Thirty-year-old sleevers

[Nokomis 7]

Hello everyone! Just wanted to know if there’s any 30-somethings out there who have had the vsg surgery on here:) If so, how was your surgical experience? How did you do in terms of excess skin? How has it effected your social lives? I’m scheduled for surgery in June and just wanna get an idea of what post-op life is like through my age group’s perspective:)

[Puffy-no-more 141]

Hey. I’m 33. I didn’t have the sleeve but had the bypass and can give you what I know so far from it. I had surgery on 2/19/20. They went in and found some kind of rare hernia that they said could be very fatal if it had not been found so they had to do a lot work to that area. My doctor said that my recovery would be a little worse than normal because of it. I don’t take to anesthesia very well. As soon as I woke up, I was definitely in pain and let them know. I guess they fixed it cause I passed back out right away. This happened pretty much the rest of that first day of surgery. I would wake up in pain, they would give me more meds in my IV, and I would go right back out. I didn’t get up to walk until the next day. I wasn’t able to do much at a time but I did what I could. I had to stay 3 nights in the hospital. I had a very hard time getting my liquids in and I still do to this day. Once I got home, I stopped taking pain meds and felt decent. I was definitely sore but it was very doable. I was not able to start eating soft foods until week 4. Until then, I was having a really hard time getting in my Protein and I felt really tired and week most of the day. By week 6, I was doing much better.

Today, I feel great! I’ve lost 55 pounds and I am feeling it! I can’t answer your questions on the loose skin as I’m not to that point yet but I honestly don’t care. I do plan on getting a Tummy Tuck done and maybe a couple other things once I get to where I need to be but I really think I would rather deal with the loose skin than being morbidly obese and at a BMI of 50!!! I’m able to play more with my children and actually keep up with them! My husband and I are able to do “more” if you can get my meaning. Life is just so much better and I still have a significant amount of weight to lose!

Good luck with your surgery.

[NovaLuna 709]

16 hours ago, Nokomis said:

Hello everyone! Just wanted to know if there’s any 30-somethings out there who have had the vsg surgery on here:) If so, how was your surgical experience? How did you do in terms of excess skin? How has it effected your social lives? I’m scheduled for surgery in June and just wanna get an idea of what post-op life is like through my age group’s perspective:)

I'm 32. I had the Loop DS 3 months ago, but it involves a sleeved stomach as part of the surgery, if that counts... I have a LOT of excess skin, but that's bound to happen when you lose over a hundred pounds, but I'd take it over being as heavy as I was any day of the week! And... what social life lol California is essentially shut down with really only the grocery stores, hospitals, and a few 'essential' businesses open so... I stay at home. I'm an introvert so it honesty isn't that different from my norm anyway... As to post op life, the first week or two is hard and then (for me) it was smooth sailing until two weeks ago when I hit the most ANNOYING stall EVER! I'm so annoyed about it because my weight isn't moving at all and I want to throw my scale so bad! I know it's normal to have stalls and that they can last for weeks, but it's really discouraging and I can't wait for it to be over already! -_-" So yeah, stalls happen. And they suck!

[Tonya VSG Post-op 11]

Hi I'm 61 y/o and a colleague of mine had vsg a couple of yrs ago she is 50 something. She has mentor me thru this process. I can say her experience, which motivates me is remembering when post-op commence is EXERCISE and keep to your Protein, and low carb intake. Yes there's loose skin, especially if you had it before you began to lose weight, but as you build muscle overtime, you can reduce it to a minimal degree. The amount of loose skin is dependent upon, as you may know, the amount of skin elasticity remaining. So for me, I expect to have an amount I may have to dress up (LOL). My colleague is a "beast" when it comes to exercise and she looks amazing, also her diet is vegan base. However, as have been commented, you are going to be so happy with your weight reduction, and when you stall be glad because you can use that to build muscle, and reduce fat. to get ahead of the loose skin, possibly If you loose fat quickly, you will gain loose skin quickly. Thirty something! Girl you're a babe. You are going to look magnificent.

[Nokomis 7]

On 05/02/2020 at 20:53, Puffy-no-more said:

Hey. I’m 33. I didn’t have the sleeve but had the bypass and can give you what I know so far from it. I had surgery on 2/19/20. They went in and found some kind of rare hernia that they said could be very fatal if it had not been found so they had to do a lot work to that area. My doctor said that my recovery would be a little worse than normal because of it. I don’t take to anesthesia very well. As soon as I woke up, I was definitely in pain and let them know. I guess they fixed it cause I passed back out right away. This happened pretty much the rest of that first day of surgery. I would wake up in pain, they would give me more meds in my IV, and I would go right back out. I didn’t get up to walk until the next day. I wasn’t able to do much at a time but I did what I could. I had to stay 3 nights in the hospital. I had a very hard time getting my liquids in and I still do to this day. Once I got home, I stopped taking pain meds and felt decent. I was definitely sore but it was very doable. I was not able to start eating soft foods until week 4. Until then, I was having a really hard time getting in my Protein and I felt really tired and week most of the day. By week 6, I was doing much better.

Today, I feel great! I’ve lost 55 pounds and I am feeling it! I can’t answer your questions on the loose skin as I’m not to that point yet but I honestly don’t care. I do plan on getting a Tummy Tuck done and maybe a couple other things once I get to where I need to be but I really think I would rather deal with the loose skin than being morbidly obese and at a BMI of 50!!! I’m able to play more with my children and actually keep up with them! My husband and I are able to do “more” if you can get my meaning. Life is just so much better and I still have a significant amount of weight to lose!

Good luck with your surgery.

That’s amazing!! You sound like you’re really doing well post-op:) That gives me hope that post-op life will be better! I decided to do the surgery more for health reasons, as I have pcos, was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea, and diabetes runs on my moms side of the family. Once my A1C got to 7 I decided to do the surgery because I wanted to nip the diabetes in bud once I was diagnosed and before I had to take meds and insulin. As sgy approaches I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about how I’ll look after. But then again being obese has definitely not been fun! Hopefully this will be a bright new chapter of my life. Let the good times roll!

[Nokomis 7]

On 05/03/2020 at 04:36, NovaLuna said:

I'm 32. I had the Loop DS 3 months ago, but it involves a sleeved stomach as part of the surgery, if that counts... I have a LOT of excess skin, but that's bound to happen when you lose over a hundred pounds, but I'd take it over being as heavy as I was any day of the week! And... what social life lol California is essentially shut down with really only the grocery stores, hospitals, and a few 'essential' businesses open so... I stay at home. I'm an introvert so it honesty isn't that different from my norm anyway... As to post op life, the first week or two is hard and then (for me) it was smooth sailing until two weeks ago when I hit the most ANNOYING stall EVER! I'm so annoyed about it because my weight isn't moving at all and I want to throw my scale so bad! I know it's normal to have stalls and that they can last for weeks, but it's really discouraging and I can't wait for it to be over already! -_-" So yeah, stalls happen. And they suck!

I know! People have been warning me not to get discouraged with stalls. I mean I suppose the last 10 years have been on big ass stall lol! It helps to talk to people like you and know that this is a normal part of the journey. Besides, I suppose it’s better to have a slow steady constant loss then no loss at all:)

[Nokomis 7]

On 05/03/2020 at 07:56, Tonya VSG Post-op said:

Hi I'm 61 y/o and a colleague of mine had vsg a couple of yrs ago she is 50 something. She has mentor me thru this process. I can say her experience, which motivates me is remembering when post-op commence is EXERCISE and keep to your Protein, and low carb intake. Yes there's loose skin, especially if you had it before you began to lose weight, but as you build muscle overtime, you can reduce it to a minimal degree. The amount of loose skin is dependent upon, as you may know, the amount of skin elasticity remaining. So for me, I expect to have an amount I may have to dress up (LOL). My colleague is a "beast" when it comes to exercise and she looks amazing, also her diet is vegan base. However, as have been commented, you are going to be so happy with your weight reduction, and when you stall be glad because you can use that to build muscle, and reduce fat. to get ahead of the loose skin, possibly If you loose fat quickly, you will gain loose skin quickly. Thirty something! Girl you're a babe. You are going to look magnificent.

Awww! Thanks so much for the encouraging words!! I’ll be sure to reach out and give you an update when I’m post-op:) I’ve been working out with a trainer for over a year, but that went on a hiatus due to corona virus. So in the mean time, I’ve been doing other things like doing resistance work outs at home and walking to work instead of driving. Adding joining this forum has been a great tool to keep motivated, get info and vent when I’m feeling blah lol. I mean my friends and family who know have been supportive, but it’s nice to talk to people who can understand exactly what I’m feeling. Thanks again!

[Ling82 21]

I’m 37 and was sleeved March 18, 20. So I’m still new to this but I will say the first 2-4 weeks after surgery were rough. Mentally and physically. I was liquids only for 2 weeks and barely sipping anything at a time and it felt like every drop was getting stuck at the top of my stomach. That was from inflammation and eventually went away but it was painful and annoying. Then I was purée for 2 weeks. At that point I was super sick of liquids and purée and wanted to eat. I still wasn’t hungry but smelling food and seeing food was very hard for me mentally. Once I was on soft foods, things got better for me physically and mentally but not my weight. I have been basically stalled since I started soft foods. I’m down about 24 pounds overall but zero in the past 3-4 weeks. I know I’m not getting enough Protein but I also know there is no way I’m eating enough to cause a stall so my body is just rebelling. I eat about 500 calories a day. I can only fit about 1/3 cup of food at a time and I eat 2 or 3 times a day. I’m super active. I speed walk 4 miles 5-6 days a week and I’ve added in some HIIT workouts as well. I am much thinner now than I was but the scale is not budging. I have a follow up with my doctor today and I’m pretty sure I haven’t lost anything since my last follow up so he will not be happy. I know the weight will have to drop at some point but....it’s getting old not seeing the progress I want to see. I’m sure the surgery will be worth it eventually. You have to be prepared for the mental ups and downs you’re sure to have. They seem to come in waves over different things.

[New&Improved 1,780]

35 male but with bypass.

Surgery was quick.

But recovery for me was a little bit harder than some was in excruciating pain for the first 24hrs but had some good drugs given by IV... But I'm a sook haha.

I was in bed for the first 2 days.. the time went quick though.. belly was tight swollen for a while though.. had 5 holes in your belly..

8 months since start of my journey 6.5 months since surgery and I'm below goal and my skin isn't that much of an issue I'm not sure why I got lucky might be the amount of Water I drink everyday....

Don't really have much of a social life still in recovery mode in my head but my new look and body has definitely helped my social anxiety issues..

People in general treat you better when you're "skinny"

[KristinH 2]

I’m 35 and 6 months post op. I’m down 67 lbs and have 25lbs to go. My legs and stomach don’t look as bad as I thought they would. Of course being a girl I wanted to be able to wear short shorts this summer but I don’t feel like my legs look good to do so but I’ve gone down from a size 22 a size 12 and I love the way I look I’m not embarrassed to go out anymore it’s amazing

[alissajs 230]

I'm 32 and had the sleeve 1/7/20. Down 77 pounds. My first two days were very difficult, but mainly in the sense that I could not get my Water down, and I was so nauseous that I was even throwing up my anti-nausea meds.

I had a few hiccups, including 5 weeks post op, landing back in the hospital for dehydration but that had nothing to do with the surgery (although I am sure it was exacerbated by my recovery), and everything to do with the stomach bug my family was passing around. I got a couple bags of Fluid, and was let go the same day.

So far I really don't have too much excess skin, but it is early. Ideally I would like to lose another 50-60 pounds. Not sure how my skin will be then.

Socially, my situation is probably a bit different than most. I work at a hospital, and my best friends all work with me. They knew about the surgery and have been 100% supportive since day one. They are used to patients of all kinds, so my being a bariatric patient was no big deal. They do razz me occasionally about how little I eat before I get full...but it is kind of comical at times, and its all in good humor.

This was by FAR the best choice I have ever made. No regrets at all, never have had any.

[New&Improved 1,780]

My lowest weight yet started at 322 only 8 months 3 weeks ago

[New&Improved 1,780]

Ordered new fancy scales see what they say but I've been using this one scale for a year now

[Azlanie 51]

I was sleeved when I was 34, now 35. I'm still within my first year and learning something new about myself and my pouch every day. I did not have any issues with recovery outside of the normal pain and swelling the first few days post op. I even surprised my boyfriend's primary care doctor when I accompanied him to an appointment less than a week later!

I have sagging and loose skin in the usual problem areas: upper arms, stomach, back and upper thighs. I have found that being sure to get in my fluids and moisturizing has been critical in reducing itch and how dry the extra skin folds are becoming. If I miss fluids by 8 or more ounces a few days in a row I FEEL it!

I'm a shut in socially (even before Coronavirus) but I have found myself looking forward to social outings more when I have the opportunity. My clothes fit better (and are much smaller than they were before). I have more energy. I just feel "better" than I have in a long time. My coworkers have been extremely supportive, as have the few friends and family that I associate with on a regular basis.

My advice would be to really take advantage of any nutritionist appointments you can get through your physician's office and insurance. I feel like I wasted some of my early time in navigating what I could and could not eat and my loss has been slower than anticipated. I know this is directly correlated to some of my not so balanced choices. It really sucks questioning how much of each nutrient you should get in a day after a certain stage. Get active when you can - I have been doing low impact walking and resistance training since 2 months out when I was given the go ahead to really move around more and I feel like it has done me *so much* good.

This has given me so many more opportunities for the future and I am SO happy I did it!

[Tribecca26 4]

On 5/15/2020 at 12:49 PM, alissajs said:

I'm 32 and had the sleeve 1/7/20. Down 77 pounds. My first two days were very difficult, but mainly in the sense that I could not get my Water down, and I was so nauseous that I was even throwing up my anti-nausea meds.

I had a few hiccups, including 5 weeks post op, landing back in the hospital for dehydration but that had nothing to do with the surgery (although I am sure it was exacerbated by my recovery), and everything to do with the stomach bug my family was passing around. I got a couple bags of Fluid, and was let go the same day.

So far I really don't have too much excess skin, but it is early. Ideally I would like to lose another 50-60 pounds. Not sure how my skin will be then.

Socially, my situation is probably a bit different than most. I work at a hospital, and my best friends all work with me. They knew about the surgery and have been 100% supportive since day one. They are used to patients of all kinds, so my being a bariatric patient was no big deal. They do razz me occasionally about how little I eat before I get full...but it is kind of comical at times, and its all in good humor.

This was by FAR the best choice I have ever made. No regrets at all, never have had any.

Hey, this is very inspirational! Congrats on the weight loss! I am 31 y/o female currently around 255lbs, I had a lap band procedure back in 2015 but it has given me nothing but anxiety and issues over the years, as well as about a 50lb weight loss. I'm thinking of having my band reverted to a sleeve in order to lose more weight and try and get rid of my medical problems which actually make it very hard for me to lose weight on my own. But of course, there are things about the sleeve that worry me. To start with they permanently cut out most of your stomach! I can't put my finger on what exactly worries me the most, but the healing process post-op and quality of life after...I know losing weight will be a much healthier better quality of life, but will I be able to ever enjoy food again? I'm still young and want to be able to enjoy going out with friends, how has that all been for you? Most of my friends do know I have had a bariatric procedure already, so no big surprise, I think it mostly around meeting new people, and not eating normally gives me a little anxiety. Have you had any medical problems related to your sleeve like regurg, vomitting, acid reflux? Thanks so much for sharing your wisdom! -Becca