hope4204

I am freshly 24 and have been overweight for as long as i can remember. I belong to a family of emotional eaters! I'm sure that many of you know exactly what I am talking about when I say those words! Bad day? Ice Cream! Good say? Ice Cream! Holidays and birthdays are planned solely with food in mind! I have told myself over the years that I am happy with who I am and what I look like, but as the years pass I realize this just isn't the case! Diets never work, and a life style change is in order! I finally made the decision that surgery is what it will take for me to be successful in losing and keeping the weight off. Earlier this year I started doing lots of research on weight loss surgeries and found that the only one my insurance covered was Gastric Bypass. Thinking it was the logical option i went ahead and started the process of getting it done. In July my mom and I attended a seminar that is required to get the ball rolling. I started the 6 months of dieting and seeing a nutritionist weekly that my insurance requires for approval. 1 month into dieting my gallbladder had to be removed because of a stone. When this was done everything changed!! The doctor that performed the removal found an interesting surprise when he got inside! (He also nicked something and I spent a week in the hospital for a bile leak!!) My intestines never rotated when i was a baby, so large is on one side of my belly and small on the other! How did I not know this after being alive for 24 years!!! So the gastric bypass just seemed like more complications going into it than I was comfortable with! Now here is where it gets interesting! During my stay in the hospital a doctor from the same office was filling in for mine and stopped by to check on me. In my family we call this one a "god thing" because this man just so happened to be a weight loss surgeon and was working with a hospital, that is actually closer to my home, on a low cost plan for the sleeve procedure! He explained more about my intestines and how the sleeve would just be more practical! Lots of research, phone calls, and doctors appointments later and I am so very close to being able to have this surgery. The only problem is, and it's a pretty big one, I can't find a co-signer who has enough good credit for me to get the full amount needed! I feel like i have worked so hard to get to this point, I have lost 10 pounds on the diet that the doc suggested I be on to soften my liver! I know that I need this surgery, but there have been so many set backs on this journey that I am starting to wonder if this is just not meant to be! I am so sorry this has been an extremely long post, but I needed to get it all out and hope that someone has some words of encouragement!! Thank you for reading!

as some of you may know, i have been having trouble with nausea and have not been able to eat anything! i have been craving orange juice, which at this point just the thought of food makes me want to hurl! so i was wondering if oj is too acidic or would it be ok to drink some? plus its got good vitamins that im not getting these days!

i was helping my aunt with her kids school registration by blowing up balloons with helium... to make the kids giggle i sucked some in and it was ok at first but about 10 minutes later i was in a bad way!! my stomach hurt sooo bad!! it eventually went away but this is just something i thought i would share for any new people and anyone looking into the sleeve!! spare yourself...

i decided to put together these pics and maybe help someone who is looking into the surgery or someone who is having a rough time! this is the best decision i have ever made for myself! i still have a little bit more to lose and it gets harder as time goes on, but when i look back and my pics before surgery it reminds me of how i NEVER want to look and feel that way again! looking at those pics also reminds me of how far i have come and that i should be proud of myself! some days are harder than others but overall this has been an amazing journey so far! Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery (VSG) Forum - hope4204's Album: 7months post op

thanks @sleeve 4 me --- i was a size 26/28 in pants and 3X in shirts before my pre-op dieting. today i wear 16 pants and XL shirts! i hope to lose about 30-40 more pounds.

thanks everyone :biggrin0:

YAY! got a new suit today and now im ready for the beach!! 2 more weeks!!

today is an exciting day for me! october 20th of last year, my birthday, i weighed in at 308! my surgery was december 7th and i had lost roughly 20 pounds from my birthday to surgery date! well today my friends, 5 months after my life changing surgery, i weighed in at 207!!!!!! i really didnt think this day would get here, and here it is! i would like to lose about 50 more pounds but that will happen sooner than later i suppose!! i just wanted to share this happy moment with everyone and hope that some pre-op and early post-op people see this post and are reassured that this surgery is the best decision you can make for yourself! i have absolutely no regrets! our family is headed to the beach next month and i am actually excited about bathing suit shopping!! i get to wear something cute and not look like a granny out on the beach!!!!!!!!