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.

Just an update...saw the surgeon today. My insurance requires 6 months of supervised weight loss. Once I have my final weigh-in in August, they'll submit to insurance. Will probably schedule for sometime in September or October.

@@blanch2daizzo most of us carry/carried a large % of our excess weight in our bellies. You have lost weight there, it's just not as noticeable. Your face, arms, chest, these areas you will probably notice loss first. But trust me, the belly is going too, it's just there is sooooo much more there than elsewhere. Keep up the good work!

@@Ignatius congrats on the next piece of the puzzle. HOT TIP. Use the 6 months to get everything crossed off your "Hoops I Need To Jump Through" list. Otherwise the insurance can deny you until all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed. I learned the hard way.

@@blanch2daizzo most of us carry/carried a large % of our excess weight in our bellies. You have lost weight there, it's just not as noticeable. Your face, arms, chest, these areas you will probably notice loss first. But trust me, the belly is going too, it's just there is sooooo much more there than elsewhere. Keep up the good work!

@@Ignatius congrats on the next piece of the puzzle. HOT TIP. Use the 6 months to get everything crossed off your "Hoops I Need To Jump Through" list. Otherwise the insurance can deny you until all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed. I learned the hard way.

David is right -- it will go away...I just bought my first flat front instead of pleated wool slacks, ever.... and they look great.

I just hit the 100lb loss milestone today. I'm very excited to be at this point less than 4 months after my surgery. I need to keep it going.

Congrats to all of you on the success. Seeing the weight loss on all of us big boys is encouraging.

Aggietop

@"DavidOso" Thank you just see the numbers go do and not the belly gets discouraging. I'm just gonna stay positive and get to my goal weight!!

@@aggietop Congrats! That first hundred is a HUGE MILESTONE. Keep up the good work.

@@aggietop Congratulations! 100lbs in less than 4 months is an excellent achievement. You should be really proud.

100 lbs. after 4 months is great! I hope to match that! Today I hit 50 lbs. since I started my pre-opt diet 6 weeks ago and 14 since surgery 10 days ago. Feeling better every day!

I'm new to the forums and this is actually my first post. I've only just begun my WLS journey: met nurse and dietician last week.

I'm 37 (will be 38 before surgery time), I'm 480 lbs and 6'-2". I've always been a big boy. Husky jeans in grade school, 250 lbs and 280 lbs in 9th and 12th grades, respectively. Looking back I wasn't very fat then although I'd always just felt awkward and big. So my goal is to get down to around 250-280 again. The textbooks say I should be like 180 but I don't want to be skin and bones. I've always been pretty muscular, naturally, so that's probably not feasible anyway.

I've decided on VSG based on the good reputation of the doctors and hospital I'm going thru. However if my surgeon thinks RNY is a better option, I'll consider it.

I haven't yet read all the posts in this thread but will later and will follow the thread as well. I look forward to hearing everyone's experiences and sharing mine as I go.

I have a question i started at 408 in February and today I'm 320. I don't notice much loss of fat in my belly. When did you all start to notice belly fat loss??

For me, I would say that I didn't start to notice actual belly/tummy loss until about 10 weeks post surgery. So for me my surgery was a few days before Christmas, and it wasn't until like late April before I notice the difference in actual stomach/tummy area. I lost a lot in my arms/legs, face, neck & ass before my tummy/waist started to shrink. And shrinking its still doing. I went from a 58 waist to a 38 waist now currently.

I have a question i started at 408 in February and today I'm 320. I don't notice much loss of fat in my belly. When did you all start to notice belly fat loss??

For me, I would say that I didn't start to notice actual belly/tummy loss until about 10 weeks post surgery. So for me my surgery was a few days before Christmas, and it wasn't until like late April before I notice the difference in actual stomach/tummy area. I lost a lot in my arms/legs, face, neck & ass before my tummy/waist started to shrink. And shrinking its still doing. I went from a 58 waist to a 38 waist now currently.

Thank you so much I'm just getting to the 10 week mark now. So that's is encouraging that hopefully I start seeing those results soon!

No longer a member of this club. Had a little extra time this week so I upped my exercise from 60 minutes a day to 90 minutes. Lost over 8 pounds this week. My goal was to be under 400 in time for surgery. I haven't even started the liquid diet yet and my surgery is still a month away and I'm under by the slimmest of margins.

I have a question i started at 408 in February and today I'm 320. I don't notice much loss of fat in my belly. When did you all start to notice belly fat loss??

For me, I would say that I didn't start to notice actual belly/tummy loss until about 10 weeks post surgery. So for me my surgery was a few days before Christmas, and it wasn't until like late April before I notice the difference in actual stomach/tummy area. I lost a lot in my arms/legs, face, neck & ass before my tummy/waist started to shrink. And shrinking its still doing. I went from a 58 waist to a 38 waist now currently.

Thank you so much I'm just getting to the 10 week mark now. So that's is encouraging that hopefully I start seeing those results soon!

Just remain focus, follow your surgeon's plan for success and you'll get there.

@@sgc Great job breaking into the 3xx's on your own! Im looking forward to dropping my first 30# so I can start using my bathroom scales again (they go up to 450)

@@jhig Welcome and best of luck. We're about the same weight, though you have 4 inches on me. I will likely be sleeved in Sept. Even though that's still a ways out, it's starting to feel "real" as I met with my surgeon last week. (My program requires a few months of work and various appointments before actually meeting the surgeon.)