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Hi. Just wanted to introduce myself. I am a 41 years old female residing in southern California. I have been overweight most of my life and am just starting to suffer the consequences to my health. my weight just hit an all time high of 300 lbs. This is my heaviest ever. Not to mention, I was able to pull off being overweight in my twenties and thirties due to having some semblence of fitness despite my size. This is no longer the case. It is high time for a change and I am hopefully starting the first steps of a new life journey. Can't wait to see where this ends up!

I am currently enrolled in a bariatric surgery program through my health insurance and with any luck, will be able to have surgery at the end of this 6-8 month "jump through hoops" period. (fingers crossed, although I know it is not guaranteed) I originally was considering the lap band, but with research, I am beginning to lean towards the VGS and that is why I am here, to research, hear testimonies and get a feel for how it has changed lives. I am also interested in anyone who has had hypothyroidism and how this surgery has worked for them. I am severely hypo due to post RAI.

I am married, no children and I am self employed.

Anyway, that's me! Looking forward to making some new buddies and educating myself! :rolleyes:

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Welcome to Vertical Sleeve. Nice to have someone on the west coast, and in the same time zone. By the time I break out my tablet to respond to comments/questions, the east coasters are going to sleep.

I have my initial meeting with my doctor this coming Thursday. I'very already been approved for weight loss surgery by Medicare/Aetna.

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Thank you Sdb! You are officially my first "friend" on here. :)

Congrats on your approval. I am still hoping no kinks from Healthnet when the time comes for them to finalize it. Meantime I am just realizing what a huge task is in front of me, coming to terms with myself and preparing for what will surely be a life altering experience, Fellow West Coaster. :)

Looking forward to watching your progress!!!

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Hi Daisymoo. I am 51, had surgery 2 months ago. I've only lost 20 lbs, which is not much compared to others, but I am happy to see the scale move in that direction, even if it is slow. Welcome. This forum is a great place for info and support.

Ellen

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I may have to withdraw from this website as I may not be able to get sleeve surgery. I'll find out more on Thursday.

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Welcome Daisymooo, you will find this is a fantastic site. Lots of people to help you on your journey, thru all the stages. Let me tell you a little about myself. I turned 50 in Feb and I am feeling better each day. I have always been overweight but like you didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it, didn't let it stop me from doing most things. My husband and I ride motorcycles and in Jan 2009 I wrecked and spent most of that year healing broken bones etc. By Feb 2010 I had healed enough to have my knee replaced. Suffice to say I gained a lot of weight during all this. At the beginning of 2011 is when I started researching my options and found my doctor and this site. My health insurance had their "requirements" and yes most of us have to jump thru their hoops to get them to pay, but by the time Nov 2011 rolled around I was sooooo ready to have this surgery. Since then, it has been a roller coaster ride. Most days I am OK with what I am doing but there are still things that come up and I will say "huh, now what?" and I come to this site daily not only to get some guidance for myself but to see if there is anybody here that maybe I can help along the way.

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Welcome Daisymooo! Congrats on your decision to change your life. You wont be disappointed. If you really dig in to this site, there are sooo many people who can tell you how happy thery are with their sleeves. I had my surgery 12 weeks ago ( 13 weeks on the 16th) and I am down 45 since surgery 60 total since Jan 15th. It was easy for me, I have had no issues at all. I am a west coaster too, yaaay! Keep us posted on your journey! :D

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Thanks Guys for the warm welcome.

Sorry about the slow response back! I hope to get more familiar with this site as I progress. It's a bit daunting navigating these forums, but I am lurking around and trying to digest all I can about the surgery....I am leaning towards the sleeve because quite frankly, it seems a happy medium between the LAP band and the gastric by pass.This site looks like it will be very helpful in educating me and lending support. I look forward to getting to know you all. :lol:

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Welcome! I am 43 and started at 100lbs over weight, now down to 70lbs over (30lb loss) during my insurance required medical management over the last 7 months. I am in the final steps towards approval and hope to schedule the sleeve around the beginning of October.

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Welcome to Vertical Sleeve. Nice to have someone on the west coast, and in the same time zone. By the time I break out my tablet to respond to comments/questions, the east coasters are going to sleep.

I have my initial meeting with my doctor this coming Thursday. I'very already been approved for weight loss surgery by Medicare/Aetna.

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Hi there Knee2010. Is that an Electra Glide or read King in your avi? If you & your significant other ride Harleys, you're on my A-list already. That's all I ride. Been riding 'em for years.

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It's a Heritage. We tide everywhere on trips and vacations.

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    • BabySpoons

      Sometimes reading the posts here make me wonder if some people just weren't mentally ready for WLS and needed more time with the bariatric team psychiatrist. Complaining about the limited drink/food choices early on... blah..blah...blah. The living to eat mentality really needs to go and be replaced with eating to live. JS
      · 1 reply
      1. Bypass2Freedom

        We have to remember that everyone moves at their own pace. For some it may be harder to adjust, people may have other factors at play that feed into the unhealthy relationship with food e.g. eating disorders, trauma. I'd hope those who you are referring to address this outside of this forum, with a professional.


        This is a place to feel safe to vent, seek advice, hopefully without judgement.


        Compassion goes a long way :)

    • Theweightisover2024🙌💪

      Question for anyone, how did you get your mind right before surgery? Like as far as eating better foods and just doing better in general? I'm having a really hard time with this. Any help is appreciated 🙏❤️
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      1. NickelChip

        I had about 6 months between deciding to do surgery and getting scheduled. I came across the book The Pound of Cure by Dr. Matthew Weiner, a bariatric surgeon in Arizona, and started to implement some of the changes he recommended (and lost 13 lbs in the process without ever feeling deprived). The book is very simple, and the focus is on whole, plant based foods, but within reason. It's not an all or nothing approach, or going vegan or something, but focuses on improvement and aiming for getting it right 80-90% of the time. His suggestions are divided into 12 sections that you can tackle over time, perhaps one per month for a year if a person is just trying to improve nutrition and build good habits. They range from things like cutting out artificial sweetener or eating more beans to eating a pound of vegetables per day. I found it really effective pre-surgery and it's an eating style I will be working to get back to as I am further out from surgery and have more capacity. Small changes you can sustain will do the most for building good habits for life.

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      I've hit a stall 9 months out. I'm not worried, though. My fitness levels continue to improve and I have nearly accomplished my pre-surgery goal of learning to scuba dive! One dive left to complete to get my PADI card 🐠
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