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Anyone here who had surgery in their 60's?



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Hi! I'm new to this forum. I'm 67 and am waiting for insurance authorization before I can schedule a surgery date. Are there any other people here who had their surgery while in their 60's? I have struggled with my weight for 44 years, and have joined WW countless times, tried OA, 6Atkins, South Beach and Noom. Like most of you I'd lose a little and gain back more. At my highest I was 291, and that was when my doctor recommended gastric sleeve surgery. I wish I had considered it earlier, but I thought it was the cheater's way to go. I know think it's my last hope.
If there are older folks, how did you do with surgery, do you have any regrets, and are things that you wish you had known before surgery? Thanks for any advice or encouragement you can give me.
Sent from my SM-T710 using BariatricPal mobile app

Very glad to see that I'm not the only person over 60 doing this! Surgery date 26th January ( I'm getting a little anxious!)
I will be 66 in march
I've always been overweight and a yoyo dieter all my adult life
Highest ever weight 142 kg
138 kg at my first wls consultation (a year ago!)
And 123 kg now
Years of neglecting my body are beginning to take their toll i need to take charge and take control and I'm hoping vsg is going to be the tool to help me.


Sent from my SM-N975F using BariatricPal mobile app

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Hi, My Situation is very similar to yours. In my early 30s, after I had my second child my weight began to soar. I tried every diet and yo-yo’ed for years until I was able to have VSG last summer at the age of 68. The surgery and recovery was easy and after almost 6 months out I’ve lost about 47 pounds. If I had been more diligent, my loss would’ve been greater..... but those old demons of snacking on chips and candy are still a reality, even after surgery. I had a lot of questions about having surgery as a senior but doctors and friends have shown me the fight is the same for all of us! I’m sure you will be very happy with your journey and progress to a whole new better you.

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61 here (will be 62 in March) and 280 lbs (266 day of surgery after two week pre-op diet). Came home yesterday (surgery was Wednesday the 20th) after gastric sleeve surgery. Sipping my gatorade zero and just finished some cream of wheat. So far so good.

same story as most of us, yo-yo diets, and ultimately depression and discouragement and a dawning realization of the crushing price to be paid if I didn't do something. No regrets.

Edited by clifhiker

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2 hours ago, WafflingWafa said:

Very glad to see that I'm not the only person over 60 doing this! Surgery date 26th January ( I'm getting a little anxious!)


I just had mine this past Wednesday ... I was terrified! And I'm a retired high school teacher (in other words I'm hard to scare haha). Sleepless nights the week before, no partner allowed in the hospital, waiting in that cold pre-op waiting room ... But the feeling of relief during the recovery in my hospital room was enormous.

It's not a trivial thing and it requires a lot of fortitude and determination ... which we all know a LOT about as that's what we've been told our whole damn life that we needed more of to succeed at controlling our weight (and which leads to our loss of self-esteem and depression which we use food to control yada yada yada).

Hang in there and message me if you like.

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I had my sleeve done on 12/16/2020. I will be 66 in April of this year....probably one of the best decisions I have ever made! Only wish I had done it sooner! No problems, no issues....never missed a beat! It's made me more conscious of what foods I purchase by reading labels and getting more exercise each day.

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I had my surgery on Nov. 2, 2020 at 67 years old. I also think it was the best decision I have made. When I started the process last May I weighed 291 lbs and every day I felt the burden of that weight, not only physically, but also mentally. How was I going to lose that weight? What would life be like if I decided to just give up and stay obese? It was at the back of my mind all of the time, although I just didn’t realize how much it was weighing on me until I had the surgery. Post op, I knew that if I followed the diet and stayed active, I could and would lose the weight and it was so liberating! I have stopped my type 2 diabetic meds, cut my antidepressant dose in half, and will stop my blood pressure medication soon. I wish I had known about the gastric sleeve earlier, but I’m glad I finally did it, knowing there is a healthier, happier life for me now.

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Hallelujah! I am 65 and getting my mind, body and soul to have surgery this summer!!! The best decision I ever made. Looking forward to a healthier life. Ready to make the commitment.

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A lot of people wait till they are in their 60’s because their insurance doesn’t cover it but Medicare does.

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I’m 62 right now but will be 63 by the time I have my surgery 6/1/21. I was put on my first diet when I was in 2nd grade. They actually put me on diet pills that made me sooooo shaky! Mom cut the pills in half but I was still shaky so cut them into quarters and that worked better but now, today looking back at that and knowing what I now know (I’m a nurse) I just want to ask them “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING????” Putting a 4th grader on dexies!!! OMG! After gaining back the 40 lbs id lost (plus some, of course) I was on Weight Watchers, Optifast, Medifast, cabbage Soup diet, Atkins, and on and on. This surgery is hopefully the tool I’ve been searching for! I’m excited by the support from others on this site and I hope to be able to offer support to there as well! We got this!!!

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I turned a blessed 69 yesterday! I had my VSG last August. My fears of being too old were unfounded. All of my numbers have improved and I'm thrilled. The hardest part has been eliminating my junk food snacking habit. It has been easier to control in the past few weeks. Dropping the crap has been the key to my success. How are you all doing it?

Edited by Rara

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My surgery is May 12th and I will be 63 in August. I can relate to the fat child, yo-yo dieting, multiple weight loss programs, etc, etc. I'm not sure why I waited this long; I only know that I woke up some months ago and decided to get off that treadmill. Right now, I'm 4 days into my pre-op diet and starting to feel really good. In fact, I can't say I'm missing food much at all (though I really miss coffee). I think it just took me until my 60s to finally realize I need a different tool than just will power.

I'm glad so many of you have had such unbelievable success and I hope you know it is really encouraging to those of us just starting this journey! I hope to be able to offer the same one day with my own successes.

Edited by pk88

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      1. Selina333

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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