3weeks before my surgery

[Janicef2 1]

I started this journey 8 months ago and my surgery is scheduled Sept 16. I won't bore you with all the details and frustrations. Im just glad I'm of sound mind and can advocate for myself in this medical world. My concern is my age. I am 68 and would like to hear from folks my age I'm going to have the sleeve.

[49er 0]

I started this journey 8 months ago and my surgery is scheduled Sept 16. I won't bore you with all the details and frustrations. Im just glad I'm of sound mind and can advocate for myself in this medical world. My concern is my age. I am 68 and would like to hear from folks my age I'm going to have the sleeve.

I am 61 and have been thinking about this for some time and have decided to go ahead. I have my age concerns but think the risks of being this age at this weight far outweigh the surgical problems. I gues my biggest upset is the life change. So I' m hoping that I see the benefits of this very soon after the surgery. I read a blog and someone had only lost 30lbs in 6 months. That doesn't seem like a lot when you have half of your stomach removed. What do you think? Are my expectations unrealistic for the amount of weight I will lose.

49er

[Janicef2 1]

49er. How much do you have to lose?

[Miss Mac 6,261]

Chirp up, Sweetie! My 62nd is coming up in December, surgery in November. I want this VSG like a kid wants Christmas. My weight has caused me so much other grief that it just has to go. More pounds will mean immobility for me. The life change is what I am most looking forward to. Where will our health be in another ten years we do not do this?

[49er 0]

49er. How much do you have to lose?

80lbs

[49er 0]

Chirp up' date=' Sweetie! My 62nd is coming up in December, surgery in November. I want this VSG like a kid wants Christmas. My weight has caused me so much other grief that it just has to go. More pounds will mean immobility for me. The life change is what I am most looking forward to. Where will our health be in another ten years we do not do this?[/quote']

You're right! But a major life change, right?

[notime 340]

I had my surgery at 62. What a life changing experience! I hadn't realized how much my activities had been stymied by my excess weight. Now I do and I am exceedingly grateful that I had the opportunity for the surgery. Yes, I have changed my eating habits. Now I eat like I should have all along. Yes, I work out with a trainer, do deep Water aerobics and hike. Now I'm able to go, go, go doing the things I didn't have energy to do before. I don't see any of the changes as negative, only positive. I took the perspective that this was my second chance, I had taken the wrong road the first time around and the surgery was my reset button. I have made this work for me by normalizing the life changes. What I eat and the exercise I get are my new normal as are the wonderful medical test results and the active lifestyle.

[cindymg 629]

I started this journey 8 months ago and my surgery is scheduled Sept 16. I won't bore you with all the details and frustrations. Im just glad I'm of sound mind and can advocate for myself in this medical world. My concern is my age. I am 68 and would like to hear from folks my age I'm going to have the sleeve.

I'm 8 months from turning 60 (gulp, I said it), and I had my sleeve so I could see 60. With out of control diabetes, high blood pressure, worsening coronary artery disease, and the start of diabetic neuropathy, the sleeve offered me a way off the downward path I was on. For me the sleeve wasn't so much about my appearance -- it was about saving my life. Oh, and having a life that wasn't filled with medications, side effects, and amputations. Fitting into smaller clothes, and feeling good about my appearance for the first time in many years, is a bonus.

Good luck on your journey. It's going to be amazing!

[diane1227 1]

I had my surgery 3/15/13 and had an easy, quick recovery. I'm 67 yrs. old. I'm losing slower than a lot of people who had the sleeve at about the same time but I'm losing each week. My starting wt was 253, wt at surgery was 233.5 and current wt is 186. Don't let you age stop you from having the VS. it's life changing and totally worth it.

[49er 0]

I had my surgery 3/15/13 and had an easy' date=' quick recovery. I'm 67 yrs. old. I'm losing slower than a lot of people who had the sleeve at about the same time but I'm losing each week. My starting wt was 253, wt at surgery was 233.5 and current wt is 186. Don't let you age stop you from having the VS. it's life changing and totally worth it.[/quote']

Thank you I feel better about the weight loss amount.

[Peggy D 123]

I'll be 64 on October 1 & just had my sleeve four days ago. I wish I could have had this done many, many years ago, but I had to wait for medicine to get to where I needed it to be. As a nurse I was just never comfortable with the malabsorption aspects of gastric bypass & I was excited to find out about the VSG & that my insurance covers it. I researched the surgeons covered by my insurance & made the call.

My doctor is particularly strict & I have followed his instructions from my first consult on April 25. From the time I left his office that day I was on a high protein/low carb diet until 2 weeks prior to surgery when I went on a modified clear liquid diet of 4 Protein shakes & all the Clear liquids I wanted a day. I had also done a 1-week "trial" of the Clear Liquids back in June to see how I tolerated it. I took that 3+ months to wean myself off of caffeine & carbonated drinks by having a little less each day until I was off & can honestly say I haven't missed them.

My starting weight at that first consult was 303 pounds & the day before surgery I was 259! A loss of 44 pounds in just under 4 months! I do weigh myself daily on my Withings WS-30 digital wireless scale but I don't obsess about the numbers. As expected, I did gain "Water weight" in the hospital & went up to 264.9 pounds. But, today, on post-op day 4, I'm down to 263.6. I never expected to be able to lose the 10% of my weight pre-op as I've always been one who not only gains back what I lose but have a very difficult time losing in the first place. I am continuing to follow my surgeon's instructions to the letter because it sure has worked so far.

[grandmacathy 30]

So glad you are doing good Peggy. Can't wait for my date.

[grandmacathy 30]

I will be 60 in January. This is a gift I am giving myself. The first thing out of my 5 year old grand daughter's mouth when she sees me is "are you feeling better grandma? Can you pick me up.". I can't wait for the day to hear " Let's go play grandma"!!!