Just starting....

Hi everyone,

New to this sight...saw bariatric surgeon on Wednesday of last week. Starting the VSG process, looking at a surgery date in Nov. Lots of medical clearances needed because I have lupus and I have had many prior abdominal surgeries due to diverticulitis. I know obesity is not a weakness but I am struggling with this concept. I love food, hate to exercise and at 51yrs old I find my 5'3" frame lugging around an extra 100 pounds. I am pissed that I allowed this to happen, dieting never brings the results that are promised and so here I am VSG or Bust. I need to be a healthy weight to combat the challenges of my lupus and to be here for my kids. Support and encouragement needed. Thanks for listening. Bye for now. Daisy

Welcome, Daisy! This is a great site and there are a lot of people here with great information. Stick around and post and participate in our daily meal threads in the VSG forums even before you have surgery. We would love to have you there!

WLS was the single best thing I have ever done. It has been the only thing that has EVER allowed my to lose 122-# and keep it off, for 8 years, with NO EXERCIZE! NONE.

Exercisebis good for our bodies but not necessary for weight loss, no matter what anyone tells you. I am living proof.

It is never too late to get your life back and make your typical daily routines so much easier. I lost 124#, my current bmi 21/22 and life is pretty good! Much easier than when I had all that weight to carry around daily.

If you go to the store and buy a 10# bag of potatoes it's a bit of a hassle carrying it around with you. But if you have 7 10# bags of potatoes and you have to carry them every single place you go, working, shopping, cleaning the house, gardening, cooking, baking, private time with your husband, everything... absolutely every thing you do throughout your day you are carrying 7 - 10# bags of potatoes. That is what you are doing now. Stop carrying all those potatoes and and suddenly in many ways the world is much easier. Climbing stairs, hot, sticky, summer days not to mention the ego boost and personal satisfaction from getting the job done and done well. It is nothing short of liberating to have control over food and scale issues.

Go for it! Don't wait any longer than you have to. Don't worry about the post op diet and end of the year holiday meals. You are going to be able to eat all the same holiday meals that you did last year, just not nearly the quantity.

I totally understand where you're coming from. I loved food... and still do. But I love all the benefits of being smaller and healthier even more! I can shop in the regular clothing stores, chase my toddler around the park, and be active with things like cycling and roller derby.

The mental side of it is tough, but totally worth it. I believe in you!

Hi, there!
If it makes you feel better, a close friend of mine had VSG after 2 or 3 surgeries for kinked up intestines and has had a lot of success. I don't know about the impact of lupus, but I have to believe that a lighter you will make other health challenges easier to deal with. You can still love food after WLS, you just will eat less of it and need to cut out a few things (check out the daily menu threads--they will give you hope that it's still possible to eat good food after VSG).

I was/am still mad at myself for gaining so much weight. I'm so thankful for WLS, and at the same time, still sometimes feel like a loser for needing it. But that isn't productive, is it? And don't beat yourself up for unsuccessful diet attempt. Diet and exercise alone have about a 1-5% success rate, depending on the study you're looking at. They just don't work. (This is what I need to remind myself when I have recriminating thoughts about the hundreds or thousands of lbs I've gained and lost).

Best of luck and see you around.

Just my opinion but everyone I've known to get VSG has had to revise it to RNY. May be years later but seems to always be necessary. I'd rethink sleeve over bypass. Either way good luck

How many people have you known with VSG? I would bet it's a pretty small number, and not representative of WLS patients as a whole.

There are many people here on the boards who've had VSG and been very successful with it, no revision needed.