information please

[stratkat]

Hello , I am 47 years old and have been battling my weight for most my life . I have lost lots of weight and I have gained lots of weight . I have been thinking about surgical weight loss for years , but i wanted to do it myself and i did a couple of times but i always end up in the same place .. lately it has been harder to lose weight because i am having problems with my hips . in order to do anything about my hips i need to lose weight .. i have decided to have the gastric sleeve done .i have read lots of stuff on it and have talked to doctors about it but i wanted to hear it about it from people who have had it done . so if anyone wants to tell me about their experiance , i am all ears or in this case eyes . haha thanks.

[Sandra3]

Welcome to the forum!
For most of us it's decades of battles with our weight that bring us to need help from a bariatric surgeon. Looking at number and studies, I decided in 2011 that I was going to go for a sleeve because it looked like the only way for me, my weight had gone so far. But tried a one year diet one more time (2012/2013) and that was really difficult. I lost 30 kgs (almost 67 pounds). At the end of course, several months later with a regain of 60% of what I lost, I decided to go for it. Met my surgeon on September 2014, had surgery on January 2016. It's not a magic wand and I have to do my part but I know that without the sleeve I could never have achieved such a big weight loss. I will be 11 months out next week, it was not always a walk in the park especially the first month, but I have zero regret. Or may be that I should have done it sooner, but I was moving between countries so I had to wait to stay long enough in one. I'm hoping to reach my own goal next Summer, so far my surgeon is happy about my results. I feel like a new person with all that extra weight gone! It feels so good to be more mobile, painless and enjoy the little pleasures of life. I hope you will find a good doctor and enjoy your new life very soon too! Best of luck in your journey!

[stratkat]

thank you so much for sharing .. good luck with your continued success

[ghost_ryder]

A few years back I considered gastric surgery but was talked out of it by my orthopedic surgeon because I was in the process of having knee replacement surgery. He was concerned about calcium depletion and the affect it would have on the bones around the replacement. Since that time, temporarily lost about 30 pounds but then quickly gained back 50. Through a series of embarrassments, I finally had the last straw which was I went the ER with what I thought was a heart attack in January of this year. My step-daughter was pregnant with twins (our first grandkids) and decided I really needed to get serious about getting healthy if I wanted to see these grow up. I went to the seminar and series of nutrition classes not convinced I was having surgery but I had an open mind. After listening to others in the support groups and nutrition classes as well as listening to podcasts about the gastric solutions I finally committed. Now here almost four months later, I am down 85 lbs and loving the changes in my life.

[dtiller1147]

Hello, I copied this over from my Spark People page to the site but trying to loose weight. My top weight was 423# on 08/2003. I lost about 170# and still need to go down. It is An adventure!

08/01/2003 Top weight of 423#
10/18/02007 Started SP 277#
11/07/2007 273# Goal of 150# Lost!!

12/27/2007 Accepted into the National Weight Control Registry!!

02/24/2008 248# Goal of 175# Lost!!

04/20/2009 I had a Heart Attack Age 46 and 247#
06/01/2009 Church Challenge start weight 255.8#
04/08/2014 Attended WLS Surgery Seminar. 372# "I can Not believe I gained that much back in 5 years.
04/17/2014 Surgery Consultation. We will see what he recommends. Well looks like I am doing the VGS weight loss surgery. Offical weight 360#
9/21/2014 Final Surgical clearance 333#..so that 27# loss 6 mth monitored diet.
10/06/2014 liquid per-surgical diet (14 day) 327#
10/17/2014 320# I earned my 100# Lost Medallion back WOOHOO!
10/20/2014 Surgery day weight 320#
1/20/2015 282# 3 month loss was 38# High Wt loss of 141#
4/20/2015 271# 6 month loss was 89# High Wt loss of 152#
10/20/2015 240# 1 year loss was 120# High Wt loss of 183#
10/20/2016 235# 2 year loss was 125# High Wt loss of 188#

SO you can see the farther you get out from surgery the numbers go real slow again, and that is still controlling diet and excising. As long as you know you are making this life commitment, you will do fine. If you think that surgery will solve all you weight issues and bad habits then you need to do more research!

For most of us, it gets to surgery is the only shot we have to try to maintain a healthy life. Best of luck with your journey!!

[stratkat]

that is awesome congrats .. I am really looking forward to getting healthier and stories like yours makes me feel like I am making the right decision .. thank you very much for helping me out

[VeryLargeBob]

A few years back I considered gastric surgery but was talked out of it by my orthopedic surgeon because I was in the process of having knee replacement surgery. He was concerned about calcium depletion and the affect it would have on the bones around the replacement.

Calcium depletion is a very big concern for sleevers with bad joints. My hips are bad but I went ahead and had a sleeve anyway. Three years later, I was 125 pounds lighter and feeling great. I went for an orthopedic consult and they said nope, your bone density isn't good enough to handle joint replacement. So for one solid year I had to take a calcium supplement and more importantly forego my beloved Coke Zero (phosphorous in colas leech calcium out of bone).

That appears to have worked, my bone density went from .75 to 1.1 in one year (normal range for joint replacement is at least .90 to 1.00).

[ghost_ryder]

Glad it all worked well for you. I should probably get density scans. I am lifting weights again and I know that is tough on the bones. I would hate to damage the replacement because I am trying to get healthy. I already take the calcium supplements as a standard post surgery task. My left knee will likely need replacement within a few years but right now after my weight loss the knee is feeling really good. Last night I did 5.5 miles on the elliptical in 50 minutes. My best distance/time since I was training for a half marathon back in 2010. This surgery has been a lifesaver.

[Pattimelt]

Wow, Greg, that's awesome you can do all that exercise now! That must be a wonderful feeling! I'm looking forward to being able to exercise my body again too. I just want to feel good and be healthy, and be able to take my young grandkids to Disneyland without becoming ill. I just can't wait for my new sleeve in April. The date can't come soon enough! Thanks Greg, for all your wonderful input and comments. I love hearing all about your experiences! Please continue posting and providing help to all of us awaiting our sleeves. Cheers, Patti

[ghost_ryder]

Absolutely Patti. I love to share because I feel like if I can help one person make a decision then I have helped as much as I can.

I am waiting to get the twin grandbabies into Disney World. I would like to go to Land someday but we really enjoy the world so much. As far as getting around, I played a full round of golf a few weeks back. That has not happened in a while because my knees just could not take it anymore. So when I finished 18 holes without any real pain I was so happy.

These are the types of things you can look forward to enjoying