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!

I am scheduled for sleeve in two days. 57 years old. 5-7", 300 lb. scared to death. Good research, good reasons, good surgeon. Still scared.

@ heavyb

Good luck with your surgery. It's 100% natural to be scared!! It's a big thing your putting your body through, but for all the right reasons.

It's a rocky road at the very beginning but it does get better and you will see & feel the benefits very quickly.

Please keep us updated of your progress & we're all here if you need support or questions answered ????

My surgery went fine. First night long but not terrible. Used pain med. walked. Waiting for leak test. Dying for water. I am diabetic and have not eaten or drank for two days. A real adventure. Blood pressure good and blood sugar parked at 110 with no meds.

Six days post-operative and doing pretty well. Dying to try something to eat. Very little pain. No nausea. Fluids going down. I just cheated and had two ounces of sugar free pudding. Went down fine.

I've enjoyed reading about all of you so here I go...

I'm Lucy and all to quickly approaching my 60th birthday. A proud mom of 6, Nana to 7 of the best grandchildren ever, happily married (though there have been 'moments') 25 years to one of my best friends, I'm a self-employed event planner. Working from home does have its advantages, but for those like me the biggest disadvantage has been spending most of my days sitting at my desk in front of a computer... I do miss being in an office and taking those luncheon walks with co-workers.

Like many of you, I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember. My first self-imposed 'diet' was at the age of 13. I lost 15 lbs and was still considered 'pleasingly plump'. I've yo-yo dieted since and am turning to WLS to put an end to that. I'm not getting any younger and my body cannot take that stress. My last two major attempts at weight loss were under doctors' supervision. I lost 50 lbs in six months - gained 60 back in 18. Then a year ago I started again with a new primary care doctor, lost 15 lbs in six months and gained 20 back in 3.

I began researching WLS a couple of years ago and kept it on the back burner until the power of social networking slapped me hard in the face. A colleague has posted a candid picture of me at a work function and tagged me in it. I had no idea I was as big as I am!. It is no wonder it has become such a struggle to keep up with my grandchildren and everything else I enjoy doing that requires physical exertion.

This is not where I wanted to be turning 60! I want to be healthy and need to be to watch my grandchildren grow up.

After going through the informational session with my prospective surgeons (at that time) and doing a little more research, it became very clear to me that the gastric sleeve in my only option. That was in April 2015. My insurance gave approval immediately! I've completed my psych eval, just finished with the cardiologist and had a sleep study this week. I can't make this process move fast enough and am anxiously waiting for clearance from the pulmonologist. My lungs are healthy and no further action required with the sleep study. I would love to say that I will be having surgery in July, but I may be expecting too much - am I? I don't know.

I know that finding this website has been a godsend to me. Until now, I've done more reading of others posts-getting support and added strength to focus on the future from you. Thank you!!!!!

Hey all... apart from my surgery I enjoy playing music, currently play the guitar and ukulele (most fun instrument ever!!) I play regularly for my local church and enjoy playing and listening to all styles of music.

Also a bit of a gamer and a nerd at heart lol play online with friends over Skype most nights but its definitely not an addiction like it once was.

Since the surgery and having lost some Initial weight ive had friends ask me to run some fitness/boxing sessions with them as they want to get fit as well so I do 4 sessions a week with them which I find really fun.

I currently volunteer my time interacting with aged care clients who have a disability of some form. Its fun stuff and something I never thought id like doing but im about to start my diploma in youth justice as working with troubled youth is one of my passions and I cant wait to get stuck into my studies and work.

Theres not much else to me lol i get along with most people so feel free to say hi or whatnot its been awesome reading about other people's stories

Hello everyone my nickname is Liz. I am a mom to two beautiful little munchkins a little girl who is turning 5 in July and a baby boy who is 1. I am also a wife to a great man this august it will be 20 yrs time has sure flyed. I feel like I have been on a diet since I was 7 years old. I'm now 38yrs and I finally made the major decision to have the sleeve to get my life back for my kids and husband. I kept seeing how my husband would run after my baby girl and I couldn't and now that we have another toddler I need to be able to bend down without having pain and be able to run after my kids if they are in trouble. I started this journey with my sleeve and from now on only positive thoughts so I can get thru this first phase. Let me see what else I'm trying to finish my prereq so I can get into the Masters program for PA. I'm happy I've joined this group because all is postive and encouraging exactly what I needed.

Edited June 21, 201511 yr by lizsal77

My name is Sumayah, I'm originally from California, and I'm a public health grad student living in Atlanta, GA. I'm currently overseas in Saudi Arabia, visiting my family. I've always loved traveling, and the fact that my family lives in two separate continents and two states in the U.S. has been a great chance for me to get away from my busy life as a student. I graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in psychology, and I am halfway through my Master's program at the moment. Basically, my life is all about being a student, and I like it that way. I hope to enroll in a PhD program next and one day become a professor at a university.

My issues with obesity and weight loss began when I was around 11 or 12 years old, which was also the time when I began to question my sexuality and didn't really know better than to keep it all bottled up and attempt to deal with it on my own. That didn't work out so well, obviously, and it wasn't until my last year of university that I came out to my immediate family and experienced a feeling of great and inexplicable relief when they accepted me as a bisexual woman with open arms. Since then, I've finally allowed myself to begin dating for the first time in my life and branch out to meeting new people and experiencing new things.

Yep, that's about it! Hope you all enjoyed my rather unprompted sad gay story!

P.S. I'm at the stage of my surgery recovery where I HATE soft foods. Hate hate hate. I'm sure many of you can relate? Can we complain together?

Hi I'm Tammy, I'm 49 and married with two daughters and 6 grandkids. Ive work full time ever since I was 15. I wanted to be able to see my grand-babies grow up. I have several health issues starting with heart, stage two diabetic. Blood pressure, and high cholesterol so I had my gastric sleeve on June 10.

Ever since I've had my gastric sleeve I'm having a really hard time getting anywhere close to returning Back to work. One week after surgery I was having a hard time getting anything to Stay down my meds water and Protein, I was admitted back into the hospital because of dehydration and IUT. I got to go home after 3days of fluid and antibiotics however Im still feeling lightheaded dizzy. Now my family Physician seems to think it my gallbladder which means another surgery could be in my further. Is anyone else having this issue?

Ever since I've had my gastric sleeve On June 10th I'm having a really hard time getting anywhere close to returning Back to work. One week after surgery I was having a hard time getting anything to Stay down my meds water and Protein, I was admitted back into the hospital because of dehydration and IUT. I got to go home after 3days of fluid and antibiotics however Im still feeling lightheaded dizzy. Now my family Physician seems to think it my gallbladder which means another surgery could be in my further. Is anyone else having this issue?

Hi I had my sleeve on June 10th with Dr.Wizman in south Florida . I'm 5'7" and weighed 231 pounds. I'm currently stuck at 214 and all the feelings that one feels after all the failed diets is returning to me. My family is waiting to see results quickly which adds pressure- each day they ask how much did you lose today? They're supportive but I'm feeling like a bit of a science experiment lol! I have one son and a daughter. It is my hope that my children will never have to feel like I did when I was overweight...although everyone said I was crazy to do the surgery, that I wasn't that fat etc., I did it for me. It's been one of the hardest decisions socially but I'm looking forward to the journey!

Ever since I've had my gastric sleeve I'm having a really hard time getting anywhere close to returning Back to work. One week after surgery I was having a hard time getting anything to Stay down my meds water and Protein, I was admitted back into the hospital because of dehydration and IUT. I got to go home after 3days of fluid and antibiotics however Im still feeling lightheaded dizzy. Now my family Physician seems to think it my gallbladder which means another surgery could be in my further. Is anyone else having this issue?

My doctor has anyone who has a gallbladder take medication called ursodiol for 6 months to prevent problems did your doc prescribe anything like that?

Hi everyone.

I found this forum today and have been reading all afternoon. My name is Camille, I'm 46 and from Missouri. I am a single mom of a beautiful 14 y/o fixing to be 15 y/o girl. I'm a RN and have been a nurse for 24 years. I am currently in a bachelors program and graduate in March, I am also going through a divorce. I have battled with my weight for about 10 years now. I have lost 20lbs since leaving my husband a year and half ago and kept it off and then lost and gained another 20. I had my psych eval yesterday and don't see the surgeon for a few weeks, so I am early in this process. I have insurance through my husbands job, very good insurance, railroad insurance. The problem for me is my BMI is 38.9 and I do not have any comorbidities that I know of so dealing with the insurance will be a nightmare. If I get denied Mexico will be my next plan. I love this forum and have found a lot of valuable information.