Anyone have a preVSG BMI of 33? (or under 35?)

wow- from 184 to 153 in four months?!  That's really amazing!

Thanks, all!  These reflections are very helpful to me :)

i think i replied on your other post, lol - i didn't even know there was a lightweights forum but i am STOKED that there is. my BMI was 32, my start weight was 198 (i'm 5'5") on my surgery date, which will be 3 months ago on moday (yay!). in three months i've gone from 198 to 155 pounds. it was WAY harder in the first couple of months than i thought it would be, but i don't regret it for a second. i'm like you - family history of morbid obesity on both sides (almost every single living family member, actually) and i saw myself going in that direction and decided to take control. 

the first couple of months it was really hard for me to get my fluids in, i ended up in the hospital twice - once with dehydration and another time with pancreatitis. it turns out that after the surgery my system stopped tolerating dairy, so i kept having this pain every time i drank the protein shakes and it took a while for the docs to figure out it was the whey. 

food is a totally different animal than it ever was before. it's kind of like a second full time job. every meal has to be measured (2oz, never more), just like every ounce of fluid and gram of protein (i use the ARGO app to track nutrition and hydration stats) and planned - because we have to stop drinking for 30mins before eating and have to eat for 30 mins and can't drink again for 45-60mins after eating - so for me it tends to feel like every second has to be accounted for - like, if I'm driving home from work and out of water, and more than half an hour goes by, and i'm not using that time to be eating either i start to get pretty worried about getting behind in protein or fluids. its a lot of effort to stay on top of it. the good news is drinking fluids gets easier and easier every month, and most people don't seem to have to put so much though into eating by the time they hit 6 months (i can't wait!). 

it's DEF not the easy way out, but it's amazing. when i sit down to eat, i don't have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach wondering (dreading) if it's going to be a meal or a binge. i taste every single bite of food i take, and tasting it is enough - that horrible, bottomless feeling isn't there. there are nights when i find myself feeling restless, like i don't know what to do with myself, but that feeling passes. and i like looking in the mirror again, which feels like such a gift.

wow, that was really long... i hope it helps. according to all the data, the lower your BMI at start, the lower your risk of complications, the better your outcome will be and so on. everywhere else in the world the entry BMI for the government to pay for WLS is 30.

I'm in the UK and I had to self pay for a sleeve @ BMI 30.  To get the government to pay here you have to have BMI 35 with 2 co-morbities... and then some!! ;-)

ha! my bad. so many other countries set the lower limit at 30 though

I think it's more of a case that some other countries let you have WLS @ BMI 30.  In the UK at the time when I wanted WLS I had to travel abroad as they wouldn't allow WLS on a BMI of 30 even as a self pay.

Hi! I was self-pay as well with a BMI of 36, my insurance would have covered the procedure but the conditions were too much and too long - I didn't want to wait another day - I was so ready. I can say that that was THE BEST decision I've made so far for myself. I am 7 weeks post op and down 46 lbs (starting weight 235, I am 189 as of today).  So, good luck with your decision!

Thanks everyone :)