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Theresa, Well I stayed off the scale and only weighed like once a month, It was just melting off of me, I didnt excercise or anything other than at work. I just really focused on pure Protein and stayed away from everything else (Bad Carbs). In the first month I lost 45 LBS. Thank you for the compliment!! Actually to be honest I know I am still the same person, But I do not feel any different now than I did at 400, People are like no way you have to feel different. Well I dont but I know the stores made a ton of money off of me going from 5X to XL (and that is loose) but I like it loose. I hope to see your progress on here or keep me updated, I rarely am able to login to type emails but I wish you all the success in the world and it will work! Let me know if I can help you with any tips or tricks and I will sure help you! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year you are on your way to looking completely different . :thumbup: James

Nothing to worry about, I love my sleeve and to date since 05/21/2008 I have lost 220 LBS. When the scale starts to move it moves very quick! I wish you much success with you sleeve!

Cheri, Congrats on your new date for surgery. Everything will be ok I hope with your Echo. I tried lots of different powders from Really cheap to Really Expensive, The one I found the best luck and taste with was the chocolate whey Protein from walmart, Not only is it inexpensive but it taste ok to. Just dont smell it! It will discourage you and they all smell the same way. The first 3 days will be the hardest for you to manage or at least it was for me but after that your stomach adjust accordingly. I was sleeved in May 2008, I was 400 LBS easy.. I am now 190 and feeling great! I wish you the same success that many of us share here!

Speaking from the sleeve experience as I am sleeved now and have been for over a year now, I was 389 at surgery, 1 year later I am 197 or a little less, There is a gland in your stomach called Grehllin or however it is spelled that sends a signal to your brain telling you when your hungary and also slowing your metabolism. (once removed it was like a miracle) (For example myself, I unfortunately have not worked out since surgery, just normal routine work walking around at different facilities) Yes I have lost some muscle mass. I find it hard to intake the amount of protein without tasting horrible protein shakes or shots and so on. I eat probably 6 times a day in small portions About the size of half a happy meal but of pure protein like chicken or fish. I have been very successful with my sleeve and feel confident that anyone who is sleeved will have some success if not meet their goal except with excessive obesity. The VSG is step 1 of a 2 step surgery for those who need it. I was told no heavy lifting after surgery so I didnt. I was also told to walk alot, no running for at least 6 weeks, I would advise against volleyball for a while :cool0:. The best advice is to let the sleeve heal inside of you, dont hurt it. I was soooo careful drinking and eating after surgery for so long because I didnt want or need complications. (word of advise to anyone.. When they tell you to go to the hotel and wash your wounds I wouldnt do that, Take some Neosporin spray, alcohol wipes and completely cover your wounds while in the shower anywhere in Mexico. I look at it like this, If it is not safe enough to drink it isnt safe at all) You can wait till you are back in the states to wash them hehe. Just make sure that you clean them with the alcohol wipes and neosporin spray :car: .. Not knocking mexico or anything, this is where I had my surgery performed in Tijuana Mexico at Hospital Angeles. I hope my post is somewhat helpful if not feel free to contact me if you would like to ask specific questions I will be more than happy to support you all in anyway I can :car: I also apologize if my typing is wrong, I am super tired from working all day in the heat but wanted to post

Thanks everyone, Yes it was a success and I cannot wait to hear more success stories. If there was a way to publish photo's I would hehe. I would ask for those photos or DVD's and have them in your hand before you leave, I was told it would be mailed :car: and didnt happen. You will have a rough time adjusting to this surgery as you will no longer feel hunger and it takes a while to get use to. Let me know if I can answer any questions as I have been through it all already :cool0: Best wishes for your new sleeve's :car: talk with you soon.

Hi everyone! I guess these are new forums huh? Well A little about me... I am 28 and 1 year ago I was 389 LBS. I had a Sleeve performed in Tijuana Mexico in May of 08 at Hospital Angeles Performed by Dr. Contreras. Now I am 197 And as happy and active as ever, This surgery has truely changed my life! :juggle: I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only downfalls I had was the language barrier but thats ok I was in another country anyways I just learned a few words before I went down haha. The other one is I was promised a DVD of my surgery, I never got it :confused1:. I do have X-rays and things like that but I would have loved to see my DVD. Anyways If any of you have any questions or need support you can contact me at anytime! :confused1:

Just letting everyone know that i am 7 days post-op and feel great, I do not feel hungary and i am just on liquids for 3 weeks its awesome not to feel hungary. oh and I have lost 20 lbs since surgury freaking amazing. If anyone has any questions hit me up and i will answer them.

no grehllin slows your metabolism, it is removed during the Sleeve surgury so your metabolism sky rockets... its a awesome deal hehe...

I have the sleeve it was done on may 21st of 2008, to date over 120 lbs lost in going on 5 months. The sleeve is where they remove 80% of your stomach however they also remove grehllin which slows your metabolism and also sends signals to your brain that your hungary so you will no longer feel hunger pangs. The lapband is a foreign object placed around your top of the stomach and tightened with a saline solution so that you eat less but your stomach stays in tact. I have heard good success stories but heard alot of bad stories to, problem is you still feel hungary even when you just ate becuase your stomach hasnt even got the food that you just ate until later on. Feel free to ask more questions if you like but this post looks to be the exact same post you posted before that i replied to.

5'11" and 375 LBS I am now 253 lost 122 LBS since May 21st of 08.. Please ask all the questions you want this is a support forum... Best Of Luck. James

GREAT!!!!!! and you wont stop loosing either... im now 251 from 375 w00t... Glad you got it done.. dont forget to always carry a bottle of water or gatorade with you as you need at least 48 ozs of fluid a day or more to keep hydrated... it will take alot to get use to but you can do it! (PSS dont sneak any food let your tummy heal on the inside as its much needed) and when you do begin eating take it super slow and only take a couple of bites at first you wont know your 2 full until its 2 late. be careful ive been to the bathroom a couple times and dont really enjoy that hehe. let me know if you need any help im here for you!

You can have all the support you need right here... I posted here for support but then people started bashing the thread "Oh Well" I move on... But im here and there are several others who had it done here as well... feel free to PM me anytime you want!

I wish the best of luck to you and your weight loss in the future!! Have a great Week!

I feel AWESOME!... I didnt take any pain pills 3 days after the surgury, yea the wounds were sore but nothing that needed pain pills for.. Vertical gastrectomy is the gastric sleeve I beleive I may be wrong??? but there are several terms used for it.. I love my sleeve and no after care is the best part of it! Im sure you will do great with the band lots do..and some dont I couldnt take a chance of me being one of the ones it didnt work on. cost way 2 much money to chance things like that, I needed a fail proof system.

The sleeve has been around for about 5 years, The sleeve is where they remove 80% of your stomach and the remaining stomach looks like a banana or tube, It also removes the grehllin which makes you feel hungary and slows down your metabolism... the end result is your stomach is only 2-3 oz's sometimes less. Its a restrictive surgury just like the band but no foreign obeject and you dont have to worry about fills or anything. Yes the pouch can expand but it takes YEARS to do that by that time your at goal weight and would be able to eat better with easier excercise.. Example of weight loss that can happen is like 80 lbs in 2 months thats pretty good with no hungar pangs or anything. Feel free to ask me anything about it and ill tell you i had my surgury on May 21st of this year..

I am very sorry you are having problems with the band. Has the doctor said if the port is leaking? I do not know whether or not your insurance will cover the sleeve, Most insurances do no cover it becuase its still considered experiemental surgury. I do know several people that has gotten the sleeve and insurance has paid for it, The only thing I can say is try!!. But on the other hand if your insurance paid for the initial band and it is failing or a defective band than the insurance will likely pay to have it fixed or replaced. I am sorry that you have lost only 18 lbs but hopefully the doctors and everyone will fix your issue so you can start loosing the weight again. I wish you the best of luck with all of it! If you have any questions please feel free to ask!.

See...^^^ I have not said anything bad to you!. I have paperwork sitting in front of me from the coordinators who told me to post here and obesityhelp.com and I am posting both places. If you dont like it I DONT CARE! Yes the sleeve is a very beneficiary surgury and I dont care what DR people use thats their own decision!! Everyone will loose weight different ways but not everyone is like you and wants to get banded.. SO MANY people do not know about other surgury's and im only 1 person and cant change everything!. Most people are scared to get the band becuase its a foriegn device well...... The sleeve isnt.... You can say whatever you wish to me or anyone else here but im here for SUPPORT not for your put downs! So either post positive or dont post at all thats sorta like the saying in the good book!... I am not here to change peoples minds, But look who all is curious about the sleeve and how many questions their asking. What happens when you band fails you? what is your next option? wouldnt you want to know that? what if you didnt know about the sleeve and ur next step is a ROUN-Y? yea great decisions! stop barking up the wrong tree im only doing what i said I can do and most people here are agreeing and saying keep posting here!

I dont think ive bashed the band at all... Matter of fact I was 2 thinking about getting the band and then I learned about the sleeve. And people are interested about it becuase people are posting here so stop trying to tell people that im bashing the band I dont appreciate it.

Wow so many questions I dont know where to answer them all.. So Instead of typing for hours on end if anyone wants to talk Private Message me with a phone number and I will be happy to tell anyone anything. No out of the USA phone numbers please as I do not have the capability of calling there. Have a great one and hope to hear from you all soon!

I am here for everyone, ask me any question you would like and i will answer them to the best of my abilities. No worries about re-routing your insides... the sleeve removes the stomach but the stomach that remains still works the same as your previous stomach but much smaller and the grehllin is removed so now your no longer hungary!.. while everyone else is starving you dont have the urge to eat its awesome hehe. any questions PM me

I know that obesityhelp.com is one of the forums, I have personally lost 76 LBS now with the sleeve, I had no complications during or after the surgury and I do not require any vitamins that roun-Y patients have to take, I have no dumping syndrome, I am not sure what PB's is. The sleeve is a restriction diet just like the band but no artificial device inside of your body. I can eat/drink whatever I want but only very small portions literally a couple small bites and im done. Yes the sleeve has only been around for like 4-5 years so there are not enough studies on the sleeve for long term patients although everything that I have read has been positive. I decided to go with the sleeve and havent looked back since. I got chewed out a while ago for posting in the lapbandtalk but whatever people have a right to know whats out there for them as the band doesnt work for everybody. PM me if you have any more questions i will be happy to answer them for you!. Hope all goes well with everything 6 months is a long time.

nope not at all.. Anyone can get the sleeve but you will come to a dead still on loosing weight. Actually Gastric Bypass patients loose weight faster than that and yes it is perfectly healthy, ask any DR they will advise you that its great actually.

I know i seen lots of things at www.obesityhelp.com. I had the sleeve performed and would love to tell ya about it! You can message me anytime you wish and if you dont know a DR. I have one of those for you 2! Best of luck!

Im doing great.. 73 pounds so far and its only been a month and a half basically. I am glad you choose the sleeve. Its a no win situation you will loose weight no matter what haha. I have been trying everything (not dieting) and im loosing like crazy. Let me know if you have any questions!.

yep thats awesome.. thanks a bunch