Hello....

My name is Alese...I live in sunny southeast Florida outside of Fort Lauderdale. I am actually 71 yo now and at my goal of 130 lbs.

I did go down to 125 lbs and was very happy there but my husband, family and friends thought I was too thin. I love hearing those words-"too thin". I do fluctuate between 130-135 lbs with a BMI in the "normal" range. Hallaluyah! I am also 5'4.5" but not always at that height. With osteoporosis I dropped from 5'7" to what I am now. Aging is the PITS!

I started out at 235 lbs before seeing my gastric surgeon, Dr. Michael Perez in Fort Lauderdale. At the time I was seriously considering WLS-I only knew of two procedures. The gastric by-pass and the band. I had a pancreas-kidney transplant 11 yrs before due to Kidney failure from Diabetes...I was on dialysis for alittle over one year and a half so I knew the gastric by-pass was not for me due to the absorption issue of my anti-rejection medications. I was resolved to have the lapband. I had my first appt. with my surgeon who introduced me to the 'sleeve' that it was the procedure for me. My insurance (Medicare) had not heard of the sleeve, at least in Florida so actually only had to wait a couple of months before the sleeve made its way down to FL and was approved within a week or so by Medicare.

On July 30, 2013, I had the surgery, no issues....then I found I couldn't get the large vitamins/minerals down, hardly was hungry and the biggest problem for me was the 'water' intake b/c as a transplant, water is vital.....I was dehydrated alot and had to have IV fluids sometimes for 7-10 days and would gain 10 lbs off the bat! YIKES! Frustrating....After about 7 months and showing great weight loss I was able to drink more water but still had bouts of dehydration but not as often....

I am 1.5 yrs post transplant and feel wonderful. My health issues that were damaged from the complications of diabetes are still with me, but I DO NOT have diabetes, am not on insulin nor dialysis, naturally from the txp. However, I do still have severe back pain that may have lessened (but not enough for me!) I am visually impaired and had to give up my career as a Realtor and cannot pass a driver's sight exam! So am dependent on my husband...

In Summary: The sleeve is the best procedure out there, for me! I would suggest it to anyone who is not certain which procedure to go through. The band has some side issues that were not good for my new organs as it could 'come loose', float around and worse. I used the website Obesity Help when I was questioning which procedure to use--the band people exploded with why I should not have that one..as mentioned above. I am happy for their advice and I know I did the right procedure.

I am new to this site and am happy I found you.

Take care and Be Well.

alese or alese-inFL

12/30/2014

Congrats on your progress and success!

Thank you Elode...

Now I have to figure out how to show my face!

alese

How is everyone? Any updates?

Hi Loopylulu...thank you for your response to my post. It has been so long that I have been away from this forum that I forgot what to do and couldn't figure out how to reply to you...Anyhow, DUH...I had to Log In....

Good question you have. I read in your bio that appears we had our sleeve around the same time but mine was in late July and our weight and BMI very similar....My final weight loss was to 126 lbs but for my age that was too skinny and I had too many wrinkles...my jean size was 6....now I have gained more weight than I wanted and just slipped out of my size 8 jeans to a size 10!! This must stop so I am happy I received your post bcz I need to jump start and get back on the bandwagon. I weigh now 144 lbs, though it is a good weight I prefer to be around 135 lbs. Not alot of weight to lose but if I continue this will be a real problem. I am 5'4" though I was 5'7"l...

Tell me about you??? How are YOU doing? AND, where in FL do you live?...I am in SE FL outside of Fort Lauderdale...

My best, alese

Hello! I live in Jacksonville, and travel lots to Perdido Key where my daughter lives. My husband and I were both sleeved. I reached 160 but went back to 180 so really struggling. Back at 170 but so darn hard. Back on shakes, and working hard!!!

Hi...it does appear to be harder now after 3 yrs of our success....I was told from the beginning when consulting for surgery, that we would be on a diet the rest of our lives but during the wt loss time, I felt if the stomach stays this small forever, I would be fine but NO, it must stretch abit...I have to drink fluids all the time (preferred water-64 oz) but am busy and don't finish the full 3L...when I drinking lots of fluids I urinate quite abit and feel that helps lose weight....plus it is important for my organ txp that I do follow those rules so am always working hard at that.

It is nice to know someone from FL. My one son lives in Orlando and my other son lives in Coral Spgs, FL with their families and grandsons! In fact, that was my first goal was to be thin when my gsons grew up to know me as thin....I accomplished that and must re-focus on that goal again along with being healthy....

Tell me what you are doing to lose wt.- what are you eating? ...I love the Premier Protein shakes and do drink one in the morning....How is your husband doing with his wt loss? Struggling with temptation as well or strong and behaving himself? Smiling...

alese

Alese, my husband does better than me, but he eats smoked salmon and things I do not like. He has lost 100 lbs. he is 69, I am 70. It has been wonderful and life changing. Thank goodness for Florida and fresh seafood. I was at 160 but a cruise and traveling sabotaged me lol. I am now back on protein shakes, ar 170 lbs. I am struggling to do better. I am swimming each day with short fins, and using weights.

I never cared for fresh salmon but do love smoked salmon....my husband bakes salmon all the time so I tried it and was pleasantly surprised. I, also, like canned salmon so the taste isn't that far off. My husband is the cook around here and since I don't like to cook, it is fine with me. My cooking is good, however.....he does make some foods that are not on my diet but smell so good! LOL....I am having a very difficult time with night grazing....I do use a float weight belt to keep me upward and walk in the deep end...this summer has been so rainy and stormy more than usual. A Tstorm just went thru here now...Oh My Goodness, you just had a hurricane go thru your area....did you fair well with that? Not terribly the worst cat. but still can do alot of damage especially your area was on the "dirty side" east side from the Gulf....

Maybe we should email one another but I do not know where to find the personals so that it would be private or we could go to the "Chat site"...would you like that? What do you think?

alese

My email is Lindaddav@gmail.com. Would love to be friends. We were in Boca Raton when the weather came through, my 28 year old only grandsons wedding. Storms do not bother us, lifelong Floridians. I would rather be here than anywhere! Tell me about you!