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!

OMG... I didn't realize how old this thread was!

LOL LOL LOL

Bell

really NOT laughing at you

but with you

i also noted that the last post you replied to was from August 2012!!!

you sound like a very nice person, responding to others, but...............

if all of us replied to every response - OMG, this thread would cross the country and back and back and..........LOL

take care

keep up your good work

kathy

oooooops

deleted since this posted twice

Edited February 12, 201412 yr by proudgrammy

OMG... I didn't realize how old this thread was!

LOL LOL LOL

Bell

really NOT laughing at you

but with you

i also noted that the last post you replied to was from August 2012!!!

you sound like a very nice person, responding to others, but...............

if all of us replied to every response - OMG, this thread would cross the country and back and back and..........LOL

take care

keep up your good work

kathy

I know... I am an idiot. Bhahahhahahaha. I just love reading about others journeys/success/etc. I love this site and I couldn't sleep last night... I read 13 pages of bio's. I am only one week post op.... Im bored, what can I say

am an idiot. Bhahahhahahaha. I just love reading about others ourneys/success/etc

Joann

naaaaa, maybe you are an ("overachiever"?)

you are so nice you want to say hi to everyone with your nice responses

one week out???

ahhhhhh, i remember those good ol' newbie days

i'm 2+ years out, still hanging strong maintaining GOAL

good luck on your journey to a healthier, happier, longer life in sleeveland

kathy

Edited February 12, 201412 yr by proudgrammy

My name is Gin and I am having sleeve surgery on March 13, 2014. I am from New England. I work as a receptionist in a veterinary hospital. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I love the Red Sox and Las Vegas.

The main reason I turned to this surgery is that at 58 years old, I now have sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and borderline diabetic.

Wow seems like more people are looking at Houston so am I...I am schedule to go visit in April to see if I want to move down their...is it ok if I piggy back and keep in contact with you guys also

I'm 36 years old, an OR nurse and I just became an acute care nurse practitioner. I'm a single mom with a soon to be 16 year old special needs daughter. She is the reason I'm the person that I am, and I credit God for giving her to me. I live in Cypress, Tx (a suburb of Houston) and I own my home. The man of the house is a Schnauzer and he takes his job seriously, lol. I love to read and watch ID. Life is good, and it'll be even better after surgery.

OMG another nurse! So many of us on here! Congrats on completing your NP. I start my program for Mental Health NP in the fall and thinking of relocating to TX after. I was just on Trulia looking at homes in the suburbs of Houston. I hope you don't mind.. I am going to add you as a friend and may want to pick your brain a bit. I too am a single mom of a 3 year old (I'm 43.....started late).. I travel nursed for 6 years been almost every where but never TX. Hope to to chat with you more.

Joann

Wow seems like more people are looking at Houston so am I...I am schedule to go visit in April to see if I want to move down their...is it ok if I piggy back and keep in contact with you guys also

I'm 36 years old, an OR nurse and I just became an acute care nurse practitioner. I'm a single mom with a soon to be 16 year old special needs daughter. She is the reason I'm the person that I am, and I credit God for giving her to me. I live in Cypress, Tx (a suburb of Houston) and I own my home. The man of the house is a Schnauzer and he takes his job seriously, lol. I love to read and watch ID. Life is good, and it'll be even better after surgery.

OMG another nurse! So many of us on here! Congrats on completing your NP. I start my program for Mental Health NP in the fall and thinking of relocating to TX after. I was just on Trulia looking at homes in the suburbs of Houston. I hope you don't mind.. I am going to add you as a friend and may want to pick your brain a bit. I too am a single mom of a 3 year old (I'm 43.....started late).. I travel nursed for 6 years been almost every where but never TX. Hope to to chat with you more.

Joann

I am torn between Dallas and Houston area. I been researching for a long time.

Wow seems like more people are looking at Houston so am I...I am schedule to go visit in April to see if I want to move down their...is it ok if I piggy back and keep in contact with you guys also

I'm 36 years old, an OR nurse and I just became an acute care nurse practitioner. I'm a single mom with a soon to be 16 year old special needs daughter. She is the reason I'm the person that I am, and I credit God for giving her to me. I live in Cypress, Tx (a suburb of Houston) and I own my home. The man of the house is a Schnauzer and he takes his job seriously, lol. I love to read and watch ID. Life is good, and it'll be even better after surgery.

OMG another nurse! So many of us on here! Congrats on completing your NP. I start my program for Mental Health NP in the fall and thinking of relocating to TX after. I was just on Trulia looking at homes in the suburbs of Houston. I hope you don't mind.. I am going to add you as a friend and may want to pick your brain a bit. I too am a single mom of a 3 year old (I'm 43.....started late).. I travel nursed for 6 years been almost every where but never TX. Hope to to chat with you more.

Joann

I am torn between Dallas and Houston area. I been researching for a long time.

I am partial to San Antonio. I have only lived in TX for 4 years but have found that TX is large enough that every major city has a completely different culture and feel. SA is pretty laid back with a very large and progressive medical industry. Lots of research etc. Michael

Hi,

My name is Alisa, I'm 50, I have been a nurse for 28 years.. My husband and I have three beautiful children and hope to live long enough to enjoy grandchildren. I had VSG in January 2014, I've lost a lot of weight , I went from 231 to 145. I'm wearing a size 8.. My current problem is sweets, I love sweets and it's starting to get to me.. I would love some help on this so ideas are greatly appreciated .

Thanks.

Hello I'm Kim

I am 50 years old and I am the Assistant Director of Academic Services for a non-traditional weekend college. I was just try of doing every kind of diet on the planet, from weight watcher, cabbage diet, slim fast etc. and sticking to it faithly but was too much of a roller coaster ride, I would lose the weight and yes I exercised. Then I have those who would sabotage me when I start eating the right amount of calories, cutting out the fried food, but asking if I want ice cream, cookie, purchase pies and cake, where ther know that sweet like those are my weakiness, then in the same breathe talk about how I need to lost weight for my health. The breaking point for me was I was on target this was last year I exercise 5 times a day either on the treadmill or riding my bike unitl I injury myself and had surgery on my knee and of course I gain the weight back . So I decided that this was the best for me and no longer will any one be able to sabotage me again with my weakness, I talked to serveral people who had the surgeryand then on February 4th I had my surgery and it's been a little of three week and I lost 25 pound and i can't wait until I can get back on my bike and work up on the treamill and this time I will incorporate yoga in my exercise routine.

Hi,

I'm a 55 year old separated woman living in snowy NJ with my 23 year old special needs daughter. I also have an older daughter who has blessed me with a wonderful son in law and 2 grandsons(4 and almost 2). I'm a veterinarian and have been practicing for over 30 years, from large animals to shelter medicine and small animal practice. I have a one year old akita pup that I show and hope to train as a therapy dog as well. Love to sing, travel, read and am looking forward to more opportunities to run around with the dog when I'm more svelte.

I'm blessed with amazing friends and am so much more than just a number on the scale, as are we all.

My name is Ana. I am 35, married and have an 8yr old son. I am fortunate to stay at home. I enjoy jazz music and traveling. I had sleeve surgery and double hernia repair on 2/28/14.

My name is Amy. I'm 52 years old and have 3 wonderful grown kids and 3 grandsons. I have the most supportive, loving husband in the world and we've been married for 4 years this month. I've been a registered nurse for 22 years and now a Certified Case Manager working for a large insurance company for the last 14 years and love my job, especially being able to work from home.

I enjoy singing, playing guitar, going out to karaoke bars with my husband and friends. I love to bake and decorate cakes for my family and friends. I love to cook and entertain. We have 3 sweet dogs - Bridget - Rat Terrier, Cache ("cash") - Bichon Poodle, and Sissy - Rat Terrier (our rescue dog).

I love my family and want to be around long enough to see my grandchildren's children grown up. And I want to spend many, many years with the love of my life. I decided to stop the yo-yo dieting I've been subjecting myself to for the last 30 years, and finally decided to have the sleeve when I reached 235 lbs... again! My starting weight when I began my "dieting journey" was 170 lbs. Go figure!

Over the years I developed a very large hiatal hernia and suffered severe reflux. I knew this was due to my weight.

I've lost 20 lbs since 2 weeks prior to surgery and am looking forward to better days to come as I continue to finally, permanently let the true me show through.

I'm finding that my greatest challenge is getting enough fluids every day. I'm working on it, and getting better at it.

Thanks for reading!

I am a 37 year old overeater. I am sleeved now 4 nine days & i feel great! I lost 9lbs since & im not having knee pain! Healing is a trip tho. Lol. U can't i say u can't bite more than a dime size at all. Im taking my time relearning to eat. My instinct wants to stuff my face but my body will not allow it. So now I'm not wasting my time eating, so i have to find things to do that fill that "food space". So I'm just do anxious &looking at new styles of clothes. I'm saving $25 a week for my new wardrobe...

My name is Mandy, I'm 36 and a mom to an almost 13 year old. She was born June 2001. I was born in Jacksonville Florida, and moved all over the country as a kid. I attended 9 schools between kindergarten and graduation. I moved to Chicago in 10th grade. And lived there for 17 years, the longest I have ever been in one place. Then my daughter was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder, and the dryness of the heat being used 7-8 months a year caused her to have excessive bleeding issues. We came to Florida to visit and spent 6 weeks here over her summer vacation. In Chicago she was in the ER at least once a week for severe bleeding. We spent 6 weeks without a single bleed that we couldn't stop on our own. So we went back to Chicago, packed our things, put our home on the market and moved back to my hometown of Jacksonville Florida. My husband is a conductor for the railroad, as was my dad before retiring. My daughter wants to be a graphic designer one day and will be attending a magnet school for performing arts, and digital arts. She is a very talented artist, and I couldn't be more proud of her and her determination to get to her goals. I was a body piercer in chicago and I have worked in some amazing tattoo shops. About 40% of my body is covered in tattoos, and I have won several awards for my tattoos. My artist is like a brother to me, and we have been friends for over 17 years. He has done most of my work, and I will either go back to Chicago or have him come here to visit to do some more work on me. I love to swim, surf, and cook. I am a trained chef, and I can cook just about any style of food, and I'm very popular at church functions, and parties. We have 3 dogs, one Australian Shepard Mix named Kambria, Kammi for short, an English Toy Spaniel Mix named Louie, and a Cavalier King Charles named Leopold. They are all 3 rescues, and I love them like children. We also have 2 red foot tortoises, named strawberry and Squirt. They are adorable, and act like the dogs. lol, they come when they are called, and know when and where food goes into their cage.