Hello everyone

[Nurvahnah]

I am a mother and a wife. I am 37 years old and born and raised in california. I have always been a big girl but as of today I stand at 5'2 and 297lbs which is my heaviest to date. With this new size I have noticed more discomfort including but not limited to feet swelling, lower back pain, and now taking high blood pressure medicine. I am hoping to meet new people and get a real view of gastric sleeve on this forum.

[CoComom]

Welcome aboard! I think this is the best site for information and support. If you have a question, someone on here can answer it!

[Vg1978]

I am a Cali girl too! I just had my sleeve done on July 31st and I am extremely happy so far. This forum is very helpful and I am sure it will bring you a lot of knowledge about the subject. If I were you I would start the loooooong process soon, you can always change your mind later.

[ximmia]

Welcome! My back pain is one of the reasons I finally decided to have the surgery. My health has declined steadily in the past few years and I know that for me I needed to do something about it before it was too late.

Congrats on your decision, and enjoy the community here. It's awesome.

[Lilly2013]

I have a support group that my doctors go to every month for those they operated on. I just received the gastric sleeve on 7/30/13. I would say not to wait to long. The longer you wait the more damage is done to the systems in your body. Also the people in the support group I went to stated that if they could take one thing back is the amount of time 3-4 years they waited to actually get the surgery. They said they lost so much of there lives just sitting on the sidelines and not actually about to physically keep up with their children. A few people said the difference is now they are able to enjoy life and participate. The gastric sleeve seems to be a great tool to help with weight loss. I was just at 286 pounds a month an a half ago and now I am down to 258. This is a combination of the pre liquid diet and my surgery 1 week ago. The surgery was a lot less traumatic then I thought it would be. I would start the process like visiting a surgeon going to classes to learn more about it that they provide. Go to a nutritionist and the primary doctor. Alot of insurances require 3-6 + months of documentation that a diet was attempted. Or at least paperwork from a vendor like jenny craig or weight watchers. I just did it with my work nurse practitioner and they were satisfied.. .1200 calorie diet. It took me about 6 months from start to finish to get my surgery.. I had to see a cardiology, psychiatrist, nutritionist... and maybe a few other doctors.

[Nurvahnah]

Thank you so much! Good luck on your journey

[Nurvahnah]

Thank you so much!! Cali love! I'm going to start the process this Saturday by attending a seminar

[Nurvahnah]

Thank you for taking the time to respond with such a thorough message. Congratulations on your new beginning! I'm so in love with eating that I'm afraid. I'm starting to think that I might be addicted to food hmmm

[MissersK]

Welcome, Nurvahnah! I too was in your position not long ago. I stand 5'4(I actually thought 5'2-5'3 lol) and weigh in at 244. I've teetered with the idea for the last couple of years of doing a form of gastric surgery. I'm a foodie. Had I not been, I wouldn't weigh what I do. Nutritionist, doctors, and family members are so quick to tell you it's portion control. Well, when my stomach has been stretched since I was 5, a normal portion leaves me absolutely starving. Keeping this in mind, I began researching the lap band. I read some positives and negatives and decided the the negative possibilities far outweighed the positive. Then I stumbled onto the sleeve. From what I've gathered, this is going to give me the control that I need. Once I get my stomach smaller, I will be able to eat a salad and not feel like I'm starving 1-2hours later. Granted, I'm going to have to give up some of my comforts now, but I'm beginning to look forward to that. It's all for the best. I will be giving up junk food for a far more healthier, fit, body(I personally look forward to weight training and cardio without feeling as if I'm going to die). I will be able to eat "normal" portions and all others(if I choose) in moderation. I wish you the best with your decision

[Nurvahnah]

I loved this message. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I am a foodie as well lol. I keep telling myself that the extreme restrictions are temporary and I won't feel abnormal forever

[Trophywife]

Welcome

[MissersK]

You are very welcome! I wish I would've found this site months ago. I saw somewhere(not sure if on here or quite possibly when I googled images for gastric sleeve before and after images) a picture that was taken 2-2.5 yrs out after this person had their surgery. They honestly showed a normal portion size. From what I gather, the intense liquid regimen is to allow your body and more importantly your stomach the time it needs to recover. Then, granted, our stomachs won't be able to tolerate SOME, not all, of the things we use to eat/drink(ie: soft drinks. I saw that there have been issues with the carbonation). Plus, during a certain phase, we probably won't want to once the weight starts coming off. Personally, I'm looking at the surgery to give me the control over my portions. The benefit will definitely be that for a while, I'm not going to be able to eat the fatty foods and drink the sugary drinks I do now. Once I will be able to, I will no longer have the urge. It's a win/win