How Has Gastric Sleeve Surgery Changed Your Life

[peacequeen 434]

I was wondering in what different ways has the sleeve changed you and your life? We all have hopes and dreams but it would be nice to read about the realities. Positive and the negative.

[Living again 11/17/2011 40]

Well it has helped me live again saved my life I am pleasant to be around now I wake up and feel alive again I go to the gym everyday ....I never use to look in the mirror didnt care what I looked like Now I put make up on I am buying that blosue I like hubby noticed this morning and said how great I am looking and thekids are so happy because AI want to do things with them now. It has totally changed my life I am so grateful my insurance approved and is paying for this. I am blessed!

[illgeturhairdid 176]

I'm only two weeks out- but already I've noticed a sense of inner happiness I haven't felt in a long time.. Heck, maybe I've never felt it like this. For the first time in a long time there is something I'm looking forward to! In two weeks I have lost 25 pounds and I know I'm just going to keep losing. Emotionally it can be a bit tough at times, especially for someone who enjoyed food and has a lot of gourmet cooks in the family. When I say enjoyed I mean more like the quality and the experience of new tastes verses stuffing down emotions. (Not that I didn't do that too.) I'm enjoying sharing this journey with you guys, with YouTube and people on my blog, my family, and my coworkers. It is an amazing journey and really feels like a self discovery at times.

Good luck to you

[kemo46 82]

It has changed my life in many ways, all positive.First is my health, I take no medication at all, my diabetes is under control and my cholesterol is normal. Second, there is nothing I cannot do now due to any physical limitation( being fat). My energy level is through the roof and I do not get tired like I used to. The self-confidence is also a big boost. With my new lifestyle and weight loss, I am able to workout extensively and continue my better health.

The only thing that you could consider a negative is that I have become cold natured and now I have to battle my wife over the thermostat.

[Lissa 2,631]

I'm another one that VSG saved my life. I'm not totally out of the woods yet, but I am making fast progress!

I can walk now, which I could barely do before. Old me couldn't walk from the car to the front door without wheezing and sweating. New me goes and walks around in the mall without a second thought.

I don't mind trying on clothes now, where before I would buy stuff I thought was big enough, bring it home and, if it didn't fit, I'd just pass it along to someone else. I was ashamed to return clothes! Now, if it doesn't fit, I go back and get a SMALLER size! Yay!!

In general, I'm happier and I'm more assertive than I was before. That's def a side effect of the surgery. Pre-op, if someone hurt my feelings or was nasty to me, I'd go buy a bag of chips or candy and sneak off to eat it. Now, I can't do that, so I've had to learn to say "You cannot talk to me that way." It's very freeing. I'm not talking about being rude, just being able to hold my head up and say "I deserve better".

Good luck to us all!

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

I love the changes in me. I struggle with realizing what my limits are. I love going out to eat with people and socialize. I am on my 11th week now and I just totally realized that I have been trying to go back to old habits with eating. I've been getting too full, too the point of discomfort because I thought I was hungry. I have been taking prilosec for over a week and my hunger has gotten better. Yesterday I was reflecting back to what a doctor had said in his orientation to bariatric surgery. He said, "after the procedure, it will take you 45 minutes to eat half a sandwhich." Driving home from the mountains, I had eaten 1 bit too many and I felt uncomfortably full. With my surgeron, they push that we need to take 1 bite and wait 10 minutes between each bite. That too me is extremely hard to do. Only achieved it like once. So on the drive home, I divided 45 by 10 and realized that at meals, I can only eat 4.5 to 5 bites of food and that is my limit. This makes it alot easier for me.

Over all, I have dropped weight quickly and need to buy a new ward robe of clothes. I still have fears that I can regain the weight and that drives me crazy. I love how I now stand back and realize that if someone is jealous of my weight loss, that's ok because it's about them and not me. I love my new eating and will always just take at the most 5 bites. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

BTW, I had a blood panel done and all the results for lipids, Calcium, and diabetes are normal. This is life altering.

[luv-a-bull 7]

I was sleeved on dec 13th- so like 6 days ago and am just starting to have thoughts other than those of regret...so thanks for posting this and all the responses...it is very encouraging that things will get better

[Kris 78]

Gosh, there have been some major positive changes in my life since being sleeved nearly a year ago. My health is so much better -- no more high blood pressure, no more worries about being borderline diabetic, no more horrible acid reflux problems. I had pretty bad (untreated) sleep apnea before surgery and was tired all the time. Now I don't snore at all, and I sleep through the night, and I wake up feeling rested and ready to tackle the day. I would avoid any kind of physical exertion before surgery ... my husband remarked how I would almost never walk up the stairs unless it was a dire situation, and now I run up the stairs lickety split without hesitation. I used to rarely exercise, now I exercise 6 days a week and love it -- really love it, not just saying that. I love to be active and move now, which is the complete opposite of how I used to be. Before surgery, I wouldn't try new activities because I was too self conscious about my weight. Since surgery I've gone swimming & snorkeling in the ocean, gone inner tubing down a river, and gone on a 7 mile hike up a mountain -- none of these things are things I would ever have considered seriously before surgery. Clothes shopping used to be a necessary evil -- I would certainly never go clothes shopping "for fun" before surgery -- now it is a lot of fun to shop for clothes, and not a depressing sight to see myself in the changing room mirror (with clothes on ... w/o clothes I'm still v. much a work in progress, LOL). Those are just some of the highlights. I feel so much happier and self confident now than I did, too. In every way I can think of, my life has improved since having surgery.

Negatives -- there are a couple of negatives, but in my mind they are totally outweighed by the positives. My skin has not done well since surgery; I have lots of loose skin everywhere (from the chin down to the knees). I am still very appalled by how I look naked. I have an ugly turkey neck and will probably need a neck lift once I hit goal and am seriously thinking of getting a breast lift and Tummy Tuck too, once I hit goal and stabilize there for a year or so. Sometimes I do really miss not being able to eat more ... like when I am eating a fabulous meal out, and I hit my limit faster than I want ... but I have to admit, I really don't feel deprived. I used to be a major volume eater, so the transition from volume eater to sleeve capacity eater has been a big life change. Really those are the only negatives, and in the big scheme of things they aren't much to complain about!

I love my sleeve and think that getting sleeved was one of the best things I ever did for myself in my life.