitar and sing, mostly country music.

I love spending time with family, my parents and friends. My mom has Alzheimer's and that's an emotional journey, but I cherish our time together.

I am a work at home mom.

I have struggled with my weight all my life, just because I love food. I became diabetic and had high blood pressure and cholesterol so I decided I needed to do this surgery so I hopefully can be around to watch my children grow. That's me in a nutshell

Hi. I am Suzanne from Saskatchewan Canada. I am 40 years young and I am happily married for 12 years. We have 2 gorgeous children that came to us through adoption. Our son, now 6 yrs old came home with us at 3 days old, only 5lbs and straight from the hospital. Our daughter now 4 came home at one day old also straight from the hospital at 8 lbs, 3oz. We overjoyed to be their parents.

I love to play guitar and sing, mostly country music.

I love spending time with family, my parents and friends. My mom has Alzheimer's and that's an emotional journey, but I cherish our time together.

I am a work at home mom.

I have struggled with my weight all my life, just because I love food. I became diabetic and had high blood pressure and cholesterol so I decided I needed to do this surgery so I hopefully can be around to watch my children grow. That's me in a nutshell

Ok - here goes - my first forum post ever!

I am a 49 yr old working Wife and Mom who has 2 boys age 17 & 24. I've been married to the most wonderful man for 27 years. We met in college and got married as soon as we graduated. I've got one brother who lives far away and 2 lovely nieces and 1 nephew. My mother recently passed away, but my Dad is still hanging in strong!

I work in IT, but am not a total geek cuz once I get home I want nothing to do with computers! I'm thinking this journey may change my mind on that to a certain extent!

I've lived in the South my whole life, but love, love, love the mountains!! My husband shares that love and when we can manage we take trips to mountainous areas. Once we both get in better shape, hopefully we can begin doing the hiking we both enjoy more. We both want to travel and retire early enough and in good enough health to enjoy some!