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).

Why are you directing your lecture at me? I'm not the one who keeps beating the dead horse.

Naaaaaaaaaaay.

Why are you directing your lecture at me? I'm not the one who keeps beating the dead horse.

After you said "WTF the OP mentioned her specifically". Just pointing out that he didn't. I myself am not looking for a fight, I stay away from the drama as I will do now . Back to simply spectating.

After you said "WTF the OP mentioned her specifically". Just pointing out that he didn't. I myself am not looking for a fight' date=' I stay away from the drama as I will do now . Back to simply spectating.[/quote']

Fair enough....I call a truce.

Naaaaaaaaaaay.

Don't make me get my horse whip.

This forum changed my life- just the way that it is

Sheesh.. I miss all the excitement! I am clueless as to who y'all are talking about.. But maybe that's best.

Frank.. I too had the most wonderful surgery experience and absolutely no regrets. I wanted to leave the next day also but they kept me 2. After that I went sightseeing and shopping all over TJ, MX and had a blast. Never hungry, and never tempted to cheat. Sometimes though, smells make me moan. LOL

Good luck every one and onward we work towards our goals!

Frank, congrats to you! I must say this has been quite a thread to read! . Wish you much continued success! Can't wait to get approved and start my journey!

Congrats on your success!!

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' date=' 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. [/background']

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).

I am glad to hear u r doing good and feeling great. I too have had no issues since my surgery I am just loving life. I had surgery on 9/19 n am down 53 lbs but 10 sizes smaller in clothes which means more to me than the weight...lol

Good luck and keep me posted on ur progress.

Pot' date=' meet Kettle.[/quote']

Nice to meet you Mr. Obvious. Nothing like giving folks a taste of their medicine.

Hello Frank. I am also from Chicago and am 9 months post op. I had an unremarkable surgery/recovery. I feel great and I would do it a thousand times over.

I also didn't really care for protein drinks so early on I decided that I would get my protein from eating dense protein. Best of luck to you!

Starting the 2013 new year off right. I stepped on the scale this morning and lost another 2 lbs since Sunday which puts me at 60 lbs lost! I am 11 days post op and have gone from 445 on 11/23 (start of pre op diet) to 385 on 1/1, 60 lbs in 40 days!! Hello new life!

I am overwhelmed at the responses that I have gotten in this thread, especially the ones that said that my story has inspired them! I am so humbled, thank you! I am seriously changing my entire opinion of this surgery after this thread. Let me tell you a sad story. A few days ago, about 7 days post op, my wife asked me if I would do it all over again. I told her no. She asked why? "You have had such an ideal experience." I said "yeah, I was VERY LUCKY." There are tons of people that have complications based on what I saw on the sleeve site. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have taken such a big risk, after all, we have a three year old son. I also WOULD NOT recommend this surgery I told her. I couldn't live with myself if I advised someone to go through this and something bad happened to them. That is SERIOUSLY what I thought.

After seeing this thread, there are A LOT of success stories out there. I will say what a lot of other people said and say that this surgery DOES change your life for the better. If you are as heavy as I was you WILL NOT live a long life. Period. How many 6' 3" 445 lb old people do you see walking this Earth? I don't see many that's for sure. If you are considering VSG surgery, JUST DO IT! Don't think about it and procrastinate like I did for two years. JUST DO IT! I wasted two years drinking and eating when I could have been rolling around in the grass, wrestling with my son. Believe me, we WILL be doing that this summer! 2013 is going to be my best year ever!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I am scheduled for 1-16-13 for my sleeve and the last 24 hours have been HORRIBLE. I picked up the phone twice to call and cancel the surgery. Reading your post and the positive posts of others made me really look at why I am doing this.

I am so glad I found this thread and I am actually looking forward to my surgery, whatever comes of it because your right...If I don't do it, I won't last long on this earth.

Many blessings!

I had my surgery sept. 11 .. I had zero problems or complications. The only thang I find hard is to want to eat in general. Which has nothing to with the surgery. I was scared to death to have the surgery, but I have a condition called intercranial hypertension that's cause my brain to herniate into my spine. I did the sleeve cause my Nuero surgeon told me too. I can honestly say thou that it is by far one of the best thangs I have ever done for myself and am so glad I did it .

I couldn't agree with you more, Frank! I'd like to read real people problems, be able to relate to eachother, and support eachother without someone shaking their finger at someone who needs help. With every post about a struggle, I'm so tired of hearing the "I almost died" speech! Not everything is that dramatic! The other forum mentioned has a lot more support. They don't have an app though.

I had a fairly easy recovery too. The only thing I struggle with now is head hunger! Its getting better everyday. I love that I got the sleeve and would recommend it to anyone who needed it!

Thanks for sharing your story. I was never afraid of having surgery, so none of the stories scared me. I guess that's what having four C-Sections (3 in the last 5 Years) does to you! My experience has been good. I am learning what I can tolerate, and I healed quickly. My only complaint is that sometimes it feels like a job. Trying to get in all the fluids and protein in a day. It consumes me! I am bored to death of the foods I can eat, so I rely on shakes mostly. I feel happier than ever, and my diabetes is under control. Best decision I ever made for myself!