JJean

Hey all, I was actively on here when I first began the surgery process looking for surgeons, tips, tricks, anything I could find to prepare for surgery. After surgery, my new life got the best of me and I became a flake on the forums. So here's a brief update: I was 23 years old and a year out of college when I had the gastric sleeve. My company's insurance didn't cover bariatric surgery so I was a cash pay. I looked at going to Mexico for the cost but with the support of my girlfriend and family I decided to have surgery in the states and pay a little extra. I had surgery with Dr. Folahan Ayoola in Denton, TX on December 6, 2013 and it truly was life changing. At the time of surgery, I was 340lbs and had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea. I am a little over a year and a half out and I am happy to say I am down to 220lbs and I don't suffer from any of the comorbidities to date. I am much more active, eating healthy, and have completely changed my lifestyle for the better. This surgery truly changed my life and, honestly, I would do it every year if I had to but fortunately we don't. I followed all the post-op guidelines and recommendations pretty closely and did extremely well with recovery. Since I was a cash patient I didn't have much follow up or contact with Dr. Ayoola after I was discharged from the hospital. No big deal to me but some people might want their doctor to follow p and make sure everything was okay. I did follow up with my PCP every three months for the first year and now it's just down to twice a year. I admittedly don't take the Multivitamins or Calcium pills anymore, I drink beer quite frequently, and I still indulge in a good desert quite often. Granted, it's not near the frequency or volume they use to be but I still do the things I enjoy in life. I will admit I am much more conscious of what I put in my body and since I've began exercising I know what I have to do to work it off. I did not have a weight goal I wanted to be at going in to surgery, I just wanted to be medication free, which I am. However, now that I have reached 220 and have 20% body fat my next goal is to get around 205-215lbs and be between 12-15% body fat. I don't know how long it will take me, but I don't expect it to happen in a month and I know it will take a lot more work than what I've been putting in. I have attached some pictures below to somewhat show my journey. They are all taken about 3 months apart and I've also included a picture in just my skivvies because I was really keeping track of body changes at some time and have recently stopped but this is my most recent one. Feel free to ask any questions or post any comments you have. I am not sure if I can post it in here because, admittedly, I didn't read through all the rules to refresh myself but I have quite a few clothes I am looking to sell if anyone is interested. It is mainly Polo Ralph Lauren and I have short sleeve polos, long sleeve button downs, sweaters, and jackets. The sizes range from XXL, 2XLT, 2XLB, and 3XL. If you all are interested please message me as well and I will send you pictures and prices. Hope everyone has an awesome day!

John, thanks for the reply and I will certainly try craigslist and hope to have the luck you've had with it! As for the discontinuation of the Multivitamin and calcium this was discussed with my doctor because after multiple labs many of my levels were coming back abnormally high due to receiving the appropriate Vitamins and nutrients through my new eating habits and diet. My PCP informed me that having excess of certain vitamins and nutrients can severely damage some organs and since I spent all this money to get healthy I'd rather not put myself at an unnecessary risk. I hadn't heard before that I am the highest risk for putting my weight back on before but I thank you for sharing that. I had been told by multiple surgeons that my demographic was the ideal bariatric candidate because I was young and my body would rebound better and it would be easier for me to live a more active lifestyle than older candidates, but maybe they were just blowin smoke up my @$&! to get my money. RegardlessI I'm sure you know, with a bariatric surgeon in your family, weight loss surgery is just a tool and not the fix. It's something you have to constantly work on to keep the weight off. As I mentioned in the original post, I now know everything I put in my body and what it takes to work everything off, so these two treats are what I enjoy. I should have been clear on my intentions for adding this into the original post but it wasn't to brag or throw up red flags that I'm going to gain all my weight back. It was for the new person interested in surgery and had reservations because the "very strict" post op diets and rules everyone posts that are a bit intimidating. It would have eased my mind so much if someone would have said to me that I can still have some indulgences as long as I understand how it affects my progress and what the steps are to keep these choices from being detrimental to the cause. With that being said I hope you, and everyone reading this, still find joy in eating certain things that might not be part of your post-op diet because whoever said, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" was a damned liar! ????

Hey guys, I've been browsing around VST for a few weeks now and I've been looking into the surgery for a few months now and I'm getting closer to making my decision so I decided to join. Just a little bit about me I'm a 23 year old from the Eastern panhandle of West Virginia, I design landscapes for a living and I'm a die hard Mountaineer fan. I've been overweight almost my entire life and football was my crutch for being bigger. I played a year in college and decided it wasn't for me and since football is over not much has changed except my exercise and that's where things are going downhill. So now I'm ready to make the best decision of my life, I have a wonderful support system as both my parents have had gastric bypass, my brother and sister have had the LapBand, and my girlfriend has been around since I was 15 and she's excited for me to take this step. I'm not a fan of what I've seen with the band and I still contemplate the bypass. I'm a self pay guy and that is what's leaning me towards the sleeve because most surgeons I've spoken with have said since I'm younger and "healthy" for these circumstances I would do well with either surgery and the sleeve tends to be a bit cheaper. I know I'm going to do it here in the states, nothing against Mexico but one of the bigger players in my support system wants me to do it here so to keep the lady friend happy that's what I'm going to do. As of right now I'm looking at having the surgery done at Sibley Hospital in Washington D.C. or the Dallas, Texas area where my sister in law had her sleeve done but any and all input on anything and everything would be greatly appreciated! Other than that if you have any questions feel free to ask me because I know I'll probably ask A LOT of questions! -Jesse

Haha oh boy that might cause some problems! My boss's daughter goes to Tech so I know y'all aren't too bad of people. As far as choosing a surgeon, I've visited with Dr. Brian Long at Sibley Hospital in DC and they're a Johns Hopkins affiliate and they are GREAT just a little more expensive than some places I've heard on here. I've looked at the East Coast Sleeve Center in Cary, NC as it seems like Dr. Bruce makes it's pretty apparent he focuses on sleeves but I have not made an attempt to contact him. My family is from Dallas and my brother and his wife are in OKC and my sister in law actually was sleeved at the Weight Loss Specialists of North Texas and I would have done it there in a heartbeat but Dr. Daryl Stewart suddenly passed away 3 weeks after her surgery and I haven't asked if his fellow Dr. Ayoola is doing surgeries or how they are moving forward. As nice as it would be to go to a Center of Excellence they have generally been way more expensive and not near my budget, I have met with many doctors and I am taking the approach that I need to mesh well with them and get a good feel for them because that's what's more important to me. But thank you everyone for welcoming me and I look forward to being here awhile!