Anybody out there???????? No VBGers???

  I too am a successful VGB'er.......6-26-01.........478 start and now I am under 180lbs...........I am 5'4" and now 56years young.....lost 300+ pounds diabetes, oxygen-cpap,high blood pressure, edema, all gone and in their place .....well I snow ski, ride a cruiser bike(my pink Betty), have now been to Hawaii 5 times in the last three years.......love to snorkel, have ridden a bike down the volcano, went on a zipline through the beautiful eucalyptus trees.......in short my life is so changed and so wonderful....but I am having some job issues..I teach school and it seems I have made people uncomfortable with my openness and sharing and my excitement over my new life .....I have had 4 summer surgeries to remove skin and I talk about them and show my scars and am excited to have come so far.......I may even lose my job so I am very stressed and am planning on going to the seminar in Concord Ca...to find more people like me that have been on this journey.........sometimes I feel like Frankenstein with all these parts sewn back together and I am having a hard time learning to live in this new skin without offending others.......my personality has always been open sharing and I think everyone is my friend........hard life lessons to learn that people don't want to know me THAT well....my brother is 5 years younger and now pushing 400lbs and is still struggling with whether he should go wls route or just lose and gain all over again...my pet peeve is when someone says, "How could you let yourself get that way?"....like it was some choice I made so I could lose it all and now talk about it. KVilla in Medford, Oregon

Hi. I am so very impressed by you and your honesty. I guess some folks just don't get "it."  As far as the problems with the job, I feel for you. Be strong and perhaps you will find a happy medium. Perhaps your fortay is to teach in a different medium and you may find this in the Calf. visit. Michelle a.k.a chell1957 

 I am writing to update as it is now 2009 wow where did it go.........I am still a very happy VGB'er and still under 180 and have added scuba diving to my list of can do's......got my open water certification last May.......I also joined a group of singles in our area called Slopes and Trails and have had a blast rafting, hiking, skiing, and just making friends with a group of active folks who are making my life even more fun.........I did retire from teaching just to much pressure to please so many and felt life was just to short to be unhappy in my job.......I love teaching and helping kidos but it became way more complicated than just the teaching........I am looking for something else and just waiting to get older to be able to really retire!!!
 My weight loss journey could not be going better.....after 7 years I still am unable to eat toooo much and feel lucky to have such good health.......I did follow the rules and still am careful to get my nutritional needs met........good luck everyone and thank goodness for WSL

I had Stomach Stapling in Feb 1992. I do not know which surgery it is called now... I'm sorry. It went very well for I'd say for 11-12 years! Then Bam! I started gaining weight in late 2003... So five years of gaining weight for me now!!!
       I just found out in Sept 2008 that my staple line came open and my band also opened very wide! But I still am happy. Because I weighed near 40 lbs. I now weigh between 241-244.
       My Doctor said she is surprised I gained so little weight. She said I should have put on much more weight. I gained about 40 pounds back. I guess that was suppose to make me feel better. I am only 5'2".  Most folks did gain almost all the weight back and sometimes even more, from the VGB I had, and when I had it. I am looking into a revision. I Don't know what kind can be done. Would I do it again?? In a heart beat!!! I am still not sorry I had WLS!!! I think I would be dead by now, had I not had it back then. I was just gaining more weight every year.  Alizka

I am so grateful to hear you say this. I am awaiting my turn to have a VBG on Nov. 16th and it is a little scary always hearing people say that it failed. Thanks for a positive view. If I work it, I can succeed.

You WILL succeed.  If I can do it then YOU can do it.  I am now wearing size 12's.  LONG way from the size 3XXX and 24W I started out wearing

I had my VBG back in 2000 and it was very successful.  But.... due to my bad eating habits I gained a lot back ( I don't even want to say).  But the last month has been awesome for me because I have somehow managed to encorporate healthy food and stay away from the chocolate bars.  I totally blame my gain on me and not giving up on junk.  My surgery was a success but I just got lazy.

Another VBGer here.  Only out 5 months but having huge success.  When I created my account, I couldn't find VBG as a choice so I listed myself as gastric sleeve. 

getting ready for vbg if all goes well with next test.  The ecco for the heart came back ABNORMAL.  So getting that checked on tuesday and hope after that I'll get the go for the surgery.  One question for anyone who can help.  I am a type 1 diabetic on the insulin pump...any one out there???  I'm worried about crashes without enough food..anyone???