KathyD49

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is that when you are sleeved, it eliminates most of the ghrelins produced in the lower part of the stomach. Ghrelins are the hormone that causes hunger in humans. (My cousin is a bariatric surgeon, and he gave me a ten minute lecture on ghrelins and what they do and how they are eliminated in VGS, etc.) So many of us who have a VGS don't experience hunger at all, or at least to the degree that we did pre-op. I for one am happy to not experience the hunger sensation. It makes the whole controling dietary intake so much easier. I am three weeks post-op today, and have lost a total of 44 pounds. (20 pounds on the pre-op diet and 24 pounds post op). I am thrilled not to experience the hunger that I always felt on Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Optifast, Medifast and all the other systems/diets, etc I used in trying to loose weight. Of course this doesn't do anything for the "head hunger" that a lot of us experience. But I found out that my pouch will tell me exactly how much I can eat, and if I eat ONE more bite, I am physically uncomfortable for close to an hour. I haven't eaten so much that I have vomited (I HATE to vomit, so I am really careful of noticing the "full" sensation immediately.) I try to eat VERY slowly and be very watchful of the sensations I am experiencing when I eat so that I don't overdo it. So far, I am thrilled to death with my sleeve and the results I am having. I know that my weight loss will start to slow down soon, but right now, I am enjoying my "honeymoon" period with my sleeve!

Wish I could give you a "definitive" answer! I bought one, it came yesterday, AND I can't get it on! I ordered a size XXL and thought that would be big enought, BUT, I can't even get it to come together in the middle. Am undecided what to do. Should I send it back for a XXXL, or should I wait till I can get into it? I hate to purchase an XXXL when I am loosing so well, and know that it will be too big shortly, BUT I want to start wearing it soon! Questions, questions, questions!

I can identify with so much that you have to say. I too love to cook and bake, and of course EAT! I have spent the last few weeks wondering if I did something foolish, but every morning when I step on the scale, I absolutely am THRILLED to see how much I have lost. I have tried every diet, weight loss plan, etc in the world to loose weight, NONE with permanent results! I know this will be permanent and am absolutely THRILLED!!! I am down 44 pounds (20 pre-op and 24 post op) and I love the fact that I will soon enter "one"-derland! As far as the cooking/baking thing, I am still cooking and baking, just not eating very much of what I fix. I feed my family, my roommate, my co-workers, etc. Also wanted to mention to you to check out www.theworldaccordingtoeggface . She had weight loss surgery 5 years ago last month, and loves to cook and bake. She has TONS of healthy recipes on her blog that make it interesting and fun to cook and bake again! She has been an endless source of encouragement to me. I was having "buyers remorse" even before the surgery, wondering if I could stand this absolutely life changing thing I was going to do. About 4 days before the surgery it hit me, I would NEVER be able to eat as much as I wanted again. I would never be able to pig out on sweets or breads or whatever. I started writing to an old friend who had WLS about 3 years ago, asking her if she would do it again, and her answer encouraged me! She said it was the most positive thing she had ever done in her life. She said she now knows that she will live longer, be able to enjoy life with her husband, children and grandchildren for many more years, instead of the 5-6 years her personal physician had given her if she didn't do something about her weight and her many co-morbidities (medical conditions that could kill her)! Her diabetes is gone, her high cholesterol is gone, her sleep apnea is gone, her arthritis is better, her chronic fatigue syndrome is almost non-existant, she is active and loving her life. Even though she has gained back about 20-30 pounds of her 130 pound weight loss, she says she has never felt so good in her life. Every time I have some problems (I am only 3 weeks post op today) I think of her and remember that I want what she has!

Well, I have now done Two work shifts this week, and my third is coming up tonight. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I was so tired, that I could hardly stay awake; last night wasn't quite as bad, and tonight will be my third shift, then four nights off. Can't wait for the four nights off! But I have to say, last night was busier than Tuesday night, but it was easier on me. Am counting on tonight being even easier! Has anyone out there researched "exactly" what oral vitamins a VGSers needs to take? When I went back to work Tuesday night, I immediately had three co-workers who had been through weight loss surgery come up to me and start questioning me about what vitamins I was taking, and giving me their opinion on what I needed to be taking. My surgeon said to purchase "a good oral multivitamin" and take it twice a day for the rest of my life. These gals at work gave me WHOLE LISTS of vitamins that I supposedly needed, including sublingual Vit B 12, Vit B complex, Vit D, and some others (that I paid no attention to!) Now am wondering if I NEED to get on some of these. The one gal instructed me to head to Vitamin World and talk with one of their sales people. (Now why would one of Vitamin World's sales people know more than my surgeon?) I bought (and am taking twice a day) an adult chewable multi-vitamin. In addition, I am taking the Nexium (acid medicine) twice a day, like my surgeon prescribed, and some medication for my Restless Leg Syndrome. And nothing else. Do you want to know the STRANGEST THING? Before my VGS surgery, I was on an allergy pill every day for my allergies, used nasal spray AT LEAST once a day, used my asthma inhaler at least once a week, and used my Advair inhaler daily to prevent respiratory problems. Also was taking a Celebrex daily for my arthritis pain, and was taking Crestor for my elevated cholesterol, plus a daily baby aspirin. I had to get off all that before the surgery (at my surgeon's request). And so far, my allergies have improved to the point that I am taking NOTHING for them, no inhaler, no allergy pill, no nasal spray, no Advair inhaler, nothing. My PCP also told me to stay off the Celebrex if I wanted and the Crestor. Haven't bothered to start the aspirin again (am going to have a tooth pulled on Monday and dentist doesn't want me on aspirin prior to that.) So I am taking ALMOST NO MEDICATION! And I FEEL GREAT!!! I can not for the life of me understand WHY my allergies have improved with weight loss, BUT I think it is great! I am loving being off all these medications! And am hoping that I don't have to go back on any of them. My personal care physician said to wait 2-3 months after being off the Crestor, and get a cholesterol level run and see if my cholesterol had moved back up at all. (Before medication it ran around 275 to 300. With taking the Crestor, it went down to around 100, or just under. So am hoping it stays around 100 so I can stay off the medication!) I have been taking Celebrex since the day it came on the market. When it was introduced, I was working for an orthopaedic surgeon. The drug rep brought in a huge amount of Celebrex samples, and my boss suggested I try it, as I had bad arthritis pain, and didn't tolerate a lot of other NSAIDs. So have been on Celebrex 12-13 years! Since I seem to feel great without it, I thought "why not give my liver and kidneys a break?" and decided not to re-start it. I mean, I am SO happy to be off so many of my medications! Wow! I did this surgery to feel better. (Was having a LOT of joint pain in hips and knees. I had no idea I would feel SO good and be able to stop SO many of my meds!) WOO HOO! Another reason to CELEBRATE!!! Later............

Kris, Thanks for sharing! I was excited also when I weighed less than my hubbie, but I made that one BEFORE I even had the surgery, when I was still on the pre-op diet. My big NSV came when I returned back to California earlier this week. (I make my home in Iowa, but live and work in California most of the year.) I now weigh less than my roommate! What a thrill. She has always weighed less than me! I am taller than her by 3 inches, and she has always weighed less. But when I got on the scale this week, I weighed 4 pounds less than her! WOOHOO! What a thrill! I LOVE IT!And the BIGGEST thing I love, soon I will be able to shop ANYWHERE for clothes! I have already made my LAST TRIP to Lane Bryant!!!!!

Dear ATLGirl, Thanks for the Breakfast Casserole recipe. I can't wait to try it. I LOVE Breakfast casserole. The one I usually make though is a HIGH carb one, made with frozen waffles, crumbled bacon, ham, sausage and a ton of cheese, eggs, cream and milk. I love it, but know that I can't eat it now. So am eager to try this one. In fact, I think I am going to try it Friday morning (tomorrow) when I get home from work. I think this would be a great substitue to my calorie laden recipe. Thanks again! KathyD49

Well, I made it through my first shift back at work. But I have to say, I was BEAT this morning! Thankfully, it wasn't a hughly busy shift, so I could pace myself, sip on my water all night, got to take a break, etc. Some nights it is so crazy that even a bathroom break is out of the question (sorry, TMI!). Only problem was, I was way to beat to swim with my roommate this morning before going to bed. I got home and told her, "sorry, I am headed straight to bed!" And I slept like I had died. So now it is back to work again tonight and tomorrow, and then I have a couple of nights off, which will be nice. When I got home this morning, I made my usual "Pit stop" at the scale on my way to bed, and was disappointed to see that I weighed the same as yesterday morning. Sort of discouraging. I walked a lot last night at work, and thought that would help in the weight loss battle. But then I know that weight loss isn't always smooth and even. I was somewhat discouraged when I got to work last night. I had told two people at work (IN CONFIDENCE!) about the upcoming weight loss surgery, and when I got to work, it seemed like EVERYONE knew I had had the surgery, that I had gone to Mexico to have it, etc. I am not sure which one of my co-workers "spilled the beans", but am sort of upset that one or both of them would tell something that I had told them in confidence, and asked them NOT to tell anyone about! I am a contract worker, and did this between contracts, so it isn't like I had to inform administration or HR about the surgery. For all they knew, I was just taking some time off between contracts. I had tons of "unsolicited" advise last night, about my diet, my weight loss, my vitamin intake, etc. There are three gals at work who have had various bariatric procedures (not sure what exact procedure) and one of them came to me to tell me how it was "the worst thing she had ever done in her life!" Now why would she tell me that? I am working hard to make a success of my surgery and post-op experience, and she tells me about her infections, her subsequent surgeries needed to "fix what the weight loss surgery did to me", etc! I mean, how depressing. I guess some people just can't let someone else be happy that things are going right! Oh well, enough complaining. Have to start getting ready for work. Hope all you pre and post op Sleevers are doing well. Talk at you more later............

I am back for one more try at this. When I got up this morning, I sat down and wrote a LONG blog entry. Proof read it, and hit the Publish Now button at the bottom of the page, AND.....the whole thing DISAPPEARED! I CANNOT figure out what I am doing wrong. But I am persistent if nothing else, so I am trying AGAIN! I arrived back in California on Sunday evening, late. Stayed overnight at a cute little botique hotel on the bay and got up early, showered, packed up and loaded the car to get home before the day was over. And guess what? My car wouldn't start! What a bummer! On the 4th of July no less. A HUGE thanks to Bob Jr.'s Towing Service who came to the hotel and jumped my battery, escorted me to an open Firestone Store, where they replaced the battery and got me on the road! Arrived home around 5:00 PM (four or five hours later than planned, but home sweet home!). Spent most of the evening unpacking, cleaning the condo (my roommate doesn't clean!) and getting some (very little) groceries. I have been contemplating how to get more active and expend some calories. When I was at home in Iowa, I could get on the treadmill (for a couple of minutes anyway, then had to quit cause I was exhausted). But the treadmill wouldn't fit in my suitcase, although I tried to bring almost everything else from home back with me! So this morning I went swimming with my roommate when she got home from work. She does (an awesome) 56 laps of the pool every morning. (we are so lucky, the pool is just a 1/2 block from our front door!) So I went and did 18 laps. That was all I could manage, but at least I tried. Am going to try and swim with her every morning. Also going to try and add at least two laps per day so I can start to build up my endurance. Also going to start to walk on a regular basis. Just not sure when...... It is 106 right now where we are located. I don't think I can walk in heat like that! Maybe in the mornings, after I swim. But got to start doing something for my cardio! A happy note, this morning, I was down another two pounds. I haven't weighed in several days, since my scale was a casualty of my "overweight suitcases". I had to unload about 15 pound worth of stuff at the airport, or pay $100 in overweight charges! YIKES! So Bill hauled all the stuff home for me from the airport, and boxed it up, and is mailing it to me. (Bless his heart!) I am so excited, I can't wait to be in "One-derland". It will be a couple of weeks yet, but I can see it in the distance. I am SO excited! Well, have to get ready for work. Hope all you Sleevers out there had a great 4th of July. Later.........

Dear Lordservnt, Why do you think that you can NEVER have some of your favorite foods again? I think the whole key to making a success of this "new life style" is moderation in everything! When my husband was diagnosed with diabetes he said "Well, I can NEVER have pie or ice cream or cake again!" I tried to tell him that he could, IN MODERATION! He just can't see it that way though, and he binges on sweets, and then when his doctor yells at him about his lousy A1C (lab test indicating his long term blood sugar control, or lack thereof) he clamps down and doesn't have any sweets till he gets tired of that and binges again! It is an up and down thing, and he never does either in moderation. (And THAT is HORRIBLE for his diabetes!!!) My doctor told me there was nothing I HAD to give up forever, except overeating. He said eventually I could eat everything I wanted to, but I HAD to eat it in moderation! And I couldn't make a life style of eating high carb, empty calorie foods. He stressed to me over and over, MODERATION! I know from experience that when I have dieted in the past, if I wasn't supposed to eat one certain thing, THAT was the thing I CRAVED till it almost drove me crazy, and I would end up eating tons of that one item! So in talking with my surgeon, and thinking long and hard about this subject, I have decided to track what I eat, and allow myself an OCCASIONAL treat, to reward myself for doing so well with my new life style! I bought an Ipad recently, and one of the apps for it is a food tracker (actually it is the Weight Watchers food tracker app), and I enter everything I eat and approximate amounts. This helps me to review my day or my week and when I weigh, I can look back and see, "yep, I did good this week, I can have a little treat tonight." I started doing this on my pre-op diet, so although I am only about three weeks out, I have established this habit, and am trying hard to stick to it. Anyway, BEST wishes to you on your new beginning! So far, I have found it to be a huge adventure, and I can't wait to see what is around the next curve in the road I am traveling!

It's Monday, the 4th of July, and I am back in California. It was SO HARD to leave home and Hubbie yesterday! I sat at the airport and cried. So if you were in the Des Moines airport yesterday afternoon and saw this old chick sitting at the gate sobbing, it was ME! I held it together till Bill dropped me off, and I got through security. But then as I was sitting there waiting to board my plane it hit me like a ton of bricks, "I'm leaving again, and won't see family/friends/home for at least four months!" And the tears started to flow, by the bucket. But today I got up and decided to get with the program again and put my little breakdown behind me. I mean, this is the life style I CHOSE, so why should I be upset when I have to live it? I made one happy discovery at the airport also. I bought a bottle of water (AFTER I got through security) and happened to pick up one of those little packets of Crystal Light meant for a single bottle of water (Orange flavored). And found it pleasantly surprising in taste! I have been having trouble getting all my water in, and this made it much easier! So today on the way back to my condo, going to make a pit stop at the grocery store and get some Crystal Light and a couple bottles of water to haul to work. Won't need to buy anyting else, as I eat so little these days, and my condo's kitchen cupboards have enough supplies in them that I could feed an entire army division. I know that I have enough food that my cupboards will still be full when I am finished with this assignment at the end of November and move home. I'll probabbly never have to go to the gorcery store again! The highlight of my day these last two weeks has been getting on the scale every morning and rejoicing at what it says. Sadly, at the airport, my bags were overweight (like Momma-like bags?) and I had to take stuff out of them before I could check my bags. My scale was one of the causalties. Bill says he will mail it to me, but no more morning scale readings for a week ot two till he gets in the mood to take all my stuff to the post office and mail to me. Also my new pair of "A" kicker sandles were a casualty, along with some of my smaller clothes. On the way to the airport, I stopped at Lane Bryant (MY LAST trip to LB?!?!?!?) and bought some new underwear and bras. Bill said to me, what are you going to do about that (meaning how are you going to get that back to California when your bags are stuffed full and overweight ALREADY?) Well, I carried my sack onto the plane and no one even challenged me, even though I already had my two carry ons. I mean, WHO (in their RIGHT mind) could deny me some nice new underwear and matching bras??!!?? And I am looking forward to putting them on this morning and admiring them in the mirror!!! Well, I guess I should hit the showers, and pack up. I stayed in San Francisco last night (didn't get in till 10:00 PM which is Midnight Iowa time, so was BEAT.) at a hotel, and still have a 2 1/2 hour drive to get back 'home'. So until later all you VGSers, have a SAFE and SANE Fourth. Enjoy!

Wow! Time flys when you're having fun! It has been two whole weeks since I got sleeved already! Seems like a life time in some aspects, and just the blink of an eye in others. But I am still trying to figure out my relationship with food, and trying to pin down why I sometimes eat stuff that isn't good for me. Like Wednesday night, we went to a local auction (I got some great stuff too!) and I decided to get a sandwich, eat a couple of bites and let Bill (hubbie) have the rest. Well that was fine, but also bought a brownie. Was going to take ONE bite of it and give to Bill. Instead I ate the whole thing! Like I needed a brownie. I am already having trouble getting my protein and water in, why, why, why would I eat a brownie instead? Sometimes I wonder if I have a death wish! I mean, I love chocolate, but a brownie, there are so many other forms of chocolate that I would rather have! Sigh! I am trying to figure out a way, a system if you will, that will make me STOP, and evaluate what I am going to put in my mouth before I do it, and weigh the consequences of whatever it is I want to eat. I didn't loose any weight yesterday, and keep thinking, "It's the brownie!" I tired to figure out how many calories I DID eat on Wednesday, and it only comes to about 300, I don't know if that is enough to keep me from loosing or not. It seems that most days I get close to that amount. FRUSTRATION! I am starting to think that I need to only get on the scale once a week, instead of every morning. Just concentrate on trying to get all my water and protein in, and whatever else I eat, try to keep it healthy. And then once a week weigh and see how I am doing. Any ideas out there. What do you other GVSers do? Weigh daily, weekly, monthly, only at doctor's check ups? What do you do? I am still trying to figure out this new life of mine. I want to do it right!

I can sympathize with you about the pre-op diet. My surgeon told me to cut out carbs. He said IF I HAD to have carbs, to keep it below 40 gm of carb per day. Well 40 gm of carb per day is almost NONE. I managed, but wouldn't want to be on a carb free diet forever. I loved eating steak, chicken, turkey, etc. I am a big meat eater. But OH did I want some pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, etc with my steak! I lost 20 pounds on the pre-op diet, but it was the worst two weeks of my life as far as eating. I am on solids now, and trying to stick to low carbs, but I do eat a little bit of potatoes, or a littel bit of rice. We are entertaiing tonight, and I made two different kinds of home made ice cream, and a pound cake for our dessert. I intend to have a very small serving of one of them for my dessert. Although I know that my capacity is so limited that I will probably only get one taste of the ice cream and none of the cake. I can only eat four or five small bites and I am full. If I swallow even a single bite after I get that "full" signal, I am physically uncomfortable. So I eat SLOW, SLOW. SLOW. and try to listen to my body and stop before I hit the full stage. Good luck on Phase 1 and Phase 2 of your pre-op diet. And best wishes for a successful outcome with your surgery!

Lanette, YOu look SO good. Both your before and afters pics show a beautoiful young woman! But the after pics are REALLY rocking! Congratulations! I want to be like you!

I think you did Great! Red Lobster is one of my favorites, and I know I would do a lot worse than you did. I love their biscuits! And I love their mashed potatoes. Carbs are always my downfall! I think you did great. You just can't do it everyday. BTW---Happy Birthday!

I just can NOT believe this !!! I wrote an entry last night, and when I hit the publish button, it disappeared! And it just happened again. This will be my last effort at publishing my blog if it happens again! I am so technologically ignorant, so I have NO IDEA what is wrong, BUT am only giving it one more shot! (Some technology is just BEYOND me! My husband keep trying to teach me how to initiate a text message on my phone, and I keep telling him I DO NOT WANT TO LEARN! I can return a text message, but I can not initiate one, and that if fine with me. He keeps telling me "now here is what you have to do". I don't know what he doesn't understand about I DON'T WANT TO LEARN HOW TO DO IT!) Anyway, enough of my ranting, I tried last night and again this morning, and it just "disappeared". I am easily frustrated by technology, so as I said, last attampt. I got on the scale this morning, and good nes, down another two pounds. That makes a total of 36 pounds lost so far, 20 in the pre-op diet and 16 since surgery. A funny thing happened last night. We went to see some old friends last night, and she (an avid gardener) was walking me around the yard, showing off her garden. I reached down to brush a bug off my pants, and guess waht? I felt not only my muscle flexing as I walked, but also the bone underneath the muscle! Not this is the first time in my entire memory that I have felt muscle and bone on my thigh, not just fat! I was astonished and speachless! WOW! So I must be loosing somewhere, even though none of my clothes feel any looser yet. I am living for the day when I put a pair of pants on, and they won't stay up! I want to SEE some changes, not just experience them on the scale, although THAT is very rewarding also! Well, I only have today and three more days at home before I fly back to California and return to work. So today I am GOING to get my house work caught up! No option, I have to get it done. So all you GVSers out there, have a GREAT day, and say a little prayer that I get my housework caught up. I am always uncomfortable when my house is dirty, and I want to leave knowing it is at least clean when I leave. Later........

I'm 62, so I guess I fit into the "senior" scenario. I have been sleeved for two weeks. I can't say I had a lot of pain. It was more like soreness. The worst discomfort was getting in and out of bed and coughing. If you have had abdominal surgery before, you know that coughing is necessary to re-expand the lungs and prevent pneumonia. I found it painful the first couple of days, but was able to "splint" my abdomen with a pillow pressed firmly against my tummy, and that helped with the coughing significantly. My surgeon did not use any narcotic pain medication, just a medication called Toredol. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can be given either orally, as a shot or as an IV push. I was given it IV push, I really could not tell if I was any better pain wise after the Toredol than before, the discomfort level seemed about the same to me, no matter how long it had been since I had the Toredol. I carried some pain pills with me that I had been prescribed by another physician when I fell and hurt my knee. I did not use these when I was in the hospital, but after discharge we elected to stay in San Diego for a couple of extra days before traveling home, and I did use them once or twice during our stay. I haven't used them in over a week now however, and feel no need for them.

Dear Seelessofme32, I am sure you are counting down the days, I know I was. (I am now two weeks post op.) Hope that time picks up for you, and you get there really fast. My best advise is to take your own pillow with you to the hospital. The place where I had my surgery had horrible pillows, and I had a terrible time sleeping my two post op nights in the hospital without my comfy pillow. Also I wished I had taken my heating pad with me. I know some places won't let you use a heating pad, but my hospital would have let me, if I had thought to bring it, Also after surgery, WALK, WALK, WALK! The more active you are, the sooner you get rid of the CO2 gas they use to inflate your abdomen during the surgery. They let it out when they are done, but not all gets out and it has to absorp, and in the meantime can cause some discomfort. The sooner you are active, the sooner it reabsorps and the sooner you are more comfortable. Best of luck!

Wow, I didn't have to take any thing pre-op! I have taken Mag Citrate before for a colonoscopy, and Milk of Magnesium also after surgery, but didn't have to do either before my VGS. You have my sympathy. I (on my own) took two Colace capsules two days before my surgery, cause I was so constipated from the pre-op diet. And that worked pretty painlessly for me. You're in my thoughts and prayers tonight. Hopefully by now everything is OK, cause I see your post was three days ago. Hope you are well on the road to recovery from your surgery and feeling better every day!

Barb, I too had doubts as my surgery got closer. I think some doubts are normal. It is a major life style change, and one that you can't change your mind when you get tired of doing it. A week before my surgery, I started wondering if I was doing the right thing. I have always been fat, and have tried EVERYTHING under the sun to loose weight. I would always loose 40-50 pounds when I joined Weight Watchers (would you believe I joined 17 times!?!) But always gain it back when I got bored with the diet and quit. Usually gained another 5-10 lbs along with the 40-50 I had lost. Also tired Diet Center, Curves, Redux (the miracle diet pill. One of the side effects was supposed to be erotic dreams. I was really bummed when that didn't happen to me, and I didn't even loose that much weight on it!) Also tired Weigh Down Workshop, NutriSystem, Medifast, Optifast, Jenny Craig, Overeaters Annon., Overeaters Victorious, Slim Fast, etc., etc., etc. But now my health is at stake. As I enter my 60's (OMG that sounds old!) I find that I am (was) pre-diabetic, my blood pressure was creeping up, my cholesterol was up (I was on statin meds for that), I had really bad gastric reflux (on meds for that too), sleep apnea (breathing machine at night), bad arthritis (more meds) and the only thing I could see was more medical problems heading my way. I am (I think) a YOUNG 62, and want to live and enjoy my life for years to come yet. So I decided to commit to this and do it! I am bound and determined to get down to a normal weight and stay there. I wrote to a good friend who had a Roux N Y surgery 6-8 years ago, and asked her if she would do it again if she had it to do over. She said "in a heartbeat!" She has really struggled, and gained some of her weight loss back (lost over 120 lbs and gained 40-50 back). But says she is so much more comfortable and healthy now that she wouldn't go back for anything.I think you need to concentrate on one of the last things you said in your post "You ARE worth the effort!" Best of luck. Keep us all posted on how you are doing!

Hey Epiphany, good for you! My knees and hips were my major motivation for getting sleeved! I had a hip replacement at age 48, and at the time the doctor told me to loose weight to make the replacement last longer. Well what did I do? I gained weight, like 50 pounds of it! So now not only does my "good" hip hurt, but so does the one that was replaced 15 years ago. And of course, my knees hurt also. I dread having to have the original hip replacement re-done, and don't want to replace any other joints either, so I decided to make an investment in my future life, and try to loose weight for GOOD this time! I am two weeks post op, and have lost a total of 34 pounds, 20 on the pre-op diet and 14 since surgery. I find getting on the scale every morning to be the high point of my day! I used to avoid the scale like poison! So congratulations and best wishes for a great outcome. Keep us posted!

Good for you Kris! I am newly sleeved, and struggeling to get more active. I am just two weeks out, and still really tired and drug out. (Anesthetic seems to really wipe me out for 2-3 weeks), so my efforts to do much activity has fallen sort of flat. I did manage to get on the treadmill for a few minutes each day, but have no endurance at all! So good for you! I know that once I get past the learning to eat again process, I am going to struggle with eating what I should versus eating what I want! Best wishes for meeting your July 4 goal!

Best of luck CammyD! I am two weeks out, and feeling better every day! Hope your experience is good. Prays and good thoughts coming your way tonight AND tomorrow! KathyD49

PhillyGirl Have you talked to your doctor about this? It sounds to me like you have shingles. I did A LOT of research on weight loss surgery before I had my VSG, and NEVER read anything about skin burning because it had stretched from the weight loss. I think you should see your primary care physician! I had shingles several years ago and they BURN horribly. They are caused by the virus that causes chicken pox, and if you have had the chicken pox, the virus is always in your body, just is usually dormant. It can flare up for various reasons, stress, other illness or if your immune system is compromised, or lots of other reasons, so for no apparent reason at all. Do yourself a favor, go see your doctor! And let us know how you are doing! KathyD49

HI Taylor, Congrats on your weight loss thus far! That is fantastic. I am so excited for you. I am a nurse and work night shift (7:00 PM to 7:30 AM) so I know what you mean about night shift. But I am a night person, and don't think I could tolerate a day job after 38 years of working primarily night shift. I have to second Gardendiva3's comments, I wish VSG has been around 30-40 years ago. I have spent my entire life fat, trying every program, pill, exercise program, etc to loose weight without success. I have finally found something that is going to work, and I am committed to it for life! I am two weeks out from my surgery, and have lost 34 pounds so far. 20 of that was on the pre-op diet, fourteen since surgery. It is such a thrill to get up in the morning and get on the scale! I can hardly wait to get to my laptop and update my weight loss ticker! I am so looking forward to being several months out from surgery! Even though I have lost 34 pounds, none of my clothes look any looser than they did before surgery! It is frustrating. But I am holding fast to the idea that soon my body will get the message and start to "contract" with the weight loss. At least I hope that is the case. Again, let me offer you my congratulations. You are doing great!

Congrats on making the decision to be sleeved. I hope you have a totally uneventful surgery and recovery! Looking forward to reading your posts when you are on the "after" side of things!