wannabehealthy

Thanks for sharing. This is such a great post. It really brings to life that we each have an individual journey and knowledge can be gained from each person's experience. This forum is great. I know that each day will bring new discoveries and new experiences for you. It really is a new life. It's like being a baby again and having to re-learn all pre-conceived notions- right down to eating baby food sometimes! Each day will get a wee little bit better. Congrats on being on the loser side! :biggrin0:

Welcome Craig. I'm very new here and look forward to hearing about your progress. Congrats of having the surgery! Kathy

De-cluttering, yes! I gave away 3 trash bags and 2 boxes of clothes and other stuff to goodwill yesterday, it felt great! I had been saving my "smaller" sized clothing for ages and finally decided that when I reach my goal, I am going to have too much fun shopping! (Also they were so out of date :biggrin0:) It feels good to sort, organize, and get rid of stuff! Kathy

Those are great ones too Laura. It's like a "wish list" that is actually attainable through the help of the VSG! It gives me hope! So many things I want to do! Kathy:001_smile:

Congrats on your surgery Anna! Sounds like everything is going well so far. Be sure to not over-exert yourself! Kathy

Wow, what a nice thing to see the scale go down after the holidays! This morning my scale said I was up 4 POUNDS! Is that even possible? I started back up though, eating healthy foods this morning, so it should come off again quickly. It's hard being without any tools to help me. I was so used to being stopped from eating like I did yesterday. When I look around at the table, I am eating the exact same thing everyone else is, but it tends to stick to me like glue, I think! Congrats on actually losing weight the day after Christmas!! Good going! Kathy

Hi Oregondaisy-How has your weight loss been so far with the sleeve, as compared to the band? What you said is all I've really wanted from the beginning, is to eat normally, but just in much lesser amounts and without going hungry. That is what I thought the band would do for me. As I read more and get more input from people from this forum, I am getting more and more excited about the possibilities with the VSG! Hi Barbara278-Thanks for reading my story and lending support, I truly appreciate it! I can't wait to hear how your surgery goes and I wish you a speedy and easy recovery! Chandra- Thanks for your comments. I hope I get approved quickly, my doc thinks it won't be a problem, given my history and the fact that I am not a candidate for the bypass. My doc visit in mid-Jan cannot come faster! One thing I did not add to my story, is that my family does not know about my original banding or subsequent surgeries, so that has been difficult, given how many times I've had to go back in for more surgery. I did not tell them because they have been so judgmental since I first started gaining weight and also are they type who like to say "I told you so". They often comment on my weight- even yesterday at Christmas dinner, my sister told me "you look like you've lost a little weight", which I have lost around 10 lbs since Sept, but it does bug me that they keep "tabs" on how I look all the time. Luckily, most of them live in another state, so it's not a daily issue. They have also many times commented on what I'm eating, the quantity-especially when I had the band and would stop eating after the second bite got stuck-it's like they have a fascination about what a "fat" person eats and does that makes them this way. I'm pretty self conscious eating around them. Anyone have these types of problems? And what can you do about it? I adopt a "I don't care" policy about it, but still I notice these things. I think with family, they just know what buttons to push. Kathy

Hello, my name is Kathy and I'm new to this website, I'm very glad to have found it, as there seems to be not much info out there on the gastric sleeve procedure. Here's my story: I have been struggling with my weight for 20 years, ever since I had my first child. I was a normal weight child and teen (in fact I was underweight as a child and heavily encouraged to eat, eat, eat). I was an active teen, ran on cross country until I injured my knee- that knee still bugs me to this day. I became pregnant at 19, as well as homeless-my parents kicked me out. I lived in a shelter until I gave birth, then was allowed to move back home for 5 months. I then lived in government housing for 5 years while I struggled on welfare and went to college on grants and got my nursing degree. It was a hard 5-6 years and we ate a lot of cheap meals (macaroni, spaghetti and fast food). During that time, I became 100 pounds overweight. I went on and off several diets, my Dad even paid for me to go on this diet where I ate no fat and was given diet pills and vitamin B shots twice a week. My family was horrified at my obesity and let me know regularly. I tried so hard to please them, knowing that I had let them down with the whole pregnancy thing. I lost all the weight on that "medically supervised" diet, only to have emergency surgery for severe gallstones. My surgeon was an inexperienced medi-cal doctor, and I suffered many complications, staying in the hospital for 9 days and barely even being able to move when I got home (my teenage sister had to come and stay with me for a week, as my baby was only 2 years old at the time). Over the next few years, I gained all that weight back, despite being put on several more diets by my family such as Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, and more medically supervised diets. I also tried weight watchers, which is a really sensible diet, but once again failed after several attempts. I yo-yo'd up and down until finally in 2002, I had was able to afford to cash pay for the lap-band. I too was enticed by the "reversibility" of it (although now I have no idea what the logic is behind that), and that it was less risky than the bypass as far as death rates. By this time, I was married for a few years and had a 1 year old as well as my 12 year old. So, I went for it, got the surgery and had problems with the band for the next 7 years. I really tried to make it work. I had 4 subsequent surgeries related to the band. I threw up almost daily. I was unable to hold a fill at all, my stomach would swell up. I would have to rush back to the doctor to get my fill out after throwing up my own saliva. I had many tests- several upper GI's, 2 EGD's (where they put you out and put the hose down your throat with a camera attached) Sometimes I was able to hold a very small fill of 0.5cc's for a while. My band was very irritable. I could not drink or eat anything until about 11am everyday. Around my menstrual times, my stomach tissue would swell and I'd be on liquids for days. Going out to eat in any public place was a nightmare. Food would often get stuck after the first bite and I'd spend the rest of the time vomiting in the bathroom. My port had to be replaced at one point, then it got infected and had to be removed. I was left with a large hole in my abdomen which had to heal from the inside out for 4 months. Then I had a new port placed and it eventually flipped, leaving it totally unadjustable. After 7 years of this rollercoaster, I finally decided that I would have the band removed and convert to the bypass (I still had not heard about the sleeve). I awoke from that surgery (6 months ago) and was told "sorry". Apparently, when they went to remove my band, the buckle part had molded itself into my stomach muscle and they had to literally "chip" it away, leaving my stomach too damaged to convert to bypass. They said my stomach looked like the surface of swiss cheese. This was a very hard surgery to recover from-I had 2 open wounds, a large hematoma developed between my stomach and liver, I had to rush to ER and get an MRI, I was in retractable pain- it was VERY painful for weeks! And, I left the hospital with no WLS, and I thought, no hope. At my post-op appointments, my doc told me that I would be the perfect candidate for the gastric sleeve, as that was the "damaged" part of my stomach anyways that they would be removing. Since then, I have been researching and even met 1 person who had it done and she had no bad things to say about it. I was very concerned about the vomiting-as I had this almost daily with the band-and she hasn't had any. Since having the band removed, I have not vomited once. I could never recommend the band to anyone. I belonged to a "bandster" local group and saw 5 of them have to have theirs removed for a variety of reasons, such as slippage, erosion and inability to even use the band as a tool, because they were unable to get a fill (like me). So, I will be again seeing my doc for another post-op in Jan. (my last wound just healed a few weeks ago from my june surgery!), and she will start the insurance process for getting approval for VSG, she thinks it will go through, as they have just gotten the insurance coding for this procedure last month, plus I am not a candidate for bypass. I am currently about 90lbs overweight and was just diagnosed with diabetes this year. I hope it gets approved. I am worried though, as I have had a total of 6 abdominal surgeries (1 open and 5 lap-all related to the band). I wonder if all this scar tissue will be a problem- although they did do some scar tissue take down when they removed my band. All I have wanted through this entire journey is to be healthy, to be there for my husband and kids, someday see my grandkids, and to feel like a normal person. I am not bitter about the band, there was a reason I went through all of that, even if that is not clear to me yet. It's just part of my story. If you took the time to read my story, I thank you with all my heart! I hope to make some new "sleeve" friends here, get support, and be of support to anyone who needs it. Kathy

Thank you! That is my dream!

YEAH! I like these additions! I want to wear boots! I want to wear a regular towel, not a bath SHEET!! I want to walk up stairs, (if my knees allow me). Amusement parks would once again be fun! Thanks for the additions! More please!! Now back to holiday cooking...

Congratulations for making a resolution to stop smoking. I wish you lots of luck, use all the tools that you can to help you. You will never regret doing this-think of this as a way to prepare your body for a baby. You can do it!! Kathy :cursing:

Dear thinoneday, I lost about 60% of my weight in the first 6 months after lap-band surgery. This is because I could not eat. I lived on Protein drinks (shakes were too thick) like ensure. My band was too tight right after surgery (without any adjustments). After I lost some weight, I think my first fill was around 1 year out. It's strange, all the foods I was told to eat- protein, veggies & fruit, were all the foods that would not go down, no matter how chewed up they were. The only protein I could eat was crispy bacon-so I ate that for many years. I lived in constant fear of what they call "PBing". I carried ziploc baggies with me at all times, so I could throw-up into them. This was very embarrassing. I knew many bandsters who also carried ziploc baggies. I can't tell you how many times I'd be PBing- while driving- and my kids had to see all that. So sad. The band was unpredictable, I would think that lunch went down ok, then 1/2 hour later it would come back up. So many stories to tell- 7 years worth! But to get back to your question: I think I was able to maintain that 60% weight loss because when I would gain some back, say 10-15 lbs, my band would cinch tight and I would throw up every morsel for about a week. Then it would loosen a bit again. It was a cycle like that. I did gain super easy whenever my port was removed, or my band had to be competely empty due to excessive vomiting and in the last year, I gained almost all of it back, due to having the band removed and stress of course. It feels good to finally be able to eat the things that are good for me. I really enjoy an apple now. I don't know the damage it did to my body to live on such a weird diet for so many years. One good thing, I am used to not drinking when eating, as I could never combine the two with the band, so that will not be an adjustment for me when I get the VSG. I also learned to always try to get protein in first, then veggie, fruit, and last starch, and sweets only sparingly. I did learn a lot from my struggles with the band. I've rambled on here, but hopefully anwered your question. Kathy

Dear Hayley, I am sorry you are experiencing so many complications, it is not fun at all. I can certainly sympathize. Are you not eating because you are scared to eat or because you have no appetite? Hang in there and take life 1 day at a time, this too shall pass, I promise. Kathy

Hi Girly-Girl, Thanks for asking this important question. It seems that the positive far outweighs that negative. I am hoping to get the sleeve in early 2010 as well, I'd love to be sleeve buddies! Kathy :cursing:

Wow, thanks for all the replies and to all who read my story. It's been so long and as I started writing, it just all flowed out with ease. I needed to get it off my chest, I've never told my story to anyone except my husband, who has lived it with me. I guess it looks worse on paper than I thought!! I'm really ok, I made it through each time hoping that this would be the last surgery, and this last time was the most disappointing I think, waking up with the doctor saying "sorry". But, we must just dust ourselves off and move forward, what else can we do? On days that I feel great, I forget about all the medical junk and just enjoy the bliss. Deedee-thank your for saying that I have a positive attitude, it doesn't feel that way sometimes. I have total faith in my doctor, she has seen my insides 3 times now and knows her way around! (I left my first doctor, he told me my port wasn't infected and I ran around with an open tunneling wound in my abdomen for 7 months before finding another doctor who knew what they were doing!) Donna- it's so good to hear how happy you are with the sleeve, it gives me hope. I really appreciate your empathy. It touches my heart to know that people really care.:drool5: Tiffykins, I only wish I would have gotten my band out sooner, 7 years was WAY to long to suffer. I just kept wanting to make it work. I know almost for certain that I will have some complication with the operation for the sleeve, I am a poor healer, but I know it will all be worth it! Thinasiwant- thank you for your comments, I look forward to better times, that is for sure! Carolyn-I can't wait to "love my life" as you do! Actually, I do (except for the obesity part). I have 2 great kids and a husband who loves me- poor thing, he's had to endure all of this with me! He's a keeper! :cursing: I also cannot wait to have more energy! I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and have started taking thyroid replacement, so that should help with the energy thing too. Lee-I always had faith that the band would eventually work right, so my only frustration now is the time that I wasted trying to make it work. Hopefully, in a few short months, I will have a new tool that will actually work, the sleeve, and the end of my saga will come and my new life will finally start! I cannot wait to participate in activities with my family instead of sitting in a chair on the sidelines. Thank you so much again, I look forward to growing my new friendships and being of support to others! Kathy :seeya: