[Imlosinit]

Keeley and Denise~ thanks for the kind words. David goes in about 3 weeks for his 6 month c/u with a bone marrow aspiration and complete CT scan but I"m confident he'll be fine. The Dr. said, although he'll have to have CT scans the rest of his life, this first one is more of a way to see how his body is bouncing back after the treatments rather than seeing if he's out of remission.

Keeley~ We seem to be a lot alike. Since we're both just starting this journey, maybe we can keep in touch as we go along. BTW... I have a friend named Keely (no e before the y). Her name is Keely and her sisters' name is Kelly. Weren't her parents clever?? LOL

[Becca]

You all look so great!!!!!!!

Keep up the good work.........

[smease]

My name is Sharon and I live in West Hartford, Connecticut. I am 43 years old and I have been married for 17 years. I have three children. They are Jaime (girl) age 16, Sarah age 12 and Jacob age 9. When they were little I used to think life would be so much easier when they got older. Well, was I wrong! Dealing with teenage girls is by far the hardest thing I have had to accomplish so far! I graduated college with an engineering degree and worked for 12 years. During that time I also got my MBA. When my youngest was born I got laid off and decided to try the "Stay-at-home Mom" thing. That lasted about 2 years and then I was going crazy so I started to work part time. I now am a Math Tutor and I am currently going to college to get my Connecticut Teaching Certificate. Going to college again at 43 is quite a trip. I could me the mother of most of the kids in the classes with me.

I have always been a "chubby" child and started really struggling with my weight during and after college. I was on every diet and would lose, then gain. I grew heavier with each pregnancy that I had and topped out at 250. My Doctor started suggesting WLS about 2 years ago but I never felt ready to make such a huge committment until I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and was told I had to wear that horrible CPAP machine. I tried it night after night and could not get used to it. Once I started going to the information meetings for WLS things flew by and before I knew it I had a surgery date of March 17, 2008. I had surgery in New Haven by Dr. Valin. He is very well known for WLS surgery and I am happy with his practice. He is very busy and I only actually only saw him twice. Once right before my endiscopy and once at my pre-op appointment 2 weeks before the surgery. He is very quiet. I had a non-eventful surgery. I felt great one week post-op and feel even better than great now. I have not dumped or vomitted yet and every thing so far has agreed with my pouch. I feel like I am losing slower that alot of you guys but I am still very happy with my progress. I have absolutely NO REGRETS on my decision to have the surgery.

I love going on this website for information, support, and the knowlege that other people have experienced what I am going through. My daughters tease me that I am "addicted" to this site but let them tease! It makes me happy and that's all that matters.

Thanks for listening.
Sharon

[CeeCee]

Welcome! You are doing great with your weightloss. It may seem slow to you but it all adds up and you wil be surprised how fast it a adds up. I'm happy for you that yo had an uneventful surgery and it sounds like you have been lucky since with not too many unpleasant side effects.

You're right about this website. It is a great resource and I dont thnk you can spend too much time here getting all the support and knowledge that you need early out. My family teases me all the time because I am constantly quoting someone from the website and my hubby even knows of some of the people here by name and the stories I pass on to him.

I think many here would tell you that there were some days that coming here to vent, cry, laugh or share is the only thing that got them through. When you have days like that, just come on here and let someone know. I guarantee that within minutes you will have an understanding shoulder to lean on, by someone who understands very well exactly what you are going through.

[lbriseno]

Hello All My name is Luis Javier Briseno Gonzalez (yes long name) I was born in Guadalajara, Mexico April 10th 1969, All my life I have lived in many parts of the world I move a lot because of my family and because of my jobs I had. I have lived or spent sometime living in the following coutries and cities:

USA: Chicago
Argentina: Buenos Aires
Brazil: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
Chile: Santiago
Mexico: Guadalajara, San Juan del Rio, Mexico, City
Netherlands: Amsterdam

Have visited for less than 2 months

Japan: Osaka
China: Shanghai
Israel: Jerusalem, Tel aviv

And many, many places I have visited for vacation.

I have 2 daugthers and my wonderful wife who has stood besides me through the whole process, I believe that this is the best thing it has happen to me in my entire life, My life has changed so dramatically for the best that I really don't know where to begin. My health has improved dramatically, I do not have Diabetes anymore, I sleep like a baby. My sex life (don't get me started) is simply WOW, after I dropped 71 pounds I have learned that I can do things I would never imagine doing.

I guess my biggest regret if you can call it that is that my mother never got to see me this happy, but I am sure she is watching.

Thanks for asking about myself I think this is a healthy excersice.

[smease]

Hey CeeCee,

Thanks for the words of welcome. I love your before and present pictures. You look GREAT! Keep up the good work!

[macathrt]

You know I must really be out of touch. I can't believe I missed the thread:-0.

Ok here goes: My name is Debbie, I'm 49 yrs. old and I live in Maryland with my WONDERFUL husband Earl, Sr. We have been married almost 30 years (time flies when your having fun!). We have 3 grown children, Earl, Jr. who is 28, Jahnee', who is 26 and Lahnee', who is 23 yrs. Between the 2 girls we have 5 grandkids. They are Dah'mear(7), Monique(5, in June), Malise(3, in July), David James(DJ, 13 mos.) and Oakland(4 mos.). We are still waiting for my son and his wife to bless us with some grandkids.

As far as my wl journey goes, It was mention earlier in this thread that being heavy wasn't a problem early in life but it got to be after having babies. I too was very athletic growing up and weight wasn't a problem. It was once I started having kids is when I started to BLOSSUM.

I thank GOD everyday, well not everyday because I forget sometimes but most days I do for the blessings he's giving me, for giving me the husband that I have, the kids/grandskids, parents, siblings, family and friends that he put in my life. I especially thank him for the successful wls and the continued wl journey. To this date I have not had any complications and have lost all and more of the weight that I needed and wanted to lose. If it wasn't for all the support from my wl buddies here, my family, my support group and friends I'm sure my outcome would not have been as successful, and I truely mean that. THANK-YOU!!!!!

I had lap rny on Nov. 02, 06. I'm 5' 4" tall. I started out weighing 258 lbs. I'm now holding at 128-130 lbs. It took me roughly about 14 months to lose a 130 lbs. I AM very happy with the way things have turned out for me. I feel sooooo much heathier. I'd do it again!

For all you newbies, take one day at a time, do what your surgeon says and your wl will be what you want it to be, SUCCESSFUL!!!!

Happy Losing,
Debbie

[Sharon_T]

Hi! My name is Sharon. I am 27 yrs. old and live North of Kansas City, MO with my husband and 3 kiddos. I have 2 boys and a girl. Trever is 8, Jace is 3, and Lily is 1.

I have been overweight since about the age of 10. I'd lose it and put back on just as much or more. Finally after being heavier than I was with my third pregnancy I broke down. I told my husband I wanted to find something to help me because I coudn't do it alone. Thankfully, he has wonderful insurance through the railroad and the Lap RNY is covered. I started my process in January 2008 and my surgery is scheduled for May 6, 2008. I am so excited, but yet nervous. I can't wait to feel healthy again!

[Babs54]

Hi,my name is Babette and I have one of 15 kids, I live in the small town of Prattsburgh,NY.I am 53 years old and I am married to my best friend,we have 3 kids and 7 Grandkids with the 8th due on Aug. 8th.I have been reading your post for almost a year and you guys are a big reason why I am doing the surgery.My surgery date is July 1st(I am a bus driver and wanted to wait until school is out to do this)
I have been overweight for a long time and I could not even tell you how many pounds I have lost over the years but I am hoping to change that.I want to be able to play with my grandkids without my knees hurting and not being able to breathe.
What is neat about all this is that my sister is having her surgery on the same day,by the same Doctor and in the same hospital,so we are hoping to be roommates.
I feel like I already know a lot of you just from reading all the posts and I want to thank you for all the usefull information.

[CeeCee]

Babette, Sorry I missed your post. Welcome to the site. I hope everything is stil on track for your surgery. It is coming up fast. Good luck to you. I hope you have an easy, uneventful surgery and a speedy recovery.