Hi Vets!

I have been here learning and growing on VST/BP since before my surgery Apr 2011. These forums have been such a significant piece of my WLS adventure. But I did not start doing any posting until a few weeks ago--all of the knowledge I gained from here has been just by being a "lurker arounder." There still is REAL POWER in just staying in the background. For me, I felt I needed the face-to-face support groups to get a firmer footing on this new lifestyle. I still attend 4 groups per month. It's just now at 3 years that I feel comfortable using an online forum.

So many of you vets who post here regularly--I feel like I know you personally already, especially those of you who are out from surgery in the 3-5 year range. But there seems to be many of you whom I followed for years that have vanished. Itis really important to me to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you who have so unselfishly shared and continue to share so much of yourselves to further the cause of all of us on this bariatric adventure. (Special thanks to pdxMan who helped me finally figure out that I had to have 100 posts to unlock Vets Forum. New screen name--I was a "princess" person before. I've graduated from feeling like a princess for the first time in my life to now knowing what it feels like to be LivingFree from food addiction.)

Looking forward to a long life here, and proud to be a vet!

Welcome Living Free! I had my surgery one month after you. Thanks so much for posting. I think it's so important for vets to hang around so newbies can see what life looks like a few years out.

Four support groups a month is impressive! I haven't found a local support group I'm nuts about and I've been to a few. But then I've posted here almost every day for the last three years.

I'd love to hear more about your weight loss journey when/if you feel like sharing.

Lynda

Nothing wrong with that! Welcome and no matter what, you are a part of the group!

Welcome to the VETS forum.....we are actually the pioneers in a way, because the sleeve is not that old. (Oh how I wish it had been available when I was in my 30's or 40's.....I was 57 when I had mine done in 2011! I was looking into the lap band when the surgeon said, no, no lap band! You need the sleeve....and I said, the what? Never wanted Gastric Bypass so this was so perfect....the last few years have been like a dream....like you said, Living Free!

But we do have to work at staying here (and I am trying so hard to lose 5-10 lbs....my lowest weight was 133 and I am now around 142.....so coming here is very important to keep us motivated and healthy! I posted a lot in my first year when I was writing my weekly blog (which was so cathartic for me). Now I pop in now and then and am grateful to know it's here. It's a bit of a safety net.

Thanks so much for your kind and welcoming words Isereno, swimbikerun, and QueenofCrop!

There's something about hitting the three year mark that's made me feel like there's not many others around me anymore that are now experiencing the longer-term challenges I am. Most in my support groups are immediately post-up and up to one year out, with maybe a handful of vets. Soooo--I definitely feel a kinship here, and looking forward to sharing my story AND supporting all of yours in any way I can!

Agreed. The support stuff really is bent to 1 year and then its like oh you have survived but never anything after that. I see a lot of people who ask stuff that I think should have been handled by the doctors office.

I'd like to see that after care after 1 year is addressed and what the surgeons' are involved in after that. I had problems that were not diagnosed and wondered why they were not caught by the doctor, since the indications were that they were from the surgery. I'm wondering if the fact that they don't do really anything for those after a year makes a difference.

Looking forward to your story and your support here! We can always use another person with the experience that only time can give .

Agreed. The support stuff really is bent to 1 year and then its like oh you have survived but never anything after that. I see a lot of people who ask stuff that I think should have been handled by the doctors office.

I'd like to see that after care after 1 year is addressed and what the surgeons' are involved in after that. I had problems that were not diagnosed and wondered why they were not caught by the doctor, since the indications were that they were from the surgery. I'm wondering if the fact that they don't do really anything for those after a year makes a difference.

Hi swimbikerun,

I hope your problems have been resolved and you are enjoying good physical health now. I am so fortunate to not have had any physical issues from my surgery. I have an excellent bari team who keeps a really close watch on me physically--for that I have no complaints. For me, the uneasiness is more the emotional part of the whole thing since I reached 3 years--just kinda feeling like the bari medical professionals generally regard older postops as "not needing" emotional support anymore.

Looking forward to your story and your support here! We can always use another person with the experience that only time can give .

Thanks feedyoureye! It feels great to be here. . .

Thanks LivingFree!

No things are getting worse. No one can treat the malnutrition, and the fact is, without the bariatric surgeon who treated it in the first place, there's not a lot they can do. This is why I constantly preach to people to check the doctor and the staff and their procedures and policies thoroughly before you go to them.

The older post ops are the ones who need emotional support more so than physical support. In the beginning it is more physical, afterwards more emotional - unless you're stuck in my boat.

Hi Vets! I have been here learning and growing on VST/BP since before my surgery Apr 2011. These forums have been such a significant piece of my WLS adventure. But I did not start doing any posting until a few weeks ago--all of the knowledge I gained from here has been just by being a "lurker arounder." There still is REAL POWER in just staying in the background. For me, I felt I needed the face-to-face support groups to get a firmer footing on this new lifestyle. I still attend 4 groups per month. It's just now at 3 years that I feel comfortable using an online forum. So many of you vets who post here regularly--I feel like I know you personally already, especially those of you who are out from surgery in the 3-5 year range. But there seems to be many of you whom I followed for years that have vanished. Itis really important to me to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you who have so unselfishly shared and continue to share so much of yourselves to further the cause of all of us on this bariatric adventure. (Special thanks to pdxMan who helped me finally figure out that I had to have 100 posts to unlock Vets Forum. New screen name--I was a "princess" person before. I've graduated from feeling like a princess for the first time in my life to now knowing what it feels like to be LivingFree from food addiction.) Looking forward to a long life here, and proud to be a vet!

Awesome post! Keep posting not lurking! Ha! Others gain so much strength and knowledge from those of us who have "walked" it! So glad to "meet" you!

Hi Vets!

I have been here learning and growing on VST/BP since before my surgery Apr 2011. These forums have been such a significant piece of my WLS adventure. But I did not start doing any posting until a few weeks ago--all of the knowledge I gained from here has been just by being a "lurker arounder." There still is REAL POWER in just staying in the background. For me, I felt I needed the face-to-face support groups to get a firmer footing on this new lifestyle. I still attend 4 groups per month. It's just now at 3 years that I feel comfortable using an online forum.

So many of you vets who post here regularly--I feel like I know you personally already, especially those of you who are out from surgery in the 3-5 year range. But there seems to be many of you whom I followed for years that have vanished. Itis really important to me to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you who have so unselfishly shared and continue to share so much of yourselves to further the cause of all of us on this bariatric adventure. (Special thanks to pdxMan who helped me finally figure out that I had to have 100 posts to unlock Vets Forum. New screen name--I was a "princess" person before. I've graduated from feeling like a princess for the first time in my life to now knowing what it feels like to be LivingFree from food addiction.)

Looking forward to a long life here, and proud to be a vet!

So glad you posted here. So many vets DO disappear so our little veteran group hopefully encourages a few more to stay.

It is unexpected to me how much I value the support even 2.5 years out.

Thanks LivingFree!

No things are getting worse. No one can treat the malnutrition, and the fact is, without the bariatric surgeon who treated it in the first place, there's not a lot they can do. This is why I constantly preach to people to check the doctor and the staff and their procedures and policies thoroughly before you go to them.

The older post ops are the ones who need emotional support more so than physical support. In the beginning it is more physical, afterwards more emotional - unless you're stuck in my boat.

Why do they need original surgeon to treat the nutritional issues? Why are they not treatable? I guess I just don't understand. I am awaiting a very detailed nutrition analysis myself.

because when you get to the point of malnutrition where you can't make it without help, no one else has the critical care expertise to deal with it. That's the problem. PCP's don't have admitting privs to hospitals. Even if they did, knowing how to work PICC lines or dealing with any other stuff, that's not something they've trained on or know how to handle. They also don't have any idea of signs/symptoms of malnutrition. For example, my legs have edema - the vein docs think it is varicose veins because that can be a cause of it. I also have cataracts way long before others do, and the Indians who work at my workplace caught it because back home, when people stopped working the fields and started giving the food to others because they worked the fields, they developed cataracts.

When you take all the other physical issues together, that's how you figure out what it is. Regular docs don't know the difference between kwashiorkor and marasmus.

That's why no one else has seen malnutrition or would watch for it like a surgeon who's been trained in critical care. I also asked the same thing, trust me I've asked tons of questions and they can't explain it. Once I started reading the medical literature, that's how I picked up on it.

Plus, after 4 abdominal surgeries, etc. any procedure outside of EGD or colonoscopy, and multiple GI issues, no one wants to touch you. I had a friend who had her gallbladder removed and a band issue and the GI wouldn't touch her because of "scar tissue".

Thank you for sharing this. IF i have nutrition problems I hope they are being caught early enoigh. I went to my PCP who ordered more detailed tests than the surgeon did. My surgeon is very much on board to support me but right now they think my issues are emotional and I guess I do too...but doesn't rule out imbalances.

Forget the IF. When it comes to health I am proactive. Do you have a teaching school nearby?

Yes, that bogged me when the surgeon said we just do what is general for our patients. This is the same doctor who said they'd take care of nutrition. So my other docs are going - why isn't he taking care of this, it is nutrition related? Any way ...

No I'm sorry, rule out the physical before emotional. I've heard that as a cop out for WAY too long.

Btw support means DOING something or active monitoring, not just "oh yeah let someone else take care of it". I've had that too ... and that is NOT support.