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This is my 10 year out post.

I’m still so happy with this surgery! It wasn’t a magic pill...but it was my tool to save my own life! 

The day before surgery I weighed 282, and busting out of size 28... I was 45...at my highest weight I was over 300 (don’t know exactly, my scales didn’t go that far) Today...almost 10 years later, I’m at 142..and wearing size 6. In December 2008 I had to practically crawl up stairs...Now...stairs aren’t a challenge, or I should say a total fear... I haven’t had any surgery to get rid of excess skin. I’m just happy to be alive and enjoy life again, 

Well here I am...6 years out from VSG! The people at OH asked me to give an update...so here it is...

I weighed in this morning at 130lbs...that's 161+ pounds lost! And keeping it off! I went from a size 28 (tight) to a size 4 or 6 (not too tight) 

When I had the surgery, there were no five year results. I'm not sure what has been discovered since then, or what the official results are, but I can say, I haven't had any issues with my stomach stretching out, or anything like that. 

What do I do to maintain? Not a lot...really just the basics. I pretty much eat what I want, but I have some basic rules...When I start to feel full, I quit eating...I eat my protein first, then if there's room, carbs. How much I eat depends on what I am eating...if it is a solid red meat like a steak...not a lot. I can eat a small hamburger...usually I eat half of it with the bun, then just the meat. Fish, crab, lobster...I can eat more of. Ido drink diet soda's...for me it hasn't caused any problems...

My blood work is  great! I have no absorption issues other than vitamin B. I  am very active, and have a very high energy level. I now live back in West Virginia (thank goodness)! Where I live is quite remote. From the car to the house you have to cross the river on a swinging bridge, then walk a quarter mile to the house! When it snows, its quite a trek!

That's about it I guess...If you have any questions...feel free to ask. Just remember always...VSG is a tool! You still have to work at it...learn how to eat right...learn how to control your urges, and make good eating choices. Keep active! 

Good luck in your journey...it is what you make it!

 

I haven't posted in a very long time...this is for the newbies out there...I'm 5+ years out! I weigh about 135, and wear size 4. I eT and drink what I want, and my stomach hasn't stretched. 

VSG works!!! BUT!!! Always remember, there is no magic pill...you have to work at it, no matter what surgery you decide is right for you!

Not a lot to post in my blog this month...I am down 8 lbs...the size 12's are a little loose, but not ready for the 10's yet. I did get my picture taken and will post it in the next couple of days.

For those of you who are my friends...I just want to thank you for being there for me during this very trying time in my life....I really don't think I would have gotten through it without you. So many of you have sent me personal messages checking on me...and so so many replied to my post about my recent split with whom I now call what's his face...I just can't express how much all that means to me...there just isn't enough words....I wish I could travel the world and hug each and every one of you!

As a little update I will add...I am doing much better...past the crying, past the anger (sort of) and moving on. I sign the lease on my apartment this Saturday, and I will start the difficult task of weeding through things to yard sale....toss...store.. or take
UGH! BUT...I am getting a fresh start, and getting rid of a lot of junk I have just been procrastinating getting rid of...That crap is not following me, and if I have tossed it ,or sold it, and need it again...oh well...time to shop. LOL

Well that is it for now...I will be back on the boards regular again in a couple of weeks...just simply too busy right now. But remember I think of all of you often....and so so much appreciate the friendship that has developed here.

Many many returned hugs


Wanda

Well where do I start...this month was pretty uneventful....real slow weight loss included. Only 4 pounds this month.
I have given up second guessing this weight loss thing, and have decided my body is going to do what ever it pleases regardless of what I try to do. I am only 4 lbs from the 100 lbs lost mark and that 4 pounds is as stubborn as I am. UGH!

I went to the doctor Friday, and he was very pleased. He said for me that anywhere between a BMI of 25 and 28 would be good...so that puts me at between 165 and 175 lbs...that means I have another 20 to 30 lbs to loose....UGH at this rate it will take 6 months! Oh well...I have decided that anything that is left after my one year mark I am going to take the Dolly Parton approach and have it nipped, clipped, sucked and tucked.  Yea that will be a little early, but who cares...as of Friday I will be 46 years old...I do not expect a perfect body, but I would like my thighs to hang around my ass instead of my knees and my stomach to stay put where it belongs, instead of having to move it to see my hoo haa...not that my hoo haa is all that interesting, but it would be nice to just be able to say...hey I can see it without having to lift the garage door. My boobs...well...okay...just well....

I did have some NSV's this month...a couple of them yesterday...First off. I GOT MY ASS IN A SIZE 12! Yepper a 12! I haven't saw that size since my first divorce! They buttoned, and zipped with no problem, and I could bend over and breath at the same time.
2nd... the greeter at my Wally World which I go to every weekend...(no I am not one of those people that have showed up on recent e-mails"The People of Wal-Mart") stopped me yesterday, and said you are losing weight...then he hesitated...and said...you are trying to right? you aren't sick? I said oh yes it is intentional...he said I looked great! The first time this man saw me was a year ago after hurricane Ike...I weighed close to if not over 300 lbs and was riding one of the handicap buggies. So he has seen me shrink, but just now had the courage to say something.
That just goes to show you that it isn't that people don't notice your weight loss...it's that they are afraid to ask...unlike we think...the first thing that pops into their head isn't that you have done something, on a crash diet or doing drugs...they think you may be ill, and are afraid to ask.

Well I really can't think of anything else this month...pics next month...my weight loss has slowed to the point that I don't think it will do much good to show  you every month now...but hey...it is still coming off and that is what matters!
Have a great month
Wanda

I am in onederland! Yep… 199 showed up on my scale on the 26^th, exactly the 6 month mark. I danced a jig and was elated all day long. I logged 10 lbs lost this month, I am quite happy about that too. We went on vacation for two weeks and I lost 6lbs while on vacation…who does that?!...sleever's that's who!
NSV’s boy do I have some of those…I went to my niece’s wedding and was in a size 14, which was a goal I set at the beginning. My family was all together, and just kept telling me how good I looked; when they first saw me, you could see it in their face. It felt wonderful.

Funny, yet sad story…my dad has Alzheimer’s, it’s not so bad that he doesn’t know who we are, but he does get confused, and doesn’t remember to well…when he arrived with my brother at my sister’s house, he didn’t say a word, after a couple of hours my brother was giving me that say something look and grin…I said “dad don’t you notice anything different about me?” He said “yea…you’re bigger” My eyes nearly fall out of my head and my jaw was on the floor, my brother fell apart he laughed so hard. Then dad said “maybe you lost a few pounds”…That just goes to show how confused he is…I saw him in December last year, weighing my heaviest ever…nearly 300lbs and he sees me again at my smallest in years, and said I am bigger…You have to laugh to keep from crying.

Two days upon arriving in AZ I looked in the mirror and holy cow! I broke out in wrinkles! I said ah crap! Where did these come from all of a sudden… I lost the wrong pound. Instead of trying to gain back that wrong pound, It sent me running to the drug store and I bought $80 worth of Roc products. Fillers, moisturizers, serums…you name it I bought it. Turns out it was just the dry air…2 days after  being back in the humidity…the wrinkles started to disappear…either it’s the humidity…or that Roc stuff really works!  If it does work, then I am going to be panhandling on the street corners to support my Roc habit, because it is going to take a lot of those high dollar little tubes to cover my entire body.

Back to NSV’s… During our trip we did some sightseeing…we like to visit Indian ruins and thing like that.

At Bandelier National Monument I climbed 140 feet up 4 ladders to visit a cliff dwelling.

Yep, that is my big butt

I was walking back after being to the top of that butte…there is a very large ruin up there.

And I walked down into an extinct volcano at Capulin Volcano

So after just six months a gal who could barley move around her body weight is walking, hiking, and climbing all over the place…I feel like I am 40 years younger…I say 40 years, because 6 months ago I could have sworn I was 70. Shoot 6 months ago my 92 year old dad could get around better than me!

 

I am going to have to build up even more stamina…My daughter is hell bent on making me a grandma again! Gezzzzzz…her biological clock is ticking and mine is going backwards….I sure hope it is a girl this time, so she can get some paybacks for what I have went through with her. J

 

So for my 6 months stats…I am down a total of 92 pounds (8 lbs from losing 100 lbs which is my goal to reach by my birthday 10/02); my BMI has went from a 47 to 32.1; I went from nearly busting out of size 26 to a size 14 (goal size 10)

I am 24 lbs from Dr.’s goal and 34 from mine…I am 14 lbs from no longer being obese, and just over weight.

I am the happiest and healthiest I have been in years.
So...If you are looking into the sleeve...you can look at these pictures and know my answer! Go for it!
I love my sleeve!
Idgett

Well my picture taker is out of town, so pics are going to be late...

 Where do I start....It's been a slow month scale wise. Only 8 pounds...for a grand total of 83 pounds so far. I went through what a lot of people call a stall...I refuse to call it a stall, because I lost inches; to me it isn't a stall if something is moving, whether it be the scale, or or clothes size. I attribute the slowing of the scale to the increase in my physical activity. I am building muscle. I walk anywhere from 2.5 to 4 miles a day. Swim, and do water aerobics at least 3 times a week, and I hit the gym on my lunch hour about twice a week. Even in this heat that we have experienced here in TX ., I have been outside every chance I get. We get a break every hour at my office, so I walk every hour. I was cooped up to many years with my co-morbid obesity conditions...most have been resolved now...so you can't keep me in the house...even in the heat. Idgett the energizer bunny is on the go! The DH says he can't keep up with me...Hummmm....guess I could trade him in on two 23.5 year olds...HAHAHAHA....naw...I'll keep him...he's well trained.

 My 16's are loose and I am in 14's...some are very tight, but I can get them on! Whoo  hooooo!!!!!! I don't wear them that tight though....20 years ago, the poured in look would be fine with me. I can remember jumping up and down to get jeans on, then laying on the bed to get them buttoned and zipped. No more...now it is all about comfort. Although...I have gotten rid of those granny grunt elastic waste banded pants and shorts...Those always made me feel old, and really really fat! Well I was really really fat...now I am chunky, and damn those elastic bands! Gone gone gone!

I had a couple of NSV's yesterday...First I stopped in Cato's to see if they had any shorts on sale. I was looking in my normal section, and just could seem to find anything. So I went to the other side of the store...you know... that side that of the store that you have never been on unless you were shopping for someone else...I thought I would just look. Well they had some shorts...I picked up the 16's and was going to cash out with them, while standing in line I got to looking at them, and thought...they look a little big, so I went back and grabbed a pair of 14's and took them both to the fitting room...tried on the 14's first and they went right on, buttoned and zipped...Sold....so I bought my first item from that elusive side of the store!
Then we went to a birthday party yesterday and I saw some folks I hadn't saw in couple of months...they called me skinny! WOW! They just kept telling me how good I looked...man that felt good!
Another NSV...The boobs are going down! Finally! Hey I don't want to lose them all, but damn I have carried the suckers around long enough...I am now in a C cup...Yippee! now I just need to get them pinned up! Funny though...I used to be able to go without a bra and you couldn't really tell, because they just blended in with my belly...Now I have waist...and you can really tell if I don't have one on...they hang and swing and sweat! Yep...add a boob lift to my list of plastics. Still the legs come first. I would like to wear shorts above the knee an inch or two...not just Bermuda's. Spandex works wonders on the belly, but it is just to damn hot to wear a full girdle.

We are heading to AZ in a couple of weeks for my niece's wedding. I will see my sister, and her side of the family for the first time in about 2.5 years, and about 70 lbs! My dad, brother and his family will be there, I haven't saw them since Christmas, and about 83 lbs! (Hopefully a few more pounds by then.) For the first time in years I am excited to see my family. There is no feeling of dread...that I have gotten even bigger than the last time they saw me. And... my dad is not going to have to tell me that I just need to push away from the table. Sister and brother know about the surgery, but dad doesn't...he's 92 and a little confused these days, so I didn't want to worry or upset him, besides.... he probably wouldn't remember it the next day. I'm just going to tell him that I learned to push away from the table...He is probably going to flip when he sees me eat. LOL! I remember once when the DH and I went up to West Virginia to visit my parents (mom passed a couple of years ago) my dad got on the phone and called the neighbor, and told him we made it in, and that I had been diagnosed with Thyroid disease and said "now she is bigger than ever" I know he didn't mean anything about it...but that hurt like hell.
DH and I have planned a little escape during this time as well. We will spend 3 days at the Lake Powell Resort and have rented a power boat for a day on the lake. Then we will go to Prescott for the wedding festivities, and stay 6 days...leaving us about 5 days to take our time getting home, and just explore the beauty of the area. I can't wait...I just want to go and do, and see. We have been to AZ before, but my health had already started to go down hill and I had had the first of 7 foot surgeries. So I was very limited. I have a little phobia about rolling my ankle...I told my orthopedic about it at my last visit...he said "well unless you are going to be hiking in the Grand Canyon you should be fine" I said "well....matter of fact"  HAHAHAHA... he he gave me a lace up brace, just to protect my weakest ankle so I can hike all I want and feel more secure.

Guess I have rambled enough this month...and if you have made it this far into this post...let me wish you a wonderful journey of your own, and hope that the rest of your summer is as exciting and fun as you want it to be.

Wanda

It's been four months already! Wow...what a ride! 74 pounds gone forever!
I had a slower month this month. ..10 pounds. The first week I had a pound loss, and the 2nd, two pounds. I attribute that to my body going through more adjustments, because during that time, I started wearing my size 16's comfortably. ( I really regret not taking my measurements before surgery) Weeks 3 and 4... I lost 4 and 3 pounds giving me a 10 pound loss. I will take an average of 2.5 pounds a week any ol time!

After much contemplation, I changed my goal weight by 15 pounds. I think it is very important to be realistic in setting goals. When you first set them, it is really hard to know where you want to be. And over all, my goal is to be in a size 10 or 12 and whatever weight puts me there...But like many others have said...even though I want more, if I didn't lose another pound I would be happy. I am so much more healthy and active. I just want to go go go...That energizer bunny's new name is Idgett!
So officially I am 42 pounds away from my surgeons goal, and 52 pounds away from mine, or 3 clothes sizes to go.

NSV's...well I will name a few...but there are way to many to post all of them; everyday there is some new victory!
Shaving my legs...I no longer grunt and roll around in the tub trying to get them done like a pig wallowing in mud. Speaking of tub...I fit in the damn thing! I can get in and out of it with no problem at all. I usually take showers, but I really like a nice moisturizing soak every at least once a week. By the way I can shave my legs in the shower too. I can reach everything, and I mean everything ...without feeling like I am going to twist myself in a knot...and again with the grunting. Oh yea...and I can see it...yes it. The DH no longer has to toss flour on me and look for the wet spot... LOL
Painting my toe nails...I can do it myself...hell I can see me feet, so I am paying a little more attention to them. That will save me 40 a month on pedicures because I can do it myself....but I think I still need that treat every now and then...I like that it is now a treat, and not because I can't groom my own feet. My poor feet need a treat. All in all I have had 8 surgeries on them 7 of them were on the right!  It looks like I had a battle with a weed eater and lost. Or that I have some kind of masochist foot fetish.
Cellulite...It's actually getting better. My legs no longer look like they have been shot with a pellet gun...just a BB gun. I am using some firming lotion. ( I doubt that it does anything, but I like the way it feels) I attribute the diminishing cellulite to swimming, walking and water intake. Sharpe puppy dogs are still there, but I think they are a little smaller...Going to have to get those puppies cut off for sure, but that is quite a bit on down the road.

The biggest change this month....I got my hair cut yesterday! All the way up to the shoulders and layered. I love it. DH is not pleased, but he doesn't have to deal with it in this 100 degree heat here in TX. It was getting quite thin, and with it long, it would be so tangled...every time I would brush it, it looked like tons was falling out. I felt like I had to do something to make it more healthy, so I chose a short layered cut. My stylist felt like this would help with the hair loss too. Counting my VSG, back treatment and foot surgeries, I had been put under anesthesia 11 times in the past 2 1/2 years. 7 of those times being in the last 7 months. I really feel like that took a toll on my hair health. So it's gone...I had dinner with a friend after the cut, and she said I looked 10 years younger. I don't know about that, but I look better...that is for sure.

This month I had the honor of being TaurusCF's surgery angel. It has been quite gratifying. She is a very sweet person, and is doing very well. I have gotten so much from this board, and to be able to give back and help others has felt just wonderful.

Four month pics have been taken, but not uploaded yet. I will get that done in the next few days. The pics are from the day before the haircut, so I am going to try to get one done of the new do, and update my avatar.

Until next month


Wanda
 

Well here I am, three month out, well three month and three days, but I wanted to wait until I had my 3 mo. check up to post. I am down 64 lbs, and lovin my sleeve!
My blood work all came out fine, and the doctor is quite pleased with me. Hell I am pleased with myself.
It has been a wild month. I started out slowly losing, I figured it was going to be a 8lb month, but low and behold I suddenly had a week of losing a pound a day. That had me a little worried, because I had changed nothing. After talking with my piers I figured I would be happy with it ,and not worry about it unless the blood work showed something funky. So I ended up with a 15 lb month.
I have a few NSV's 
The seat belt in my husbands car no longer locks up on me because I am so big I have it fully extended. Shoot ...the other day I was in there, and dropped something on the floor and just bent over and picked it up. I DIDN'T HAVE TO UNDO MY SEAT BELT TO DO IT! How many years has it been since that happened? Not only did I have to undo the belt to do that before, but I would grunt and carry on because it would squeeze my big ol' belly so bad, I sounded like I was about to take a crap.
In my truck ,my belly no longer helps me drive. It sets back about 5 or 6 inches from the steering wheel now.
I can cross my legs and I don't me a sort of cross...they are crossed. Amazing how fast you get back into that habit.
OH! I went to the beach last weekend, and I sat down in one of those really low beach chairs ,and I was able to stand up out of it. Before if I sat down that low I would have to crawl and get to something and pull myself up! I did it so many times my legs were sore for a couple of days. I showed everybody...Hey! watch this! and up I'd get...then I'd say I couldn't' do that 3 months ago. Hell 3 months ago they would of had everybody trying to push me back in the water, because I was a beached whale. Now I am a beached manatee who can stand up out of a low chair without crawling and pulling itself up.
My little Shih Tzu doggy is very happy, because now he fits on the couch next to me when I am laying and watching TV and he doesn't have to settle for laying at my feet.
I have went from a tight size 26 to a loose 18. I can fit into 16's, but they are just a little tight for my taste. No use in showing off those rolls and dents.
I have been doing a lot of swimming. Some strength training, but I had to slow that down a little because of my back. I just finished a round of 3 epidural steroid injections, so I should be good to go next week after I  see the back doctor. I am excited...I love to swim and I know it is great exercise, but I also know that I am going to have to do some strength training in order to firm up these rolls, dents and jiggles.
Sleeping...well it seems I need a lot less of it these days. I only get about 6 hours a night... and I take ambien to get that. I am not tired during the day, and I don't nap on weekends...which a good three hour nap was always a must on the weekends before...Hell I was known to sleep my weekends away at times.
What do I eat...well just about anything I want....just a heck of a lot less of it. I am still not drinking soda's and don't plan to. I drink one protein shake a day, and try to just eat meals, but if I need a snack I go for some laughing cow low fat cheese and a few multi grain crackers, or some pork rinds. Once a week the DH brings home Lenny's subs and a cookie and I have about a quarter of his cookie. I like SF Popsicles, and fat free pudding. I get in between 600 and 800 calories a day, 50 to 70 g of protein. I try to stay under 30 g of fat and 40 g of carb, but if I go over I don't beat myself up over it. I drink about 50 or 60 Oz's of fluid a day...Yea I hear I should do better, but I am fine, and crap...if I am drinking all the time I can't eat.
Well that is about it for this month...New pictures next week.
Have a great month

Idgett

Well it's been two months already...whew time flies when your losing weight.
I am currently averaging 4 lbs a week...I say average because some weeks it will be 2 or 3 lbs then another will be 5 or 6, but it all totals up to 16 pounds gone this month! I have 92 lbs to go to hit my goal and 67 to hit my surgeons goal.
Clothes...I am in that in between size right now, 22 are loose and 20's are to tight. It's annoying...I wash my jeans in hot water so that they fit better, but still by the end of the day a whole family could move into the ass of my pants. Maybe in a week or two the 20's will be comfy. After that is the 18's which I don't have to many of, so I will be hitting Wally World and thrift stores to get me through. To bad shoes can't be altered...I have a brand new pair of very nice comfortable Mary Jane's that I bought in Dec. that just fall off of me. I looked like a kid playing dress up in mommy's shoes when I tried to wear them. Flop flop flop...
Working out...I had to slow down on the weight training a little. My sciatica started giving me fits, so I am scheduled for the first of a series of three lumbar epidural steroid injections on Wednesday. My trainer has been working with me in the pool. Now that is comical...I have built in floaties (big boobs) so when I am in the middle of the pool at it deepest point the floaties try to stay above water and the goal is to stay stable with your feet on the bottom of the pool and do these exercises...I look like a bobber.
Plastics are defiantly in the future for me. I can deal with saggy boobs for a while and I can deal with the tummy flap for a while too. But these legs have got to have help. When I walk I feel them jiggle. Looks like jello hanging there. I live in Texas so shorts are a must. I really don't want to be stuck wearing peddle pushers forever...If ya go two inches above the knee you start seeing something that looks like Shar Pei hanging there. Twenty more pounds and it will be Capri's only for me because the skin just slides further down.  I wonder if that tape you can buy to boost your cup size will work taping up my legs.
Oh well, I will bump the savings to my 401 K next week so I can borrow from it when the time comes. They say wait a year after you have hit goal to have plastics...I don't think that will be necessary for the legs because they were starting this before I lost weight. I have always had big thighs, and gravity has taken its toll over the last 5 years.
Well that's it for the two months news...chat at ya in a month...I will be posting two months surgiversary pictures in a couple of days. Nope you can not see the Shar Pei.

Idge