Hi all, I joined this forum in 2011 anticipating surgery, but my employer's insurance would not approve, but then I came down with leukemia and that totally shot it out of the Water. But I am back and hope it will be happening before the end of the year, with Medicare since I had to stop working.

I am looking for anyone who has been sleeved or going to be for support and encouragement.

I hope some will pick this group to communicate with others.

@@LisaGB, did anyone at the restaurant tell you that you could not share ? My niece (lapband) travels 80 percent of the time. She would ask them to make 1/3 size portions and they would charge about 5.00 for her meal. I believe she told them about her weight loss. She could not take leftovers due to the travel.

That's a good idea! I know sometimes they charge a 'plate fee' at higher end restaurants. Thanks for the tip LainieG!

I'm so excited, my surgery is scheduled for February 26th. Now that I have my date, the pre-op diet is not bothering me as much. I wish I could say I following it 100%, but I'm not. I am very aware of keeping up my protein, water and lowering fat and carbs.

Yay for you !!! @@FinallyFit50s

Edited February 16, 201511 yr by SimplySue

I have a question for those of you that have lost a fair amount of weight. Do any of you still see yourself as fat? I have lost 55lbs and people tell me every day how good I look, but when I look in the mirror I still see the obese me. I guess part of the problem is the only time in my adult life I weighed this little I was in my 30's and a much smaller size than the same weight in my 50's. Intellectually I know my weight loss is great but thinking it and feeling it are different. I guess I'm wondering if it is just me or do others have the same issue

I am a couple of weeks from being 1 year post-op. I have lost 115 pounds with 10 more to go. At this stage, I still have feelings of being overweight and am sometimes surprised by what I see in the mirror and pictures. I don't see a person that is overweight per se but not a thin person either. I weigh 135 and am 5'4".

My understanding of this problem is two-fold. One is that our brains are wired to feel fat as we have always been fat. I am a physical therapist and when I teach someone how to correct their posture, it doesn't feel right to them until some time has passed where they have been able integrate that feeling. The other issue is psychological (I'm also a social worker) and seems to be ingrained in some people are obese. We may have gained weight because we didn't like or love ourselves; perhaps that is the issue we need to tackle in order to feel this again...

@@traveler60, first of all congrats on making it so close to your goal, in such a short time. You are rockin that sleeve!

Now to answer your question, Honestly, I don't have that issue. To the contrary, I sometimes FEEL smaller than I really am! Lol. For example, I currently wear a size 14 but Carson's dept store had a great clearance rack and I bought 5 pants in a size 12 . I thought for sure I could fit them, ummm needless to say I can't....yet. They were between $8-$12 each so I'm ready whenever I get there,

I didn't feel that way until about 3years out....now (at 3.5 years out) I feel very fat even though I am within a few lbs of my goal weight. I don't know if it's shifted, or because I have more saggy skin, or what. But I definitely felt small the first couple of years and now I don't. Our minds keep messing with us all the time! Traveler60, our stats are almost identical....starting weight about the same, height, same, I was also sleeved in Oct. and now I am 141...and have been there forever....cannot seem to get back into the 130's.

Hello to all, I was very happy to find this thread. I am 51 and struggled with obesity since childhood. I have pondered surgery a few times but always told myself just to try harder at weight loss. The outcome is that I have lost significant amounts of weight several times but have never kept it off successfully. I have decided to pursue a gastric sleeve. I have an appt with surgeon on Monday. Have been doing lots of reading and developing a set of questions for the surgeon. The down side is it will be self pay, insurance does not cover weight loss surgery but I know in the long run it will be worth every penny. It has helped a lot to read the postings here that are from people in my own age bracket, thank you all for sharing!!

Welcome pansy63! Good for you for considering this and for coming here and joining this group...I was sleeved at 58 and have never looked back! (I am 61 now but the people in this group are so nice and so supportive they let me stay). The great news about being self pay is that you don't have to jump through all the hoops that those with insurance have to do; and that sometimes takes a year! I decided to have the surgery (without thinking about it at all!) the first week of October and the last week of October, I had it done! It was perfect. Good luck and welcome to the group!

Welcome @@pansy63 & wishing you well with your surgery

@@traveler60 my perceptions are warped both ways! I never felt that I was as big as I was unless I looked really closely (which I avoided) or in photos (avoided them too). But now that I've lost 75lbs, I can't see that either. I still pick out larger clothes- be it pants, tops & bras. Then I look at a size 18 or 16 & I think that's way too small!!! But the reality is the 16s pull up all the way & even zip, but not button (my waist is the last to loose) & the 18s are getting big

Thanks for the welcome:). I hope that wait will not be too long...of course now that I made a decision I am impatient. I had a question about recovery time..I read of younger people returning to work within a week....I am thinking about taking off four weeks to give myself time to heal and get used to changes..since I have an abundance of sick leave stashed up my work is okay with this...what experience have others had?

Also had question, how do you respond to specific posts or people..I am computer challenged:) and don't have a child handy to show me how...lol

Edited March 6, 201511 yr by pansy63

Welcome @@pansy63! I started this process last July and will finally have surgery on March 25th so self pay can go a lot faster. Keep us posted!