Welcome everyone! I am so glad to finally have some members. This group was started so I could find people who were in similiar position as myself. I noticed most people were either in low 200's or lower. It's wonderful to know we're not alone! In this group I would like to share each other's stories and support each other through the hard times. With that being said, let me introduce myself. My name is Brandy and I am 37 (for the next four days at least). I am a single mother of a four year old named Abigail. I have been heavy most of my life. I was only about 40 lbs overweight when I finished high school but once I entered the work field the weight started piling on. I gained a great deal after the pregnancy. While I was pregnant I gained the normal 26lbs but after almost two years and a bad breakup the pounds really started packing on. So here I am today over 300 lbs and making the hard decision to have surgery. I am excited and crazy nervous at the same time. I hope all are well and I can't wait to read your stories as well.

Still learning how to do all this!

Hi Specialt! Congrats on your surgery~ How are you feeling?

I am 8 weeks today...have blood work first thing tomorrow morning. I have lost 45 lbs and wore a pair of pants today I have not worn in 3 years!!! I am so excited. Have been working out for a few weeks now and tomorrow I start Zumba =) Feeling great and looking forward to the future.

thanks for your reply! After I read it last night-it encouraged me to try on a pair of pants that I haven't worn in 2 years---guess what I'm wearing today! yes--those pants!!!

I was able to start working out yesterday--so I started and it feel so good!

I did Zumba in the summer but I quit because it hurt my knees. Now that I'm lighter, I should try it again. Tell me how you liked it!

YaY!! I know how exciting the pants thing is....I had the biggest smile when I was able to wear them, in fact now I have 2 old pairs that fit again. Zumba was great this morning, felt good....the fact that I could do it at all was awesome!!

Thank you for starting this group. My highest weight was 302 which I realize is not very far into the 300s but it is such a different beast (or at least it feels like it is) from someone who only weighs 240 pounds or something like that. I am out of the 300s now but I feel that I would relate to people here better.

I'm new to this site and I'm pre-op, I weigh close to 400 lbs. I can relate to someone who's 300+, but below that is not in my wheelhouse.

A group like this is a good idea. I may start one for people closer to my weight and possibly my age.

That's a great idea SassySenior. I didn't realize there were as many people in the same weight catagory as me until I started this group. Most people I saw were in the mid to low 200's.

You are very welcome to stay in our group of course! Congratulations on your choice to get the ball rolling. I am still pre-op myself. Been on this journey for 8 months now. I just finished the last thing before I speak to my surgeon about a date but I haven't gotten an appointment with him yet. Hopefully when I do I will at least get a date. I think when I get a date then reality will set in but as for now it still seems far away.

Sophia,

I did start a group for Baby Boomers. I don't have any members yet. But I think I'll be an active member of your site. Us "Extraordinary Sleevers" must stick together.

I saw your post on waiting. It's unbelievable how many hoops there are to jump through. In my case with a high BMI, age and multiple co-mordibidites, it's a paper chase. Every time I think I've cleared one hurdle, another appears. Part of it is because I'm using Medicare which has its own set of rules. That plus I belong to a special program for people with limited resources and it's a bureaucratic mess.

To sum it up, glad you started this group, glad I have someone I can relate to, sorry you have a hurdle of your own hoops to jump though. My dr. won't give me a surgery date until I have completed everything. Oh well, never a dull moment.

I am also using Medicaid so I've had to overcome alot of paperwork as well. My respiratory therapist will not fax results of my cpap machine use until after 3 months of use so that means another 2 months of waiting for me but I've come this far! So we'll see in another 2 months if I can finally get a date. :/ Until then I will work on getting some weight off. Another member mentioned something about a liver detox diet. She said she heard it helps with the post-op. I'm gonna look into doing that. Anything that will help the surgeon during sugery and help me heal faster is worth trying I think. "Extraordinary Sleevers" I like that, cute name!

Talk to ya soon

Brandy (sorry that's my real name sophia bubbles is a nickname)

Hello everyone, I was hoping to be a little more active in the group but I use the app on my phone mostly and it says I dont have permission to view this topic so I have to wait til I get on the computer.

Sorry to see its going slow for you Sophia/Brandy I hope it goes quick for you now.

I have had 2 of my 6 visits, the medical group Im going thru is very nice, everyone is nice and helpfully. My husband has gone with me to all my appts and classes so he can help me. I have only lost 8 of the 30lbs and having a hard time with hunger so my doctor prescribed me a diet pill, I started it a few days ago and really helps keep me in my daily calorie goal.

I cant wait for warmer weather so I can try to get out for a work but work keeps me pretty busy.

Hope everyone is doing well also if anyone uses My fitness Pal Im truckerchic on there

Wendy

Hi Brandy & Wendy,

I love the name Sophia Bubbles ... you're so clever. I'm a writer, so I should be able to pick out a good name, right? But SassySenior was all I could come up with.

WAITING -- Talk about a way to kill a good high! I have learned over the last 2 years not to get too excited about my surgery because whatever hurdle I'm trying to jump always turns out to be a lot more complicated than I thought. What kills me is my friends who have no clue what these hurdles are like. They say each time I finish one more task, "Oh, great, have you got a surgery date yet." I swear if any one more person asks me that I'll throttle them. Actually, I've been asked that a lot here, now that I think about that. Hey ... if you really wanna know about me, read my friggin' story. I wrote it just for you. ha ha

Wendy -- I'm on My Fitness Pal, too, but I'm not using it at the moment. When I had to go through the "medically supervised weight loss diet" I used it and it helped. I never knew how many calories were in what I ate.

Well, it is getting really late for me ... I'm an all-night owl, and it's bedtime.

Later y'all. Keep on keepin' on. We're gonna get there!

Truckerchic - My phone tells me the same thing. Welcome to the group. My doctor doesn't believe in giving diet pills so I am really struggling with the hunger. Going to try alli I think. Hopefully that will help.

SassySenior - I love that you're a writer. I wanted to be one when I was little. I asked for a typewriter when I was like 8 but my mom wouldn't let me. She said I needed to learn how to type the correct way. She was right in a sense so I use to keep journals but I never persued it. Writing is a tough business. It's hard to make a really good living from it.

I know what you mean about the "when is your surgery date". I haven't told anyone other than my mother so no one knows to ask me, thank god.

TTYL!

SB - I'm sorry your writing career was stalled at such an early age. I began writing poetry when I was about 15. My mother, who taught me to read at age 3, was very supportive. Like mothers everywhere, she thought most of what I did was extraordinary ... not the part where I constantly broke curfew as a teen.

I inherited my writing talent from her. Even though she didn't think that way, she won a contest once for writing a winning slogan for Jewel Tea (grocery store). She said: "Jewel is a gem of a store."

Between your group and mine, I think I have it all covered - weight and age. Now all I need is "Love after the Sleeve" for that perfect man I've been searching for. Admittedly, my criteria has been a bit high. At my advanced age, I am willing to compromise.

It;s true that writing is a tough business that's hard to make a living at. But when I was in junior college, I was "discovered" as a writer. My teacher and classmates loved hearing my stories, and I was often asked to read them before the class. Soon thereafter I was invited to write for the school paper, following year became it's editor-in-chief. When I decided to transfer to a big college, my advisor recommended me to her husband, and I became a writer for the University News Service. After graduation, I became a journalist with the Tampa Times. Later on down the line, I started a freelance writing career. It's a long story ... maybe I'll tell you about it someday.

SB - you are a great moderator. I think your group will catch on. I have a few members .. 6, I think. Doin' my best to try to entice them to post. You would think that my incredibly fascinating posts would inspire them to greatness! NO. Ha Ha

Sassy you'll do great. I'm sure once people figure out the site and read your posts they'll open up. Just give it time.

I read your story and when you were talking about the bad experience you had at the doctor's office it reminded of my horrific experience once. I went to this clinic and they were cramming everyone into this little waiting room and there was a scale in the middle of the room. I didn't think anything of it until they came to me and ask me to get on the scale so they coudl record my weight. So here I am in my early twenties stepping on a scale in front of a room full of people! I wanted to die!! I was no where near as big as I am now but still I was a young impressionable woman at the time and thought I was as big as a barn. (Little did I know I was no where near as fat as I thought I was.) I could not believe it!! Needless to say I never went back to that doctor.

Hi new friends! I am being sleeved on Monday 3/25/13. I am trying to save my life. I weigh 347 and I really appreciate this group. SassySenior, I too have physical problems with my knees, back and hip. I am in a wheelchair and taking pain medication along with many others. I really hope those of you who are in the process of jumping though the hoops will be able to have your surgery soon. Best of luck to you all. I can really use some encouragement.