carolina girl

Well said cmd1109- Congrats on making the choice to become the best you ever!!! Definately an inspiration to so many! You are beautiful!

I know there are many of you who wonder "is this the right thing for me?" Some of you are a little scared (as I was), some of you wonder "will this work for me?" or "can I do this?". I'm here to tell you, don't be scared...it will work (if you follow the rules!!!) and YES, you can do this!!! The sleeve has been a wonderful tool. Without it I know I would have never lost the weight and I would probably be heavier than I was back then. I know I would be in worse health, more depressed and still hiding at home instead of enjoying my life. I may be one of the "lucky ones" who really hasn't had any problems, I don't get hungry, and I have only continued to improve my quality of life. I still sometimes wonder..."When will this be over... like so many times before when I have lost weight and gained it back", when I find myself thinking this I immediately remind myself that NEVER again, thanks to my sleeve, will I go back to that dark place!!! I have attached my before and after pictures, looking at before and afters always helped me when I was trying to decide "to sleeve or not to sleeve".

janerose...I'm glad my post happened to be what you needed!!! Believe me ... I have been there and this board can be a great source of support. Just keep on keepin' on!! Txtech01- I made goal at about 71/2 or 8 months out. My own personal goal was 140 lbs. - Lost down to 130 but my body decided it wanted to level out at about 135, so I guess my body and mind had to meet in the middle! It's hard to go strictly by the numbers when trying to figure out what size you will be...@ 135, I am most comfortable at a size six, but I think if I had the tummy tuck, which would take another 5-7 lbs off, I would consistantly wear a 4. I never thought I would wear either!!! Keep the faith in your sleeve and treat it right...It will take you where you want to be! God Bless.

What a story...from 375 to 166!!! That is incredible and I bet you feel incredible!! You certainly look it! You bring tears to my eyes. Please don't let this offend you, but when I look at your before pic, I see a smile that is trying to hide a lot of pain and embarrassment...But when I look at the after...it's like looking at a little child who has just has just been presented with a first place ribbon!! So proud and so much to look forward to! God Bless and I hope the plastic's fairy finds her way to you and grants all your plastic wishes,lol!!

Everything you have described sounds totally normal. Sometimes it's just hard to believe that it's really that easy. Like others here posted- when you get to solids you will feel the difference. Quit listening to that nasty little voice that tells us "you're gonna fail again" . Change your "self talk" to ONLY positive...and follow the advice of the professionals treating you as well as the advice from those of us who have been there. Find sometime everyday to dwell, meditate, pray...whatever you want to call it...on only positive thoughts. Start believing in yourself and the sleeve, you can succeed and you will. You've already made the commitment and believed that this would work or you wouldn't have gone through with the surgery. Take one day at a time. Hang in there and I bet in a few months you'll be posting about how much you love your sleeve!

Thanks everyone for all your sweet comments...and mattr2, it's been a long time since someone told me I was "smokin' hot" , lol so thanks for that one! Words of encouragement go a long way. NtvTxn- thank you for your update too...hearing from folks that are more than 2 years out is rare but soooo important to me. I love to hear stories like yours..I want to be able to say the same thing in another year! Lexan ... you asked about loose skin. I do not have much loose skin, some, but not enough to justify spending the cash that it would take to tighten it up through surgery. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to be asked to do any swimsuit modeling anytime soon, but I am 42 so hey- I'm good with the little bit of loose skin I have. I have had three children, so the one thing I would really like to have is a tummy tuck. That damage was done by pregnancy more than anything. I think that there are a lot of factors when it comes to the skin issue. Genetics, age, how long you were at your heaviest, and exercise after surgery all play a part. I did have loose skin at the top of the back of my arms - especially noticeable when I would hold my arms up, but I have seen a huge improvement in that area since I started lifting weights a year or so ago. I do wear sleeveless tops, tank tops etc. and do not feel self conscious. (I will post some pictures soon) I also have lost a cup size in my breasts and believe me, they could use a pick me up, but I see plenty of women in the gym my age and I can honestly say, some their "twins" look worse than mine and they haven't had VSG!! My best advice is don't worry about skin now...enjoy the smaller sizes and watching the scale go down knowing that you are improving and adding years to your life. That being said, I do believe in weight training- it is critical for women especially over 40. Think of your muscle as the clay that shapes your physique. The skin that lays over that muscle is going to take the shape of whatever is under it. If you don't have muscle to support the skin you probably won't look so good out of your clothes. If that is not a big deal to you, that's fine too. But remember that building muscle (not talking about the magazine body builder type of muscles here) supports your skeleton, prevents osteoporosis, and best of all- muscle eats fat all day long so it continues to help you maintain your weight just by being! You also asked about hair loss and pain...Pain, I had none. Seriously..NONE. I did what everyone says to do...I walked and walked all over the hospital as soon as my anesthesia wore off and the nurse said I could walk. I never had gas pain at all. I never had pain from incision. Hair loss- I did lose some hair, well quite a bit of it, but it has almost all grown back in. Luckily I had very thick hair and it wasn't very noticeable. Start taking Biotin now, before your surgery, it will help you get a head start on the hair loss or if you don't lose much hair it will make it thicker and healthier than ever. My sister-in-law was sleeved six months after me so she learned from my experience and started taking biotin before surgery. She was especially concerned as she has very fine thin hair. She did lose hair, but she already had new growth by the time it happened. Most importantly- get enough protein!!! Not having enough can contribute to hair loss- my doc recommends 90 to 100 gms a day. I wish you all nothing but success with this journey..and I look forward to reading your updates too! We are very lucky to have this place to share our stories and get support and reassurance when we need it.

Sleevers are only at risk in the first few weeks. Once the incision has healed in the sleeve there is no risk of a leak. Basically, it's like any other incision make to your body, once the cut heals back together there's no risk of it opening back up.

Thanks Annie B..you're sweet! amytug..sorry I forgot my tickler has been removed and I never put a new one up. I was 220 lbs(probably heavier at times)..now 133 to 137..I teeter back a forth! I wore a size 18, but it was tight... probably needed a 20 but wouldn't buy it. I now wear a 4 or 6 depending on what it is. I was taking 3 pills for blood pressure, ambien to sleep, lipitor, wellbutrin, prevacid and tums all day long! Now I take nothing except for my vitamins of course! Before I couldn't put my shoes on without being out of breath, now I can run a 5k in about 27 mins! Life is good

If you don't care for anything that has that "milkshake" type flavor (your typical chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla stuff all tastes like that) try Nectar protein. My favorite is the Pink Grapefruit, I mix it with pink lemonade sugar free drink mix (i use the great value brand from Wal-Mart) and it's very refreshing. I also use the roadside lemonade, green apple and crystal sky flavors by the same company. I always mix them with some kind of sugar free drink mix to boost the flavor. You can find Nectar online at amazon.com or the vitamin shoppe. If you have a Vitamin Shoppe in your area, they will let you exchange for another flavor if you buy something that you don't like, no questions asked. I have done it several times and they have always been happy to let me exchange. I agree with Lisa, what you like now may not be what you like later. I don't know why, but your tastebuds do change after this surgery. I also cannot stomach isopure A.K.A. "isopuke"! @ Stacy Nicole, congrats on your surgery date! The unflavored protein takes on the flavor of what ever you mix it with, but beware it does change the texture enough that it may not taste anything like what you started out with. It works well as an add in to sugar free pudding and other mushie foods for the mushies phase. That was the only time I really used it though. As far as any of the protein drinks making you feel full- before surgery I wouldn't count on it- after surgery I can only speak for my self- it definately satisfies you. I am one of these people who hasn't felt hunger at all since my surgery and I am seven months out. Best of luck to you all!!!

Pizza is sooo not your friend for many reasons. Just say NO to that devil food!! lol

I wish I had been brave enough to take pictures of my self with skin exposed in it's worst condition- I should probably take some now and compare in another three months. If I see a marked improvement I might even share them! nOw that is ScARy for SUrE.... but I'll think about it!

LoserMama,there are no stupid questions here! Pretty much the working out builds muscle and tone, this, in turn, helps support your outer layer- your skin. You won't really "tighten" the skin from working out so much as you will help "fill it out some". Unfortunatley, once we have done the damage and stretched our skin out there isn't much we can do to repair that. I have read several times that Vitamin E, Selenium, Niacin, and Omega 3 fatty acids all help with the skins elasticity. I'm sure there are others, this is just a list shared with me by my support group gals. Hope that helps. My theory is- if I'm in great shape from working out, maybe people won't focus on my loose skin so much!