I have really been going back and forth as whether to post here or not. I guess I am sort of a "forum person" in my hobbies and areas of interest, but I have to be honest, I have avoided posting on this site or even looking at it for a couple of reasons. I found this site only a few days before my surgery but when I found it I found more negativity and frightened people then I found inspiration. Actually, I have gone here and gotten the (bleep) scared out of me by a few posters, every time I see their posts I get knots in my stomach. The main poster that does that to me has a screen name that starts with the letter "i". Everybody is terrified of leaks and all the negatives of this surgery and I just haven't been able to relate to many of the topics. Below I will share some of the basics of my journey so far.

First off, I am a 35 year old male who is 6 feet 3 inches tall. I wasn't fat my whole life, I actually weighed 218 when I was 19 years old. That was pretty close to a "perfect" weight for me. I got into a business where the guys I worked with partied, ate, and drank to excess. Over the years I ballooned to 445 lbs which is where I have been for the past 2-3 years. In 2010 I was considering the lap band but chickened out. I was back on in 2011 but chickened out again. In 2012 I HAD to make a decision because I was put on Metformin for borderline diabetes and Lisinopril for borderline blood pressure as well. That was it. I started again with the nutritionist appointments and made an appt. to see my surgeon who is located downtown Chicago a few miles from my house. My first appt. with him was in early October 2012 and he suggested a VSG instead of the lap band because of the large amount of weight I wanted to lose. I left thinking about it and did the rest of my pre op requirements such as upper GI, psyche, EKG, etc. I saw my surgeon again on November 14th, 2012 and we decided on the VSG (which I really didn't know a lot about). We set surgery for December 21st, 2012.

Because I am a big fella, my surgeon put me on a 28 day pre op liquid only diet (to shrink my liver and loosen my skin) which I started on November 23rd, 2012 (the day after Thanksgiving). The first few days were tough but I have very strong will power and stuck to it, following the requirements to the letter. I didn't cheat even once. Again, not even once. After about 12 days it was smooth sailing and I just plugged away and kept up the exercise plan that I had been doing for over a year which was just walking 1.5 miles, three times per week at my local YMCA. I didn't weigh myself even once the entire plan and weighed myself the morning of surgery. To my astonishment I lost a staggering 49 lbs!!!!I I couldn't even believe it, to be honest with you I began to sob like a little girl! I went from 445 to 396. I was just so shocked. My surgeon told me that I broke his practice record which was previously 45 lbs for a pre op diet. Again, I LOST 49 LBS IN 28 DAYS!!!

On the morning of December 21st, 2012 I was ready for surgery at a major hospital downtown Chicago. I arrived, valet parked, checked in, and was laying on the table prepped for surgery within 1 hour just waiting for the anesthesiologist. I was in surgery about an hour and a half later and the surgery took 2 1/2 hours. I am going to cut the details of my hospital stay down so readers aren't sitting here all day reading. Any questions just ask me. I wanted to leave the hospital the next evening but my surgeon said that he wouldn't allow me to break two records and that I should stay another night. Quick recap, I was checked into my room after surgery at 6pm Friday night and was discharged from the hospital at 11am Sunday morning, less then 48 hours after entering my room.

Upon arriving home I checked my weight, expecting to have lost a few lbs, and actually gained back 2 lbs due to all the fluids that were pumped into me. I was back up to 398. My recovery went ok I think, I was in a lot of pain along my largest incision which is about 3+ inches wide. I was on Tramadol which sucks. It took me 9 days to finish the 25 pills that I was prescribed since I was skipping doses. I was home on Sunday morning and by Wednesday morning I was off to the YMCA where I walked only one lap around the track. I limped around and talked to my friends there before going home. I was back at the YMCA on Friday and actually walked 5 laps (a half mile). I finally weighed myself on Friday, one week after surgery, and I was down from 398 to 391. I weighed myself again on Sunday afternoon and I lost another 4 lbs from Friday to Sunday, 9 lbs in 9 days, ending up at 387 lbs, 58 lbs down in 38 days.

So that's basically that. It's been over 10 days now since surgery and I am feeling like a million bucks. Here are the "scary" parts. I am using the term scary because after reading this site I would have thought I was going to die from this surgery. I HAVE NOT been nauseous even for one second since surgery. I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOT thrown up, or even gagged for that matter, not even once. I AM ABLE to drink 60ozs of Fluid per day. I just started puree on Saturday, 8 days out, and it's been perfect. I had 4 ozs of low fat cottage cheese (which I LOVE) today as well as only one Protein shake, a bowl of tomato Soup, and plenty of Water. I AM NOT hungry, EVER. I just eat to live, that's it. Today I feel the best that I have felt since surgery. Every day gets better. My goal is to lose 220 lbs, 100 in three months from the start of my pre op diet on November 23rd. I WILL do it.

I know I left out a bunch so fire away (or ask any questions that you want).

Great job Frank!

Thanks for the positive post. I see some negative posts here (and some habitual)..but I've been here for a year and overall, I find MOST ppl to be supportive, informative, and generally ok..bar the occasional ruffled feathers that typically happens with so many diverse ideas and people. I read the negative experiences..keeps it real, and reminds me that my decision hasn't been made lightly and I should be ready to use this tool properly....but I skip over posters who always dwell on it. There are many posters I search out as well as sources of inspiration and positive support. I'm overall happy to have found this forum and will continue to seek support here post surgery in march.

Great job!! I'm scheduled for march and so happy to hear the positive along with the meg you have to have a well rounded bal of information! Please keep us posted!

Ok, so I have had a few people asking me for updates. After 10 days, here they are:

I have some amazing news. I FINALLY saw my primary care physician on January 24th, 2013 (first time since I was sleeved on 12/21/2012). He checked me out and was AMAZED at my progress. They did a blood test and checked my levels to find out that my Hemoglobin A1C went from 6.1 on October 30th, 2012 to 5.3 on 1/24/2013. Because of those results he FINALLY took me off of Metformin which I have been on since July 2011!!! I was totally ecstatic because of this! He also "officially" took me off of my blood pressure meds which I actually stopped taking after surgery. I am now medication free!!!

Here are my current stats:

11/23/2012 445 lbs (at start of pre op liquid diet)

1/27/2013 368 lbs for a total of 77 lbs lost in 2 months and 4 days.

To be honest with you I am REALLY bummed though. I think I have already hit a plateau. In the past 7 days I have only lost a pound or so. I was 369 for like 3 days, then I lost a pound and have weighed in at 368 for 4 days now. I don't know what the hell is going on. I know I lost a TON of weight for such a short period of time, but 1 pound in a week is unacceptable. I have changed NONE of my habits. I actually increased my exercise, and eat VERY VERY little each day. Any less and according my my NUT, I will be eating "dangerously low calorie levels." That MAY be a problem in itself, I don't know. How could I have already reached a plateau just one month after surgery? Yes, I DID lose 49 lbs in my 28 day liquid only pre op diet, and yes I have lost an additional 28 lbs the month or so after surgery, but totally stalling out has gotten me REALLY frustrated. People have been telling me that I should just chill out, that I have done absolutely AMAZING and that my expectations are WAY to high right now. I have become absolutely obsessed with losing this weight. I had this initial goal of losing 100 lbs in my first three months, but if my weight loss doesn't restart, I'm not going to reach it.

I REALLY would appreciate any suggestions or comments about this.

By the way, I have NO cloths to wear anymore (I was wearing size 52 jeans which are way to big) so I went to my old cloths and I was able to fit into a pair of size 46 jeans that I wore a few years ago! Woohoo!

Hey Frank, good job on the meds!!! So, what I've learned is our bodies are really good at adapting to whats going on. So that is why we need to change up our exercise to keep building muscles. Same as w food. Your body has probably adjusted to the low calorie and has said 'ok, i can live like this!' And stops losing. I do agree that you still should be losing kinda fast. A stall here and there is expected, but that seems to be more when people are within about 100 pounds to goal. I'd honestly suggest upping your intake. What cal/fat/carb/pro grams are you currently at?

Frank, that's awesome weight loss!! And your friends are right, don't trip out about the stalls. The stalls come and they go, its all just part of the ride!

Great about the meds too. I think that's the scariest part about being obese, having to take these meds so you don't drop dead....

Congrats Frank! You're doing awesome. Being off the meds is a huge NSV. As I understand it, a 3-4 week stall is very common. Along with a few random ones along the path. Some ppl swear by changing up the workout routine, upping protein or even increasing cals by just a bit bumps them out of the stalls. But everyone seems to hit that dreaded 3-4 wk wall. You'll break through. Don't panic. Good luck!

I know your frustration frank. I'm only 2 1/2 weeks out and have already gone a whole week with no loss. Finally the scale is moving again. I think during this first month (42 days really) of being on a restricted diet I'm trying not to worry too much. Seems like full liquids and puréed foods has a higher carb count than I would like but until I'm at the point where I can make better decisions, not much to do. Not sure what you're able to eat but maybe your body is still adjusting to changes. I know you will start losing again. Just be patient. As for the clothes not fitting? Congrats! I, too had to dig deep into my closet to discover one pr of pants I could still wear. Took some time today to visit the thrift store. Hard not to just want to refill my closet but what's the use? I expect it's going to be a revolving door for the next year.

Wonderful!! You make me feel so much better about my upcoming surgery!!

Frank, awesome job!! I'm a 42 yr old, 5'7 and about 424 lbs. it's overwhelming. Your story is very inspiring. I read alot about ppl that have a 100 or so to lose, and here I am with over 200...it overwhelms me. More than I can say. My oldest son just got married a few months ago, and they are talking about starting to have children. That's when it really hit me. I wanna be the fun Grammy. Not the one that just sits and watches. I'm only 42!! My first seminar with the surgeon is Feb11th. And I just started my mandatory 6 month diet. I am hoping to be sleeved before thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing your story. I reinforced I am making the right decision!

Thanks everyone for the support and nice comments!

Chellennunley, your comments in particular really struck home with me. I can completely relate/understand. You are a very brave person to have made this decision and seized control of your life. As long as you believe it, you WILL succeed. It will take a monumental amount of work, but your family and future grandchild are counting on you. I really wish you success and happiness.

Great story Frank! Thanks for sharing!

THANK YOU for your original post and follow up comments. You really hit the nail on the head. Doom and gloom and fear are not what this site (or this surgery) are all about. All the best to you and your continued success!

Thanks for sharing!! I to was very scared when I read the "complications" tread...almost changed my mind....but I'd rather risk the <1% chance of complications than the very great chance that I will end up with diabetes and/or heart disease as I am currently pre diabetic and have high blood pressure.

I cant wait for the day that I can share my success story with everyone!