Don

And I suppose I am chopped liver!!!!!

I still have issues with back and neck pain. Let's face it....my body is still old. If you saw an MRI of my neck you would understand that pain and I have had terrible sciatica since last January. I have went religiously to PT and have had 4 epidurals and still not much relief. I am contemplating a new mattress. I have always been intrigued by the Tempur-pedic, but have been hearing good things about sleep Number or Select Comfort beds. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? I have read both good and bad on the internet about both systems. Don

1) I did a sleep study in early December. Because of the weight loss they started me without the CPAP machine. I had been on it for at least 15 years. (I moved where I did because of the narcolepsy I was having. I was driving 67 miles one way to work and many times would fall asleep and wake up next to a semi.) They did not have to put me on the machine all night and then when the report came back it said I do not need the CPAP at all and all I need to do is work on positional problems as I snore only when I lay flat on my back. I was positive they would just lower the pressures, as at my starting weight I was on pretty high pressures. YEAH.....NO MORE CPAP machine!!!!!!!!! 2) Late on Christmas Day we took the train to Chicago to see my daughter. We spent the week there. We went on a really tight budget. I have been wearing all of my old dress shirts with the collars rather loose on me. We went to see the windows at Macy's and went inside (everyone should see the store at least once during Christmas). We went the dress shirt department and went to the clearance rack. I found a beautiful Kenneth Cole shirt for $11.99. The great thing is that it is a 16 1/2. I haven't worn a 16 1/2 since high school. I was wearing an 18. We then went across the street to Old Navy, which was having a sale on Blue Jeans.I have bought all of my "new" pants at a resale shop in town, so these truly would be my first new pants. Well my daughter went to the fitting room area. I tried on 2-3 pair in the same size I had on (38/30) and she kept telling me they were too large. I then tried on 2 pair in the next lower size (36/30). The regular ones she felt were too baggy in some areas, so I tried on a slim pair and the fit much better. I have never worn a "slim" anything in my life. I always wore husky or now as they call it relaxed fit or loose fit. My body type is still not slim, but I can wear slim blue jeans ( at least Old Navy ones). I had settled that 38/30 's would be my size from now on, so I am quite pleasantly surprised!!!!!!!! So my new years resolve is to keep on my program and eat healthy for 2012. Don

1) Having people not recognize me. People I have worked with or known for years have asked "How do I know you?". One time at church I gave one of my former choir members a great big hug and said, "Joni, how have you been?". The look on her face was worth it all. 2) My wife recently came home from a short stay at a nursing home. She was folding clothes and she put my new t-shirts in my daughter's pile (my daughter is Korean and is 25 and 96 pounds and a size 1). She said you can't wear those. I proved to her I can and they fit properly. (I went from XXL to a large.)

I am 10 months out and I am 61 and a male. Honestly my hair is so thin on top I couldn't tell if I had lost any or not. I have had a bald spot on my crown for years and felt lucky that that was all I had as my mother's brother was bald in his 30's and my grandfather was bald as well. Sorry, I am no help on that issue.

Pre-VSG surgery I had IBS and had diarrhea 4 days out of 7. They told me that VSG often cures IBS. Well in my case it did and I have not been this constipated in at least 40 years. My surgeon recommended Milk of Magnesia whenever it goes on for too many days. It does seem to be milder than some other alternatives. Today was my 6 month check-up and I felt clogged up so I took some MOM at bedtime. At 3 a.m. i woke up and my stomach was singing up a real chorus. It really was quite funny and it didn't stop for over an hour. My stomach has never made so much noise. LOL!!!!

Pre-VSG surgery I had IBS and had diarrhea 4 days out of 7. They told me that VSG often cures IBS. Well in my case it did and I have not been this constipated in at least 40 years. My surgeon recommended Milk of Magnesia whenever it goes on for too many days. It does seem to be milder than some other alternatives. Today was my 6 month check-up and I felt clogged up so I took some MOM at bedtime. At 3 a.m. i woke up and my stomach was singing up a real chorus. It really was quite funny and it didn't stop for over an hour. My stomach has never made so much noise. LOL!!!!

One of my local sleeve friends said it was because I was hungry. I don't think so. It is after I eat. Am I still eating too fast? Am I eating too gaseous foods? Any other explanations for it? Don

Somewhere around the end of June I reached the 189 pound mark. I plateaued there for most of the rest of the summer. This fall, I started trying out different things and pushing the limits. Well, I pushed myself back up to 200 pounds. Yikes!!! I thought I had defeated the sleeve and it was all over. I went back to the basics...more Protein shakes and less eating between meals. I know I am not home free yet at all, nor will I ever be. food has had too much power and control in my life. But for today I am fine and am down to a new low of 186. Hang in there everyone!!!! I am ....even if it is by my fingernails!!!!!!!!!LOL Don

I keep being complimented by the people I see regularly in my life. I thought that would end sooner, but so far so good. I was sitting in the hospital waiting room today and some people were asking if it would bother me if they held their weight watchers meeting in there. I said .I didn't mind at all (My wife was having a hernia repair is all). I mentioned that I knew the leader of the group and she asked me, " Did you used to have a weight problem?". Like it was past tense. I don't think of it as that and that it may still be a struggle day by day, but what a compliment !!!!!!!! Made my day!:rolleyes:

Saw my Dr. yesterday and got the results from a blood draw last week. My A-1C(blood sugar average for 3 months) was down to 6.9. It had been 7.7 last year, 7.2 early this year, and 7.1, 4 months ago. That doesn't sound remarkable, except all of the 7 numbers was when I was taking 120 units of insulin and 2000 mg. of Metformin a day. The 6.9 has been since I have been taking 10 units or less a day and no Metformin at all....1/12 the dose.:rolleyes: My good cholesterol was up (40) and my bad cholesterol was down (62) and my dosage of the statin drug has dropped to 1/2 the regular dose every other day (so 1/4th of what I was taking). I didn't have any idea what my results would be........but I am sure one happy camper. The VSG did what I wanted it to.:lol: I also had been plateauing between 190-192 and yesterday that was broken as well as I hit 189. Which makes my weight loss at 47 pounds on the sleeve and 98 total. I am re-enthused!!!:P:P:P:P:P:P:P

Yes it does!!!!!

Be careful. Blood pressure is nothing to fool with and may not respond right away to the weight loss. I was 2 months out or more, before I was able to halve my bp meds. The best thing to do is to monitor it yourself or go to a clinic..most offer free BP checks and get many readings over many days............then if it is consistently low.....call your DR. and have him change the dose. Don't just do it on your own as YMMV from everyone elses' BP. Just like some people on here never had diabetes before the VSG and some get it afterwards and with the weight loss.......our bodies are complex machines and all are different.

But how do you explain that the day after my sleeve, I quit taking Glucophage (200o mg. a day before surgery and from 120 units of insulin a day to less than 10. I could understand if I cut my Glucophage in half and went from 120 to 110 to 100....but to immediately drop the Glucophage and a drastic drop in insulin. I guess from the previous letter that this is a "Your mileage may vary" issue.

I am 10 weeks out now and am losing much more slowly. I had a lower BMI to start with, so I expected it to be a bit slower. I had about 80 pounds to lose and I am over half-way. I am very pleased with this surgery. Especially with my diabetes dramatically improving and changing sizes left and right. Don

Got my new AARP monthly magazine today and Sharon Osbourne was on the cover and the topic was weight loss surgery and how it helps people who have medical problems. They only talked about the bypass and the sleeve. I plan on writing a response concerning the VSG. I didn't know Sharon had had it. She looks good now (of course she has had some plastic surgery as well). Don

I had 3 bad weeks after surgery where my stomach hurt and so did my back....really bad.

"I think you men bypass and band- no sleeve mentioned" you are right..........misspoke

Scrambled eggs were one of my favorite foods, but 2-3 spoonfuls and I am in discomfort now. I am 2 months out. Never was wild about it before, but do like egg salad (not a sandwich), but egg salad by itself. I found a recipe in a weight loss surgery cook book that added celery seed and it is a bit refreshing change of taste. I went to our favorite deli the other day and got some egg salad and it was rot-gut awful...the eggs were like rubber, so I will make mine at home from now on. We all are different I guess. Don

Our back issues may have something to do with them moving us around during surgery. The first 2 weeks were hell for me....ice on the stomach and heat on the back. Don

My story is almost identical to yours. I had a 3 week stall and then some. I was sleeved on April 4 and lost a lot at first then May hit. I knew it was going to be a challenge. The 15th my daughter graduated from College in Chicago, so we spent a 4 day weekend there. On the 22nd we went down-state Michigan for a memorial service for my wife's brother and then 3 days ago, one of my best friends got married. So it has been a lot of travel and crap. On May 8th I weighed 200 even and I actually somewhere in there went up to 204. Last week I went to the surgeon's office and I broke the 200 at 199. About 2 1/2 months before surgery I started physical therapy. My doc. thought it was sciatica, the therapist thought it was the piriformis muscle, but the MRI showed I have a pinched nerve at S1. So I haven't been able to exercise much at all. I am seeing the neuro-surgeon about it tomorrow and having an epidural on Thursday. The pinched S1 causes the muscles in my calves to cramp up and the muscles in my buttocks hurt a lot so even a recumbent bike isn't an option at this point. But I am learning to be gentle with myself.....this things shall pass and the weight will come off. Don :P:P:P

1. Does it get rid of the stretch marks? I have had horrible stretch marks since I was a teenager) 2. Does it get rid of our incision scars? ( I have 3 extra from my gall bladder 10 years ago) 3. Would it decrease or cover up my horrible appendix scar? (It was 1957 and clamps were the latest and greatest thing...........it is probably 8" X 4") 4. Can I opt to have the hair on my belly and chest removed? (This is not vanity or the man grooming crap!!! I am a heart patient and when they have pulled off the leads....it is like you cut something off from a child's teddy bear and IT HURTS!!!!!!) I am going to try and find the money for a Gynecomastia as well. Like many overweight guys I have enlarged boobs and nipples the size of silver dollars. If I can sell my Steinway......?????? Thanks for any information you can provide Don

I think you will adjust and adapt and not regret it. I am 60 now and had this surgery voluntarily done. My neighbor when I was growing up had a major portion of her stomach removed ( not for weight loss) due to ulcers or cancer in the 1950's. She did just fine and lived to be 90 +. She was a lot like the rest of us now, she didn't care when she ate or how much she ate. Food was not the center of her universe. I don't know if it ever was, but in my case it was and is not very much now. As they say I don't live to eat, I now eat to live.

I never had this problem before. In fact, it has almost always been the opposite due to IBS. The first 2 weeks IBS continued, but when I added the Iron supplement and the different diet, I am now having issues with the Constipation. Miralax is quite gentle. In fact when my wife had a colonoscopy recently, they had a new method to prep her (no gallon jug of half Lytely or those little pills that can tear you up). She had a 64 ounce jug of G2 and mixed it with a fairly big dose of Miralax. I am going to go take some now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!