NJVSTuser

Yes loose skin was a worry of mine but is not too bad compared to all the benefits. Most visible to everyone was the turkey neck but that seems to be fading somewhat 18months out or I am just not as worried about it. No one has ever pointed it out, just how "great" I am looking and how amazed they are with my transformation over the last two years. Stomach flap was not too bad either despite losing over 100lbs and is improving too over time. Yes us guys are not normally snapping a ton of pictures of ourselves so I don't have a lot of before pics, for sure not in a bathing suit and still not out there taking pics of my skinny self. Maybe will take a shot when I go to the beach next month and post it. That would be a big step for me.

My NUT warned me recently that eating and drinking at the same time was the most likely way to stretch the stomach over the long term. Been trying to avoid doing that and sticking to the 30 min time limit for drinking after eating.

And remember your liver is shrinking every day you are on the liquid diet making the surgery safer.. That's what kept me going but I was lucky enough to be allowed the small meal nightly. Good luck with the surgery.

SuperKen, Yes you had a lot further to go than I did to get to onederland but think with some staying power on the diet hopefully, you will make it this year. I know I was amazed that I got below 200 as I know the average is losing 65% of the excess weight and the docs will be happy if you get to that. My fear is having lost 100% of the excess it may be tougher to keep it off as the years go on but the surgeon think I will probably settle down 10 lbs higher than I am now. Only time will tell. Godson, You are doing great it sounds like and are seeing results around the waist. Good luck and hope it all goes as well for you as it has for me so far. Great when everyone shares their stories.

I am 58 and 6 feet even and had the surgery in May 2013 and have been down to my high school weight for six months now having gone from a surgery weight of 295lb down to 175lb. Diet wise I stuck to the plan given to me but the NUT as closely as possible especially Protein wise and found myself losing aprox 3lbs a week. My meal suggestion are lots of varieties of Chilli with Beans as that kept me going till I could eat some carbs again and never gets old for me. Have not had to track the exact amount of food so far as weight is pretty steady without it and my stomach stopped me eating too much but the NUT said stop eating as soon as you feel full and that simple rule has worked fine.

1. Losing the seat belt extender on planes was a big one for me as I fly a lot. 2. No more meds, that is eight tablets a day I do not have to remember to take. 3. Being able to play tennis for more than an hour.

I stopped using them as well once I could eat solid food for Snacks, I eat Quest Protein bars instead as get fuller feeling for longer from them and similar nutrition wise. However, my NUT has said several times that I can include Protein shakes as snacks if I wish. So it is down to personal choice once you can eat the solid protein, if you like the shakes you can use them as an extra source of protein.

SuperKen and Brothamike, Both doing great. SuperKen, that is an amazing loss on the waist and weight, you may be in onederland by now. Hope things are still going well for both of you..

Chris73, glad you have started the journey, and good luck to you going forward. The healing process for my stomach took a while but now I can eat most things. For sure it feels like a new life to me. I have so much more stamina. Just got back from a vacation in Colorado and two years ago before surgery I could not do any exercise at 12,000ft without not being able to breathe, now I was almost keeping up with my 22 year old son on hikes up the mountains at that height. It was one of my biggest accomplishments so far since the weight loss. I was worried it was just how I was built but tuned out it was just the weight holding me back.

One thing I was told to do with a sleep study is request a sleep aid. (sleeping pill) For me it turned out I did not have sleep apnea, just loud snoring so was a positive surgery wise. For the actual study you sleep in the study room with video and they connect lots of wires to you for the night so the sleeping pill helps ignore those external factors. The sleep study room is just like a hotel room (even had a sleep number bed so you could adjust it to the one at home) and you just go in and spend the night there asleep hopefully so they can track what happens. Good luck and remember it is one of the less invasive procedures you will have in this journey.

Dr Schrope and Bagloo are based at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and in Manhattan too at Columbia. I had the operation at Valley with four very small incisions for the tools and one longer one that the stomach is removed through. Some surgeons are using a technique with one hole through the belly button but didn't have that myself.

Yes, my daughter (adult) acted as my monitor and kept me on the path of sticking to the diet and getting my walks in every day. Pre-surgery liquid diet just got me used to living off liquids for a while and I lost 20lbs in three weeks on it. Good luck and shrink that liver.

Annah, sorry if I confused you, no they are the same thing, VSG stands for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy but usually people shorten it to say they have been sleeve'd or they have had 80% of their stomach removed to create a small sleeve. Let me know if there are any other questions you have, it has been an amazing experience for me as I was lucky and had no complications and lost 100% of my excess weight which is above average but seems to be a common experience for people on this site.

I went with Dr Schrope at Valley who is in the same group as Dr Bagloo but I have never met her as I think they work different days. Dr Schrope is very good too and happy with my small entry holes which are almost invisible now if that is of interest. They are performing mainly VSG now and they have a NUT on staff. Take care and sure whomever you choose it will go well.

i didn't drink for six months but do love a craft beer. My fave now is Nitro beer or Cask ales which are not as fizzy. Other ones I just pour into a glass instead of drinking from the can or bottle. Drinking beer straight after eating or trying to eat Snacks with a beer does not agree with me but I do enjoy a beer or two on the weekend before dinner. A summer vacation in England did bring some good cask ales though so glad they are harder to find in NJ. I would say wait as long as you can after being sleeved before drinking beer to let every thing heal and then start with one beer well after a meal to see how your body reacts.

Good luck guys, Who was taking the lead in suggesting you both went through the procedure? That will be great for support as you get out there walking after the procedure and for designing menus as you progress.

Another vote for Quest bars here too after trying several other types. Love the Choc Chip Cookie Dough and Double Choc Chunk and some of the fruit varieties. Just need to check the nutrition info carefully on whatever type you choose to make sure it fits in with your food needs and then do some taste tests.

For me I waited six months before drinking anything alcoholic and have tried both wine and beer since then. Wine seems to give me more of a buzz than it used to and two glasses is my limit now. Beer seems better tolerated even with the carbonation though I generally pour it into a glass now to get rid of some and can have a beer or two before dinner without too much effect but have to stop drinking when I start eating and wait at least an hour after a meal before drinking again which I rarely have so far. Still I am 120lbs lighter than I was a year ago so would be worried if I did not get buzzed faster than before.

I was worried about having surgery in general as this was my first operation ever and RNY has more risks than VSG overall and VSG has demonstrated almost as good results as RNY. I did not want any restrictions on what I could eat in the end and VSG gives you that though as people have stated that can be a bad thing if you do not have self control on what you eat. I am just past one year and have had no issues with VSG and am now down to goal weight with the doc telling me not to lose anymore so could not be happier. Still it is personal choice I just did not want to have more surgery than required but the lap band requires too much maintenance for my liking. I am sure whichever way you decide to go you will lose the weight, key is to give yourself a chance and have some kind of WLS.

Great to see the number of the late May sleever's and that you are progressing well. I was sleeved on May 28th last year and don't remember so much activity on the boards then though I was very fuzzy the first week. Good luck to you all and stick to the diet long as you can. Can't believe how little I could take in those first few weeks but all helps in the weight loss as long as you can take in the water. Still suffering from the gas but always did.

Agree with PdxMan, I lost 10lb in the first two weeks but the key is slow and steady wins in the end. Sounds like you are doing all the right things so hopefully this time next year you will be near goal. Take care and keep walking as much as you can.

Another once a week person, Sunday mornings before Breakfast. Just to keep track..

I am with PdxMan, took 9 months for the NUT to say I could eat Pasta and rice in moderation which meant I could eat pretty much everything. Before that I stuck to the lean Protein, fruit and veg diet.

I'm with you and the butt crack under the belly button and the Turkey neck at 9 months out but trying to think that with some strength training maybe it too will slowly go away. Starting on the strength training but if the skin is going to shrink it will be very slowly I suspect. Still I have lost 20inches round the waist so has shrunk a lot already and not going to give up those last few inches easily.

Just had my 9month checkup and NUT said I could add rice and Pasta to the diet so pretty much everything in moderation now. Up till now I have avoided both of those. Had a small portion of brown rice this week with red Beans and no issues. Still can't eat doughy bread without having problems so that keeps me on toast which is a good thing.