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Xpost Long: One Year Post Op With Pictures

Terry H.

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Terry H.    196

Terry H.
Posted

One year down. A year in a life amounts to about 1.3% of the average expectancy. In the last year since surgery 10/10/2011 I’ve lost 80% of my excess weight. 151 pounds gone. With the 51 I lost before surgery this puts me over the 200 lost line and 48% of my total body weight. I have to let that sink in sometimes. Half of me is gone. The last time I weighed this amount was in 1980 when I was 18. That’s 64% of my life ago. I’m well on my way to the weight I last saw when I was in junior high school on my way up. At this point, I see no reason I shouldn’t make it.

What do all these numbers really mean? Well, for one, I feel young. So much more life than I’ve had for so many years. For another for the first time one of the in a long time I feel like I’m just a regular guy. Overweight? Sure. Older? Sure. But more like a young 51 rather than an ancient 50. And I’m heading in the right weight direction and in control. Perhaps like never before in my entire life. Every aspect of my world is better; especially my relationship with my wife. She loves me and supports me and I feel like a better man for her.

How about health? Diabetes – Gone. Blood pressure - soon to be totally off drugs (already down to ¼ of my old dose. Gout – seems to be gone (I’ve gone off allopurinol). Endurance – way up.

Some more numbers since surgery: 5x shirts to medium/large. Size 62 pants to size 38 (even fit into a size 36 but too tight to claim it for a while); 9 SCUBA dives in the last six weeks for the first time since 1993.

Nothing comes free though right? I mean, I can’t eat unlimited quantities. I can’t sit comfortably for 16 hours a day. I have to be diligent about what I eat. I have a lot of excess skin. When I start to feel sorry for myself (and I sometimes do for fleeting moments) I just DO something, or review my progress, or plan for my next adventure. How freaking cool is that.

I have learned that being with my friends is not just about great food (although I still go out and enjoy great food within my self imposed parameters). My new normal almost always feels OK. I also have new friends that I’ve met here and at my support group. That’s cool. I’m also planning more activities like learning to sail, riding horses, and mountain hiking. Lots to do and I can do it now or very soon. So much more hope and so many more possibilities.

I can’t wait to see what year 2 brings. What a great journey this has been.

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Butterthebean, KickRocks, ProudGrammy and 14 others reacted to this

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MsVeDub    32

MsVeDub
Posted

OMG!!! I just skipped to the pics - you are a totally different person. Way to go. Now back to reading your post.

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TakeCareGirl    161

TakeCareGirl
Posted

That's amazing - CONGRATULATIONS!

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tmorgan813    13

tmorgan813
Posted

You look amazing. I can't wait to see photos like these for me. I am six months today and posted my before and now photos and was in shock but now seeing yours, I can see that I have more to go and I CAN DO IT!!!! Way to keep going with the program. You must feel so good and proud about yourself. So happy for you.

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Nate    292

Nate
Posted

Awesome job. I hope I have results like that after a year!

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jillb    45

jillb
Posted

You do look awesome... Congrats.... you are a great roll model...

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CoolBreeze    154

CoolBreeze
Posted

OUTSTANDING! FABULOUS!! INSPIRATIONAL!! indeed. God is truly Amazing.

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Smokey12    71

Smokey12
Posted

Gr8 job

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scarletskinnygirlinside    8

scarletskinnygirlinside
Posted

How awesome!! I am so encouraged by this! Seems like so many that do the sleeve are not nearly as heavy as I am and that had had me scared but I need to lose as much as you have and I have a better feeling that I can now do this!! My surgery is on Oct. 30, 2012! The day that changed my life!!

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luvinthanumi    20

luvinthanumi
Posted

You look amazing!!! I don't know you but I just want to hug you so tight and tell you how proud I am of you both physically and mentally! Keep up the good work!!!

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Go To Topic Listing Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories

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    • KeeWee

      KeeWee

      It's been 10 long years! Here is my VSG weight loss surgiversary update..
      https://www.ae1bmerchme.com/post/10-year-surgiversary-update-for-2024 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Aunty Mamo

      Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.

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