Let Us All Get to Know Each Other :-)

Yeah I gained weight too.  I also have an anxiety issue so I couldn't even take the weight loss meds!  Dumb tailhole! 

Ellooooo Luvies I am Noel....41years and  holding....I am a mom to Donovan and a wife to Lui and I own a salon up here in the great northcoast of California which is for sale someone buy it so i can be free to travel. I started out with a BMI of 58 and now i am about a 40....that was 9 months ago. I am losing slower nowdays but thats cool because I am losing still. A year ago every thought passing through my mind was about me dying of a heart attack or falling down and being to fat to get up or having huge anxiety attacks in the middle of tinting someones hair or driving myself to work....it was pretty bad. I wasnt sleeping and once i did pass out i wasnt sleeping because i was waking up out of breath on the side of my bed because my fat was smashing wind pipe closed. My sleep apnea was so bad that i was literally sleeping about 1 hour a day. I have been through many very hard trials and tribulations and over come them all including this!! Aint nothin big or bad enough to keep me down!!!! I am so happy in my life that i cannot begin to express myself but i can tell you that I cannot begin to tell everyone that was here before me how extremely grateful i am to have had them to learn from and have support me on this journey. I try my best to give that back to everyone that needs a helping hand and I am always open to helping anyone that needs it. : )) I am a lover of life and the teachings of Jesus Christ...he is my prophet , as i am also on the quest for Christ Conscieseness .....its simple really....be in service to your fellow man and love eachother . Thats my credo. : ))  Nice to meet you all!!!

Hi everyone,

My name is Michelle. I'm 36 years old and I live on the island of Kauai in Hawaii in the town of Hanapepe. I married my best friend in the world in 2003. Between us we have 3 boys(ages 16, 13 and 10) and 1 spoiled rotten little girl who is 3. We also have a new family member. His name is Maka. He's 1/2 chihuahua, 1/2 toy terrier. My occupation for the past 11 years has been in the Hospitality Industry up until the past 2 months.........i got sick of all the corporate BS and quit!!! Well that only lasted about 2 weeks til i found another job that was comparable in pay........I'm working on the other side of the job spectrum. I guess you could call me a Quarry girl or Accounts Receivables/Payables clerk. I work at a Quarry and Concrete Plant. I guess you could say I am the Fred Flintstone of the 21st century in female form!

I had my VSG done on 3/27/07 and have lost about 92 pounds. No regrets whatsoever. Life is WONDERFUL!!!

aloha,

michelle

Sherri, what a lovely thread!

I am Jessica, age 54, and I live in Berkeley, California with my husband and three dogs (with whom we are besotted). I have a 35-year old stepson I raised from age 7 and two grandsons. I work for myself at two real estate-related services - cost segregation and land banking...people rarely know what those terms mean, lol :-)  but, like everyone here, it keeps me very busy. I quilt as often as I can.

My surgery was on 2/11/08 and I have lost 36 pounds (hoping to make 40 by 5/11). I have had a weight problem since I was very young. Former carb-**** here. I couldn't wait to have VSG surgery. My overwhelming feelings after surgery were, "I'm nostalgic for being able to eat mass quantities of food/Thank God I can no longer eat mass quantities of food!" I am so grateful for this surgery.

I have fears about: losing slowly; using this tool successfully; reaching my goal weight; avoiding carbs; keeping my exercise acitivty up. But I feel that these are good problems - versus the painful and poor health ones I faced 36 pounds ago.

Love to all of us!
Jessica

 

Hi.....yeah I just thought of it a little bit ago and thought it would be nice if we could all just tell each other about us in one thread....so we can get to know each other better. I think everyone has a story to tell and this is the place for that :-) I have loved this forum for months and with all the new faces coming I thought it would be nice to welcome them and everyone else as well. So a big welcome to all the new pre-ops and post-ops....hope we can all learn from and with each other along the way :-) Thanks so much Jessica....and many many blessings to you as you travel on your journey! Sherri

Ditto on the GREAT IDEA.  My name is Traci.  I'm 42 y/o and feeling much older:)  I'm married with one absolute blessing of a son who is 12.   I'm pre-op and like a lot of you I was researching WLS and leaning towards lap band until I came across the sleeve.  I'm convinced that the sleeve is the right decision for me.  I have always been overweight.  I was an athlete, worked out all year round in sports and was still always 25-50 pounds overweight.  (Now it's A LOT more:)) As some of you know, I donated 1 of my kidneys to my husband last year.  My son has had to deal with a lot of worry about his parents health, so I'm hoping to nip some health problems in the bud before they become too severe. I work as a family service coordinator for a state funded preschool program and absolutely love what I do, but often feel too fatigued to appreciate my job.  I'm looking forward to having further conversations with you all out there.  Keep up the great work, support, and truth telling! One of my most favorite things to do is to take vacations, especially cruises! Traci

Wow Traci  - how incredible that you were able to donate a kidney to your husband!  What a gift!!   I'm w/ you on cruises - only been on 1 a few years back (Renaissance Cruises - went out of biz after 2001) & it was the best!!! Take care!

Hi, my name is Julz. I am 35 years old, married, and praying for God to bless me with children. I have been overweight since I was a baby. I have tried many diets without success. I am Insulin Resistant and I have PCOS, which means my hormones are pretty out of balance, and my body is super efficient at storing fat! I am also a foodie and I am an overeater. What can I say, when I was lonely, food was always my friend! I am 5' 4.5" tall and at my heaviest 307.5 lbs. I was a size 32 at my heaviest. I wasn't responding to fertility treatments. If I wanted a family, I needed to consider obesity surgery. I cried at the thought that I would actually need surgery to lose weight. I felt like a total failure. I have an insane fear of surgery, so I choose to have the Lap-Band since it was the least riskiest surgery. I had it in 12/03. It took about 8 months to get to the 'sweet spot' regarding the fill level. I was really frustrated with that. My port was really hard to access, which for me, the needle phobic that I am, was traumatizing every time I had to get a fill. Ultimately with the Lap-Band I lost about 75 lbs. I had developed a problem with reflux, and needed my Gall Bladder removed, so I had a revisional surgery in 08/05 to move the band up to help with the reflux. I got pregnant in 06, and my son was stillborn in 07. Somehow the Lap-Band stopped working (couldn't tolerate the smallest fill without feeling too tight) after the pregnancy, during which I gained about 50 lbs. So we needed to remove it, and I choose to convert to the Gastric Sleeve in 3/08 for a couple of reasons. The first, it was the least risky (next to the Lap-Band), and you already know I am a major chicken when it comes to all things medical! Second, since I want to get pregnant, I would rather absorb my nutrients normally in hopes that one day I will be pregnant again and my child will benefit from this decision. And hopefully I am through with the surgeries! I have lost slowly since surgery (26 lbs.) and while I knew I would be a slow loser, it still frustrates me. I have really enjoyed this board and how supportive everyone is, and I am glad to be here making this journey with you all.

Julz

Julz...I am really moved by your story. I am soo sorry about your stillbirth. I am sending lots of positive prayers and thoughts your way that your dream to have children will become a reality for you Thankyou for sharing and keep up the awesome job with your sleeve!! hugs Sherri

Thank you, Sherri... I am taking all the prayers I can get. I will keep my blog updated monthly on my profile with my progress, and of course I will share any stork news if I have any!  Julz