twoolley

Welcome to the forums! JennyBeth gave you a great place to start. When you find a surgeon they will advise you on the 6-month or 3-month process that you should go through. Weight loss surgeon offices are very familiar with the hoops that the insurance requires you to jump through and they will know the best way to get you approved.
PLEASE use the search function at the top of the site and search "Finding a surgeon" , "Questions to ask" , "Diet after surgery" , "Recovery" , "Complications" , "Food tolerance"
That is some of the biggest topics here that will start you off on how you feel about the surgery. Good luck!

At 5'3" 320 lbs, you are at grave risk. I agree with him on one thing, you need to commit to diet and exercise but you need the surgery that will supply the tool to lose the weight and keep it off. What people do not understand is it is almost impossible to exercise when you weigh 320. The pressure on your joints and you get out of breath before you can do any good. I know, I was there. You need to do this for your health, he needs to understand this. You need to understand that this is your body, your life and your health. This is a decision YOU must make for the right reasons. If he wants you around for a few more years and a quality of life that is good for the both of you, this surgery is vital. Good Luck.

This damn thing has been saying that i will weigh 124 in 5 weeks with my current intake, and I have been in a stall for 3 weeks and counting! I think the only way I will weigh 124 I cut off my right leg, maybe my left too

Yeah that doesn't work for me. Unless I see it in a log it's to hard to keep track of. Even with the sleeve my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I don't pull out nearly as much as I used to before surgery, but it is usually still a bit to much.

Yeah that doesn't work for me. Unless I see it in a log it's to hard to keep track of. Even with the sleeve my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I don't pull out nearly as much as I used to before surgery, but it is usually still a bit to much.

And I told my counselor yesterday. She said that her niece had it and she's a mess and has many complications. She warned me against it. She said when you can only eat a small amount of food everything had to be high quality or you get sick.
Really? So I'm not supposed to have it because her stupid niece doesn't know how to eat right? And probably doesn't take her Vitamins.
I'm just tired of this. I just want to have the sugery and start my new life.

I'm really dissapointed to see the way you're acting on this topic. Despite the fact that the story may be false, it's just not appropriate to repeatedly attack someone like you're doing.
To the OP: I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. This is a very dangerous surgery and it's also taken very seriously. That is why psych evaluations and nutritionist meetings are required for almost every insurance.
Thank you for outlining how important it is to research this surgery, not only to make sure it's right for you but also to know what is happening to your body. It's also very important to sit and talk to your surgeon about their procedures and ensure that testing is done prior to the surgeon sending you home. Every surgeon should do a leak test before they close up after surgery. My surgeon submerges the sleeve and checks for air leaks and there's also a swallow test and x-ray the day after surgery before I got to drink anything.
This is the very reason so many of us are so serious about this surgery. It has real consequences and not getting proper care can be devestating.

i never kept any of my old/too small clothes - or even the "normal" ones i was wearing and they got to big
in other words i never "saw" my transformation
i finally saw a few differences, new clothes sizes, things improving - but i could never grasp the weight loss mentally
went to the store the other day to try on a pair of the exact same 2X blue jeans, elastic band, same brand
i put them on in the store and just stared at myself in disbelief
i did that for about 10 minutes!!!
then i took those jeans off, put my size 6 jeans on with the 2X over them
i again kept staring at myself
i bought the jeans and sat in the car for another few minutes
i was so sad!!!
Reason????
i just kept looking/staring at myself say "OMG" is that really me in those gigantic pants???? i filled out "ALLLL" that empty space
i was very upset, still am alittle just thinking and talking about it
i don't think i'll ever forget this incident - i was looking back at 59 years of my life - pretty sad!!!
but................
i know, i know - out with the old, in with the new
i am so very happy now - healthy now - no more diabetes meds/insulin - high blood pressure - CPAP
self confidence through the roof
life IS good
proud to be a veteran - looking forward to continueing a new good life!!!
only the best for all of us!!!

I was not covered, either. Took a second on the house. Have it paid off already with all of the medical and food savings.
Try to figure a way to pay for it if you can. It was so worth it for me.

Sleeved 10/10 @ 447 lbs. Today I am 342 lbs. I didn't have any complications following surgery. Spent 1 night in the hospital and back to work in a week. I have never been this happy in my life!

You certainly have the right to express your opinions. Within the confines of the forum's usage policy that you agreed to when you made your account. You should keep that in mind when you're "keeping it real".

Since the "ONE post" thing keeps getting brought up as a negative thing for some reason.... I guess I'd have to ask what other posts you guys think the OP should have made before this, and why? It's not like they're interested in Protein shake reviews, or want to ask questions or post recipe ideas for crying out loud.
When I did a google search for "vertical sleeve gastrectomy", this forum is the second search result after a medical encyclopedia definition page. This forum is huge and states that it's the #1 place to talk about this surgery.
Now I may be jumping out on a limb here, but this seems to be the perfect place for someone to be who wants to get their sister's story heard. The OP came here, made an account, and posted their sister's story. That only takes 1 post to accomplish.

I'm really dissapointed to see the way you're acting on this topic. Despite the fact that the story may be false, it's just not appropriate to repeatedly attack someone like you're doing.
To the OP: I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. This is a very dangerous surgery and it's also taken very seriously. That is why psych evaluations and nutritionist meetings are required for almost every insurance.
Thank you for outlining how important it is to research this surgery, not only to make sure it's right for you but also to know what is happening to your body. It's also very important to sit and talk to your surgeon about their procedures and ensure that testing is done prior to the surgeon sending you home. Every surgeon should do a leak test before they close up after surgery. My surgeon submerges the sleeve and checks for air leaks and there's also a swallow test and x-ray the day after surgery before I got to drink anything.
This is the very reason so many of us are so serious about this surgery. It has real consequences and not getting proper care can be devestating.

I'm really dissapointed to see the way you're acting on this topic. Despite the fact that the story may be false, it's just not appropriate to repeatedly attack someone like you're doing.
To the OP: I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. This is a very dangerous surgery and it's also taken very seriously. That is why psych evaluations and nutritionist meetings are required for almost every insurance.
Thank you for outlining how important it is to research this surgery, not only to make sure it's right for you but also to know what is happening to your body. It's also very important to sit and talk to your surgeon about their procedures and ensure that testing is done prior to the surgeon sending you home. Every surgeon should do a leak test before they close up after surgery. My surgeon submerges the sleeve and checks for air leaks and there's also a swallow test and x-ray the day after surgery before I got to drink anything.
This is the very reason so many of us are so serious about this surgery. It has real consequences and not getting proper care can be devestating.

I'm really dissapointed to see the way you're acting on this topic. Despite the fact that the story may be false, it's just not appropriate to repeatedly attack someone like you're doing.
To the OP: I'm very sorry to hear about your sister. This is a very dangerous surgery and it's also taken very seriously. That is why psych evaluations and nutritionist meetings are required for almost every insurance.
Thank you for outlining how important it is to research this surgery, not only to make sure it's right for you but also to know what is happening to your body. It's also very important to sit and talk to your surgeon about their procedures and ensure that testing is done prior to the surgeon sending you home. Every surgeon should do a leak test before they close up after surgery. My surgeon submerges the sleeve and checks for air leaks and there's also a swallow test and x-ray the day after surgery before I got to drink anything.
This is the very reason so many of us are so serious about this surgery. It has real consequences and not getting proper care can be devestating.

You certainly have the right to express your opinions. Within the confines of the forum's usage policy that you agreed to when you made your account. You should keep that in mind when you're "keeping it real".

Sleeved 10/10 @ 447 lbs. Today I am 342 lbs. I didn't have any complications following surgery. Spent 1 night in the hospital and back to work in a week. I have never been this happy in my life!

+1 That it does get easier and better. Your first trip to the store to get new clothes is a very liberating experience. Once you start to feel the benefits of the suffering you may change your mind.

My rant, my opinion, right? Before you get started on how unsupportive and not nice I am, and how I should just dodge the posts I don't want to read, I'll kindly tell you to educate yourself on how I typically post and on my contributions to VST. (That's my nice way of saying I don't care what you think and that you shouldn't waste my time or yours telling me how mean I am.)
Because I cannot possibly be the only person so incredibly sick of these posts! Anyone else tired of the whining? I don't mind an occasional vent, but the outright whiny, childish and incredibly annoying posts just make me thankful I'm on VST (and on the other side of the computer) and not in an in-person support group. Because, really, people, this is getting stupid. I am not talking about actual complications or asking a valid question, either. I'm talking about the same cycle of wah-wah-wah about simple things that should have come up with only a few attempts at research.
Let's address a few of these annoyances that keep cropping up:
1) Oh my gosh, it's a travesty but guess what? You are NOT going to lose the weight faster than you put it on. I know - it's heartbreaking. I mean, surgery is supposed to be magical, isn't it? I, for one, got a free unicorn AND a leprechaun with my surgery. I get that you don't want to work at this. Really, I mean, taking advantage of a fraction of the stomach capacity and learning how to eat wisely so you can develop a healthy relationship with food and gosh, to live the rest of your ENTIRE LIFE not obese, not overeating and to have a chance to ditch the bad habits and emotional baggage...that's just way too much to wait for. You should probably just be angry at the world and vent on a public forum about how the surgery has ruined your life because you've only lost 20 pounds in three weeks. I mean, really! Those are some completely shoddy results, if you ask me. Because really, who thinks that a one to two year period of focusing on weight loss to lose the weight for good (especially after fifteen years or more of trying to lose the weight on various failed diets) is worth the time or effort?
2) Surgery hurts. I know, I know. You probably didn't realize that having anesthesia and being flopped around, pumped full of gas, sliced open, having an organ removed, having staples and stitches put in and having drains in your body would actually hurt. But it does, imagine that! I know, in most cases it lasts five to ten days before you're feeling better, but surely your world is ending, your pain is the worst ever and you definitely need to post about it here so we can all give you pats on the head and you can scare the people researching the sleeve away. Be thankful you're not one of the people with a REAL complication causing ACTUAL serious pain. Or maybe you are. We can't tell or guide people to their doctors because there are just so many suffering people posting that it's a challenge to weed out the ones with real issues and the ones who forgot to take their pain pills. I know, we all handle pain differently. But really, a teeny bit of research would help with expectations, wouldn't it? And let's not forget how tired you are post op. Who knew that eating less than 300 calories a day after major surgery and having to really work at staying hydrated would wear you out and make you tired? Ugh, it's completely unreasonable!
3) It's hard to eat when you only have 15% of your stomach. Who knew? I mean, sure, that's why we had surgery, but I know you figured you'd just have a smaller stomach made of cast Iron that could easily tolerate at least half a bacon cheeseburger within a week of your operation. All that sipping (of warm or room temp liquids!), all of that discomfort when you try to shovel in a cup of oatmeal in week three, the challenge of finding Protein you can eat easily, the challenge of finding a shake you actually like - I mean, who knew that was going to be part of the game? Oh wait, what do you mean everyone that actually researched their surgery knew about this stuff? Well, never mind that. Post about it so we can all hear how different and more difficult it is for you, because I'm sure it was a walk in the park for everyone else.
4) I'm sure your heartburn and acid reflux are terribly uncomfortable. It is for all of us. I'm sure the gurgling and healing stomach sounds are annoying and hard to get used to. They were for the rest of us, too. Which is why you should be on a PPI. If you did even a cursory bit of research on the sleeve, I am certain the fact that acid is an issue post op for almost everyone came up. So if you aren't on a PPI (think Prilosec or Nexium - Tums and Pepcid aren't PPIs) you should probably be on one. Even if your surgeon didn't suggest one. And if he/she didn't prescribe one or suggest one, I'd question that surgeon, because this is a known issue post op for nearly every patient. But it's your body and your suffering, so hey, why not be a tiny bit proactive and ASK FOR ONE if one isn't offered? While we're here, you should have done enough research to realize you'd need sublingual B-12, an Iron supplement and Calcium citrate as well as a multi until your doctor does bloodwork and tells you your levels are fine without supplements. I know, it's HARD to take all those pills...it's so annoying, too. But if you don't take them you'll be tired and sluggish and forgetful and won't feel up to par. But you knew that from all your research, I'm sure.
5) I doubt you're starving. Very, very few people do not lose the hunger post op. I have seen a few that struggled with this but they are few and far between. I know, you probably didn't do enough research to realize that you still have ghrelin in your system for a few days post op, or to find that acid gurgling in your belly feels exactly the same way as a rumbling tummy. You probably thought you'd be immune to head hunger, because you thought obesity was only caused by eating too much, not by any type of emotional attachment to food. You probably didn't realize that two or three (or more) weeks on a liquid diet would be challenging, mentally, even if you don't really want food. I know, I know, we already covered that surgery is supposed to be magical and you wanted it to control your feelings about food and your desire to eat for the rest of your life.
6) Diets don't work. Isn't that why you finally opted for surgery? Then why do you insist on treating the way you eat post op like a diet? Why do you insist on carb counting yourself into misery and allowing yourself only enough calories to sustain a ten pound cat instead of an adult human? Why are you surprised, after years of failed dieting, that the desire to binge and graze and eat emotionally show up when you restrict yourself the way you've always done on past diets? Why do you insist on eliminating entire food groups for fear of gaining weight, only to post at one or two years post op that you can't understand why maintenance is so hard and you can't stop eating junk? Oh, that's right, you thought the sleeve was part B of your diet and treated it that way...and got the same success you got from all those diets you did prior to surgery as a result.
7) It's hard to break bad habits and be healthy. We've covered this! Surgery is supposed to be magical - and therefore any emotional eating problems, baggage from your childhood, poor eating habits you're reinforced for years, etc. should just be magically erased when the surgeon slices out 85% of your stomach. I know, you don't understand why this is so hard! I know, you're so frustrated and you regret your surgery because you want to eat and you can't. Why won't your sleeve stop you from eating those Cookies or that big bowl of ice cream? This is completely unfair. I suggest you post about how the surgery is a waste of time and/or money because it didn't do the head work for you, cause this isn't supposed to be hard. It's magic.
8) Some people lose hair and get loose skin? AH, say it isn't so! If losing the weight and being healthy isn't worth a temporary trade off, surgery isn't for you. I know you already have diabetes, high blood pressure and are slowly killing yourself with your obesity, but you have an irrational fear of loose skin and thinning hair and aren't sure if this surgery is for you. I get that. After all, I'd rather die slowly with beautiful hair than compromise my vanity for a few months and extend my life in the process. I mean, really, we have to have our priorities! So please, as soon as you notice some hair falling out, please panic and post about it and ask if anyone else has experienced it. I'm sure you're the very first person it's ever happened to before and you should frantically warn everyone and work yourself into a frenzy envisioning your bald dome if it continues.
9) If you post stupid, tiresome, uneducated or ridiculous things to strangers on the internet, sometimes you get snarky, short or even blunt and (borderline) rude answers. I know, I know. You live in a world where everyone sings kumbaya together with genuine feeling before they start their day on the communal farm. Well, lots of us don't live there or have an infinite amount of patience and tolerance for those that think we should all be the same. I might answer one way and many other someones will answer another way and between all of us, hopefully there will be enough of an answer that anyone with the same question (but who doesn't necessarily have the same expectation on how it will be answered) can put together a solution. And then, in a perfect world, they wouldn't post the same question two threads down less than 24 hours later.
I love VST. I love that I found this site and researched my surgery for ONE WHOLE YEAR before opting to slice out my stomach. I love that it is full of resources, full of true experiences, full of warnings, full of advice for those that bother to search it out. Even four year old threads can still be relevant today! I love being able to come back here and "give back" in a way, by helping people with genuine questions and genuine concerns. I want to cheer other people on their journey and I want to help people approach this surgery in a sane way that will help them not just lose the weight but keep it off forever.
But for goodness' sake I simply have to acknowledge that I am only human and only have a limited amount of GAF when it comes to some of these posts and lately, some of these members.
It shouldn't be exhausting and aggravating to be here! I've been around the military too long, I think - I'm about a step away from yelling at some of these jokers like they need, instead of being diplomatic and polite.
My vent, my opinion, remember? Remember: you can always just skip over my post and not respond if it really bothers you!
~Cheri

You make an interesting point. This "people are so mean here" thread popping up kinda often lately.
Anyways....
I'm probably considered one of the mean ones, I just don't take the extra time to sugar coat things. I work in a high pressure professional environment as a financial analyst and I am just a nononsence tell it like it is personality type. My wife actually just reminded me to be sympathetic about something this weekend... I can't remember what it was, I think her sinuses hurt or something. Obviously I failed that one. My son also knows that little Suzie stealing your toy car at school isn't a newsworthy complaint.
I would like to point out that the alternative is that people stop caring.
So next time someone posted that they haven't lost any weight but they just figured how to eat an entire Jack in the Box bacon ultimate cheeseburger if they just took off the top bun and cut it into 16 pieces and at one piece every 15 minutes they got SO much Protein in just 4 hours & they at all the french fries that they thought would make them sick but they didn't! Ok come on, I LOL'd while typing that!

That has to be a special kind of stupid!

Fat people are jolly, but hungry people are not.

This issue has been known to make me go off on huge rants on lapband talk, lol, so I'll keep my temper.
I find this message comes from several motivations.
1) You really have lost enough weight but cant see it yourself and keep wanting to lose more and more. This one applies to me, big time. I still think I'm huge at 150 lb. But I do know also I'm within a healthy weight range and dont really desire to be underweight either.
2) People are just so plain fat these days that they've forgotten that yes, its normal to see bones. You should have visible cheekbones, jaw bones, collar bones, elbows, knees and ankles and your hip bones should at least be palpable. If these bones arent visible at all, its a sure sign you have too much fat. Normal faces have come to be gaunt because almost everyone these days is overweight. Even people you woulndt describe as fat.
3) People are mean and jealous of your success and need to cut you down.
You can usually judge which it is of the three, but for what its worth, I think mothers just worry too much and I personally dont listen to my own mum when she worries over how little I eat. Last I checked, it actually wasnt physically necessary to eat at least 2 cups worth of muesli at Breakfast time or a 400 gram steak for dinner.

You make an interesting point. This "people are so mean here" thread popping up kinda often lately.
Anyways....
I'm probably considered one of the mean ones, I just don't take the extra time to sugar coat things. I work in a high pressure professional environment as a financial analyst and I am just a nononsence tell it like it is personality type. My wife actually just reminded me to be sympathetic about something this weekend... I can't remember what it was, I think her sinuses hurt or something. Obviously I failed that one. My son also knows that little Suzie stealing your toy car at school isn't a newsworthy complaint.
I would like to point out that the alternative is that people stop caring.
So next time someone posted that they haven't lost any weight but they just figured how to eat an entire Jack in the Box bacon ultimate cheeseburger if they just took off the top bun and cut it into 16 pieces and at one piece every 15 minutes they got SO much Protein in just 4 hours & they at all the french fries that they thought would make them sick but they didn't! Ok come on, I LOL'd while typing that!

You make an interesting point. This "people are so mean here" thread popping up kinda often lately.
Anyways....
I'm probably considered one of the mean ones, I just don't take the extra time to sugar coat things. I work in a high pressure professional environment as a financial analyst and I am just a nononsence tell it like it is personality type. My wife actually just reminded me to be sympathetic about something this weekend... I can't remember what it was, I think her sinuses hurt or something. Obviously I failed that one. My son also knows that little Suzie stealing your toy car at school isn't a newsworthy complaint.
I would like to point out that the alternative is that people stop caring.
So next time someone posted that they haven't lost any weight but they just figured how to eat an entire Jack in the Box bacon ultimate cheeseburger if they just took off the top bun and cut it into 16 pieces and at one piece every 15 minutes they got SO much Protein in just 4 hours & they at all the french fries that they thought would make them sick but they didn't! Ok come on, I LOL'd while typing that!