About me, hope its not to boring lol

Hi, im a 42yr old female who has been obese since birth i think. I finally hit rock bottom back in March 2003 and desided i best be doing something so i went to see my PCP and she was all for me having surgery. She set me up with all the appointments and everything was great only thing wrong was i had sleep apnea. Well, on Sept 16, 2003 i was weighed in at 477lbs and then prep'ed for surgery..45 minutes is all it took for the surgery itself and i was back in my room sorta kinda awake with my morphine drip beside me. I was on my first leg to my journey. I was in pain and needed the drip the first few days the pain wasn't bad really it was more uncomfortable. I didn't have staples it was the superglue they used. Im now down to 384 thats a 93lb loss and haven't had any problems other then acid reflux, real bad case of it for about a month. I didn't realize what it was but my surgeon was right on it and called in a script for me and took care of it i think the sameday i got it filled. (small pill called Protonix). I follow the food prymid table that my nutrionist gave me with an 800 calorie diet which i don't meet hardly ever. Im not down enough to have the excess skin problem as of yet. I still do get those skin on skin rashes tho. My sleep apnea seems to have gone now and my surgeon is so happy with my results thus far. Like i said i have along ways to still go in my journey but im so happy with my success this far along. For exercise im not the best exerciser in the world and as some of you in the northern states know its pretty chilly here this time of year to go out and walk. So im doing walking in place, stretching, leg lifts, crunches, twists, and when the curtains are pulled and doors locked i put on music reallllllllyyy loud and dance my fanny off lol. I eat one Lean Cuisine meal a day, sometimes some popcorn or a piece of cheese and lots of sugarfree ice tea. This surgery tool is working for me and i haven't been this happy and had energy in so long its a minute by minute decision for the rest of my life on whether i want it to work ...i choose to MAKE it work. I didn't put myself thru all this to fail. And for once in my life i feel good about what im doing and feel good about myself. Sorry for the long rambling story and continued success to all of you out there in VBG land. Hugsssss Sally

Sally, CONGRATS!!!! on your weight loss. You are doing really well. I had surgery on Feb. 3, so I'm 2 weeks out, doing GREAT so far. I don't know exactly how much I have lost, but I'll surely know on Fri. when I go see my surgeon. PS, that wasnt "boring" at all. It's good to know about people. They make the world go round! Ryan

Howdy! I was banded last Thurs, so am 4 days out. I was out of the hospital in about 4 hours, but spent the night in a motel cuz live 3 hrs. away. I only needed narcotics for 2 days, am just using Aleve now. I'm on full liquids, and all seems to be going just fine. I'm excited to hear you can tolerate popcorn, cuz I was told that would be a problem. Maybe someday I will be able to handle it. It was my one healthy junk food!

Hey there Bobbi and Ryan...im so happy to meet you both. And congrats on you both having successful surgerys. I look forward to hearing more from you and how your journeys are going. Hopefully we can get this message board rolling with more VBG'ers. By the looks we are off to a good start i was starting to think i was the only vbger left in the free world that needed a message board LOL. Hugs to ya both...lets write soon Sally

Hello fellow vbgers! I am so excited to see we have our own msg board.I had my vbg in July 2001. I initially lost 113 lbs but have gained back 30. I still am very glad I did it and that I chose the vbg. My weight gain has nothing to do with the surgery failing. It has everything to do with me making wrong choices. After about 2 years I was able to eat some things I previously was`nt able to. I cheated and had sugar. Bad mistake. I have`nt given up though. I fully intend to lose those 30 lbs! When I use my tool like I am supposed to it still works like a charm. I get full very fast when I eat meat and veggies. I have to stay away from soft foods as I can eat quite a bit of that. Just follow your drs orders and all will be well.

DEAR SALLY, WE SHARE THE SAME SURGERY DATE FOR OUR VBG`S. MY NAME IS ELAINE AND I`VE LOST 74 LBS, SO FAR. I STARTED THIS JOURNEY AT 222 LBS, I NOW WEIGH 148 LBS, AND MY GOAL IS 130 LBS. I`M THRILLED WITH THE SURGERY AND THE RESULTS, AS I KNOW YOU ARE. MY LIFE HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER, AND CONTINUES TO GET BETTER, WITH EACH PASSING DAY. I WISH YOU GOOD LUCK, WITH YOUR CONTINUED WEIGHT LOSS. HAVE A GREAT DAY. LOVE, ELAINE -74