Hi,

I'm new to the forums and in the starting stages of obtaining a VSG. Just looking to see if there are any other men who were above 400 (or even close to 500) pounds before starting this journey and how life after surgery has been. Did you suffer any complications from surgery due to your size? Did your doctor make you do anything extra or warn you of any possible issues? Did you lose more rapidly than average patients? Did you lose any motivation when you had lost enough weight to lead a fairly "normal" life, even though you might still have a good amount of excess weight?

A little background...I'm 31, 5'10", and honestly can't bear how difficult my weight has made my life. Just this weekend my wife went alone to her sister's engagement dinner at a restaurant due to my fear the chairs wouldn't be supportive enough. (I typically avoid restaurant situations unless there's a booth with a table I can adjust, ideally half booth/half chairs.) I've avoided flying for a couple years, will only attend theatre or sporting events where I can be guaranteed an aisle seat, etc. It seems like in the last 60 or so pounds many social situations involving sitting have escalated from very uncomfortable to more or less unbearable. Healthwise, I have hypertension and am very likely will be diagnosed with sleep apnea once the results of my sleep study last week come in.

Look forward to hearing from any of you have started in similar situations.

Exactly. I'll tell you, right now at a year out the scale is weird... my weight will fluctuate all over the place during the week, yet is still on a slight downward trajectory. So if you look at the past 8 weeks, I've averaged 1-2 lbs lost per week, but some days I'll step on the scale and be up 2 lbs from the day before. Anyhow, all my rambling is getting at is don't put much stock into the scale... step on it whenever and just learn to take it with a grain of salt. Buying smaller clothes... having more energy... those are the changes to Celebrate.

Yeah, looks like we are on very similar trajectories then! I'm definitely going to avoid the scale, I'm probably only going to weigh at the doctor's office, but we'll see. The way I see it, my clothes tell me all I really need to know.

From 597lbs to 251lbs. Yeah this surgery can work for you as long as you allow it to.

Sleeved this morning @462.2 lb. I lost 25.4 lb. during my two-week pre-op diet. Operation went very well with no complications. Doctor found and fixed a small hernia, which I consider a win since I won't need a separate surgery...or experience the pain.

I've been in my room since 2:30 this afternoon and am pleasantly surprised with how well the pain is being controlled. Off for my second walk. Thank you all for your incredible support and insight in this thread. It's been a Godsend.

Edited November 1, 20169 yr by Ignatius

@@Ignatius Welcome to the club man! Follow your surgeon's instructions, put a high priority on getting your Protein needs met and you are probably going to be feeling great a week from now, your body will heal faster and better. Also walking daily, as much as you can tolerate.

You're going to go through some psychological stuff, as your old brain fights the situation...but you'll know it when you feel it, and you will see it really clearly for what it is. This surgery changes the entire game. Since the morning of surgery, I've been averaging 5lbs lost per week. That means my average daily calorie deficit is in the neighborhood of 2,500. My Mom saw me over the weekend and was amazed at how much I've lost since she spent the first week helping me recover, but when she watched me eat, she said, "I can't believe you're still able to walk around and function, on so little calories!" lol

Just hit 5 weeks post op. Doing pretty well, down just over 30 since surgery. BMI just nudged under 40. Im happy with the weight loss, the psychological part is hard. Haven't felt like doing much of anything. Just work, exercise, go home until bedtime and sleep. Im hoping its just a hormone dumping issue. Anyone else have these problems?

The hormonal stuff hit me pretty hard for about the first 8 weeks or so post-op. Same thing, didn't really feel like doing much and I was randomly moody for no real reason (which is pretty atypical for me). After that, it lifted and I went back to my old self, but with more energy.

If it continues to bother you, be sure to mention it to your doctor during follow-up. My sense is that the hormonal dumping effects can be really common.

The hormonal stuff hit me pretty hard for about the first 8 weeks or so post-op. Same thing, didn't really feel like doing much and I was randomly moody for no real reason (which is pretty atypical for me). After that, it lifted and I went back to my old self, but with more energy.

If it continues to bother you, be sure to mention it to your doctor during follow-up. My sense is that the hormonal dumping effects can be really common.

My surgery is 11-8. I only have to do 2 days liquid before so that's a plus. It's getting real now, I've made it this far and looking forward to start my new life.

SW 409

CW 383

From 597lbs to 251lbs. Yeah this surgery can work for you as long as you allow it to.

IMG_20161023_150553.jpg

Congratulations!! You look wonderful and I'm sure you feel the same.

I had my 9 month anniversary on Friday. I've lost 164 lbs to date and hope to be in the 200's for the first time in 20 years by my one year anniversary. Feeling as good right now as I did 25 years ago. The weight loss has slowed now, but I'm still losing 10-12 lbs a month for the last three months.

Best of luck to all of you for the continued journey towards being healthy.

I love hearing the updates from all of you guys, it is very motivational.

Aggietop

Need advice, anything I can do to maximize weight loss? Seem to be all over, one week 5 pounds down, another week 1, another week 3, then 1, then down 6.

Any tips to stabilize it? Just curious.

@PorkChopExpress

I'm now a week in, and down 7.2 lb since the operation. I've had a surprisingly easy time getting in about 70-90 oz. of fluids daily, and I'm averaging about 85 grams of Protein a day (sometimes a little more). Although I do experience quite a bit of belching during and around mealtimes, even though I think I'm eating slowly and taking small sips. Perhaps not as slowly as I need to.

I'm amazed I'm never, ever hungry. I'm sure I'll have mental cravings come up at some point, but, at present, eating seems like taking a shower or brushing your teeth--purely perfunctory. Being experienced in the kitchen has helped make the pureed phase more tolerable than some of my peers seem to find it. That said, I am looking forward to soft foods.

Will keep everyone posted from time to time.

@@SalOdyssey Not really, everyone's body loses fat at its own rate. What you care about mainly is the trend over time, and the average per week. Just track it over a period of a month or so, that's a better gauge of how you're doing. But the body doesn't go on a 7 day schedule like most of us weigh. You may drop two pounds the day after you weigh, as your fat cells had been holding onto Water that day and then expelled a bunch of their contents the next.

@@Ignatius Nice! I wouldn't sweat the scale for a few weeks post-op though, the healing process combined with other hormonal issues can cause water retention and so you may find that you don't lose as much as you THINK you should have, given the restriction...but it'll catch up. It's awesome not feeling hungry though, that has really been the key for enabling me to fight my mental demons, because I'm not battling that hunger and the compulsions it has traditionally caused in me. You will probably go through some "feels" about eating, your old habits, fighting against a desire to go back to some old behaviors...there WILL be some psychological hurdles. Probably not until you start eating "real" food again and are feeling more healed up, but I went through some stuff the first couple of weeks, as a kind of mourning period over my old relationship with food. I'm going into week 7 now and I feel real good though, it's been empowering.

But yeah, I also have to be mindful to even eat, and although I like what I eat, it's really a totally different thought process now. It's an awareness that I need to get my Protein in for the day, I need to get my dietary needs met...but there's not a big "entertainment" component there. I want it to taste good, but it's not being done for fun, or to soothe, or whatever. It's just to feed the body. That's a pretty major change.

Weighed in at 297 today so I'm finally under 300. I seemed to go through the 300's pretty fast. I was over 400 pounds as recently as June.

I am started to notice some loose skin even at nearly 300 pounds. I also still have a lot of bulging veins in my legs. Do these eventually go away?

@@sgc Congrats on entering the 200s. I'm interested to see the replies to your questions since I'll likely experience the same issues. When I got to my lowest weight of 240 (in 2008 at 24 yrs old) my veins did recede.