VSGAnn2014

Great responses to this thread. Just loved everything you guys wrote.

This thread is really wonderful. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. And thanks to the OP for starting it.

Jeez! Family! What I see often here is a desperate longing for acceptance from parents who truly don't seem to know or value their children. Yes, there are always parent-child generational differences. But so many of the parents I see described here have staggering boundary violation issues and uncontrollable compulsions to control their grown children's lives. What mother goes through her grown child's mail! What kind of mother says, upon being told of pending surgery, "You know better!" Apparently, lots of people's mothers. I'm so sorry. I hope you all know that you deserve better than that. We are doing this for ourselves -- not for our mothers' approval.

Personal opinion here ... I strongly disagree that your doctor should encourage you to be open about this and to become an advocate. I think that is unethical of her. If you want to be open about this, you should be. If you don't want to be open about this, you should NOT be. This is a medical situation. Have you ever heard of a doctor encouraging a patient to "Be open about your breast cancer. Become an advocate!" or "Be open about your HIV condition. Become an advocate!" or "Be open about your Crohn's Disease! Become an advocate!" There are so many challenges to having this surgery and then dealing with all the post-surgical challenges that many people have, who in the world would want to be a fish in a goldfish bowl with people watching you, judging you, having to feel like you're the poster child for WLS, feeling the pressure to behave as the perfect patient. Bah, humbug! YMMV.

Well, the big lesson here is ... don't go to your pre-surgery shrink evaluation appointment with a sugary Starbucks drink with whipped cream on top. I think we can all agree on that.

Wow, wow, wow! That's just wonderful. What a happy day for you. And for us who get to share in your success. Thanks!

I must say that the whole fatalicious movement is rather odd to me. It's not that I'm unaware of it, but I find it odd to revel in a condition that is so obviously unhealthy. Yes, I think it's healthy not to hate yourself for ANY reason. But to then turn against people who are trying to become healthier -- that's seems dope. Mostly, it seems loony to think someone is betraying you personally if they make a decision about their own body that is counter to the decision you're making about your body. That's someone with massive issues about controlling others. OK, I'm done being agog at this.

Happy news! Congratulations to you both and to your daughter.

What a hoot of a thread! "Cosmetic surgery" ??? That person is nuts. You should thank your lucky stars you're rid of her. Good grief!

Well, that's great -- your closest loved ones are in your corner. Congratulations! Here are some options for you to consider. (Perhaps others can come up with other answers that are even better.) 1. I don't know. I haven't weighed in the last month. 2. My weight is between me and my doctor. Nobody else. 3. I've told my doctor about all the questions I'm getting, and my doctor says I shouldn't discuss my weight with anyone but him. I'm following her/his instructions. 4. I'm not comfortable discussing this with you. So please don't bring it up again. 5. Right now I'm focusing on my new behaviors, not the scale. 6. F**k off. (Well, you can't say that. Unless you can say that. ) Very best wishes to you, @Bigmommatojacob. (((hugs)))

There are a lot of people in this world who are absolutely certain that they know everything about anything. They think they're God's gift to everyone else's decision-making challenges, regardless of their background, education, experience, or even simple acquaintance with a single fact. You know the kind: They never met a grey zone they couldn't categorize as black or white. Unfortunately, I'm related to a lot of those folks. Therefore, they're not privy to my VSG adventure.

I would agree with #9grammy's comments above. My husband went with me to the day-long behavioral changes class. Then he attended my first meeting with the surgeon. I will probably haul his behind to the pre-surgical meeting. Before all that, he was on board, but the extra information really does help. I show him before / after pictures. I've told him about cross-addiction issues. I've told him how important exercise is. I've asked him NOT to be responsible for my behavior, but to be SUPPORTIVE of my positive behaviors. (There's a big difference and a bright line for me between those two, but he knows where the line is.) He is just super about all this. But he is a super husband.

What a wonderful post. You are just precious. Keep enjoying your young life!

I'm sorry you have haters watching you. That is not ideal. Do you have any supporters in your life who want you to succeed? If not, do you think you could find some?

Thanks to everyone who's posted here. I really do appreciate it. I definitely don't think that I'm "too old" for VSG at all. After all, 68 is the new 48. Right? In any event, with luck there's a lot more life to be lived -- places to go, people to meet, loving to be loved, and adventures to be had. It's just very hard trying to do it while dragging my 240 pound a** behind me. I'm sure that the night before surgery I may be freaking out. But I'm going on record here right now and saying that I think that my undergoing a VSG will be one of the smartest, bravest, most sensible things I've done in a long time.

Hello, VSGers. I'm a 68 year old woman who's been heavy (and fighting it hard) all my life. In the last few years, I ran out of steam to fight it, but wasn't ready to live in my recliner. For the first time I heard about the sleeve and started investigating it. And now, a year later I feel like my VSG journey is finally starting. I'm sure everyone here can relate when I say that it feels like the journey to this point has taken for bloody ever. Last July (2013) I attended an introductory lecture. And now, eleven months later, I've accomplished: * My primary care physician's approval * Selected a surgeon (100 miles away from home) * Submittal of all medical records (from two PCPs) to surgeon's office * Insurance pre-approval (Medicare and Medicare supplemental) * Psychiatric interview, exams and approval * Behavior educational seminar * Initial meeting with surgeon * Pencil and paper VSG / WLS knowledge exam All the above has taken (gasp!) seven months. Next comes: * Nutritionist appointment and some hoops (not sure what) and approval for surgery * Exercise appointment and some hoops (not sure what) and approval for surgery * Final insurance approval * Meet with surgeon to schedule surgery * Two week liquid Protein diet (to shrink liver) * Surgery At this point, I'm hoping that two months from now I will have been sleeved. Onward and downward!

You may know this already, but I learned only last week from my surgeon that ghrelin (which is greatly reduced, at least temporarily, through the VSG) not only prompts one's appetite for food -- but also one's thirst. I had no idea! So waiting for thirst to hit you probably won't happen. Very best wishes on getting some more water in your tummy throughout the day.

What a wonderful, wonderful post. I'm so happy for you both.

Jeez Louise! I can't type the words I'd love to use in this comment. That trip sounds like hell on earth. You are a saint! I hope you don't try that again anytime soon.

I never heard of Igigi. Thank you so much for this tip.

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm off to do more research, too.

Gosh! You really do have a great attitude in the face of this adversity. Let us hear how you're faring there. Very best wishes.

It's good to hear others' experiences with this -- and what they've learned about themselves. Thanks. And to the OP, in your shoes I would go STRAIGHT to your surgeon's office. Don't suffer any longer.

I attended a panel just last week of WLS patients, and to a person they all said they had NOT expected to be depressed after surgery -- and were shocked that they had REALLY struggled with it, particularly during the first two months after surgery. If you've read the boards you know there are multiple reasons for this kind of reaction -- the trauma of surgery, big biochemical and hormonal changes due to the surgery, disordered food relationships, etc. If you're really struggling emotionally, perhaps you should try to find a counselor who has a lot of experience with WLS patients. Happily, I've found someone like that to have access to as I go through this journey. It gives me a great deal of comfort to know that I have this "safety net" to help me. I hope you feel better very, very soon. All that exercise you're doing must be helping somewhat with anxiety and what sounds like situational depression.

Good luck to you. I agree that you sound like you're off to a roaring start. It must be so exciting being at this point. I have another couple of months until surgery. I'm so looking forward to all of this.