Hello everyone my name is Steven and I am 52 originally from NY and now living here in Northern Virginia since 2001.

My weight-loss journey is similar to many of yours as well. In my youth I was "Stocky" and I have progressed to obese by definition though I hide much of my weight and people never guess I am over 200 pounds.

Like most here I have tried with limited success every type of diet and fad, skipped over a few like the growth hormone and starvation diet. Slim Fast for sure, Weight Watchers, Nutri System (several times) and always stayed with it for a short while, once I lost 26 pounds and kept it off about a year and a half.

In the past 11 years I have gained just shy of fifty pounds and have every co-morbidity you can have although I am only pre-diabetic but just a matter of time before I have that too.

In 2008 I went for a consultation with a bariatric surgeon to discuss the latest in techniques which at the time was the band. I didn't commit since I would had to jump through many hoops to get the band. Back then I didn't hear too much bad about the band. Now I hear plenty which leads me to the LGS procedure.

I went for a consult with Dr. Denis Halmi of the Bluepoint surgical group here in Northern VA where I reside. We discussed the sleeve and the changes to my insurance which now has very few restrictions and hoops to jump through. No longer need a medically supervised diet for six months. Just some nutrition counseling, tests to ensure your healthy enough for the surgery and a psych eval to make sure you know what you are getting into.

My surgery group required 2 weeks of opti-fast pre-surgery which I understand is to shrink the liver but that is usually for folks with BMI greater than 40 and I am 37.

My surgery date was June 12, 2012 or more commonly known as my re-birth!

I really felt like somewhat of a failure for not being able to manage my weight non-surgically but at the same time I feel like who am I kidding? I obviously can't/wont do it myself and I am slowly dying albeit not that slowly. I come from a long line of fat people with all the diseases of obesity minus heart trouble. I NEEDED THIS PROCEDURE!

Every time someone tries to tell me I don't need that surgery, I can do this on my own, I politely ask them, if you were chemically dependent or an alcoholic (Which many of the people I know are either alcoholic or just about to become one) and you were given an opportunity to have a relatively simple procedure to cure you of your illness, would you do it? The answer is invariably, yes. I say that I am addicted to food and I needed this to save my life. Shuts em up every time!

If you want to read a real easy to read and understand book about the gastric sleeve before, during and after surgery, I highly recommend the book

"Successful Weight Loss with the Gastric Sleeve" It is written by Guillermo Alvarez the Doctor from Mexico. Great information.

Thanks for reading about me!

Steven

Hi Steven, and welcome to VST. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I wish people understood more just how difficult it is to lose weight. Smokers can quit smoking, alcoholics can quit drinking, but we cannot quit eating. We have to eat to live, so in my opinion, we have one of the most difficult of addictions to conquer.

I wish you much success with your surgery and look forward to following your progress.

Welcome! I was also sleeved on 06/12.

Hi, Steven! We are practically neighbors! I was sleeved by Dr. Halmi on 1/24/12. The whole experience there was fantastic! I know you're still going through a lot of changes now. It gets easier and more exciting as you go along. Sounds like you have a good attitude, and that's the most important factor in success!