I've been considering WLS for a couple of years now. I believe I'm a good candidate - I weigh nearly 350 lbs and have high blood pressure (age 33). Diet after diet have failed. The only time I've been "thin" was a three year period where I ate 500 or less calories a day. Other than that, I've been obese my entire teen and adult life.

I'm planning to embark on yet another diet this spring (after my second child is born! I'm 24 weeks pregnant right now!). If this effort fails, I really think I need to get serious about surgery.

Things that are holding me back... fear of surgery complications, fear that it won't work, fear that I'll regain the weight. Also, my husband isn't too keen on the idea. He says I should be able to just force myself to eat less and therefore have the effects of surgery without the surgery. But I've gone on super low calorie diets before... it doesn't always translate to weight loss for me. I think I've seriously screwed up my metabolism over the years.

How did you come to the confident conclusion that surgery was right for you? I guess I am asking because I wonder if I will ever be confident this is the best solution. Did anyone go into the surgery with doubts? Or did you wait until you were totally 110% sure this was the right thing to do? I know surgery is a major decision and requires an entire lifestyle change, so I don't mean doubts about being ready and willing to do that. I mean doubts about if surgery is the right way to do it. (Er... did that make sense? )

(PS- Hope it's ok for me to post here. I haven't even consulted with a surgeon... just discussions with my family doctor.)

Thanks for sharing and helping me understand the mental process of deciding on and preparing for surgery.

I haven't had surgery, I'm still trying to figure out which one to do, but I know I need to do it.

I think the point where I decided that I had to do it was when I visited my grandmother last time. She is 78 years old and has been morbidly obese her whole life. Had strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes with amputations, etc. She has had a rough life due to her weight, and I was following in the same track.

I had done WW for years, Atkins for a long time before that, and a low calorie diet like you did also, and I always lost weight but regained it. It's not about determination or discipline to me, I know I can do it - but I just need some help.

It's like having clinical depression or cigarette addiction. You can't be expected to just get better by discipline and willpower alone... you get anti-depressants or the patch to help you out. It's a tool, nothing more. I have a family member who said something similar - "just eat like you already had the surgery"... she meant well, but I think she was just scared for me. Surgery is scary, and things can go wrong, but... so can obesity related health problems.

I pictured myself in a year, in 5 years, etc, and how I wanted to live. I want to have children and to run around with them, to be able to carry them up the stairs when they fall asleep in the living room watching tv, to be able to walk all around Disney World with them... I want to be able to ride horses again, to wear nice clothes... and so I decided I have to do something drastic to make it work.

I'm not sure if my little ramblings are at all helpful since i have yet to schedule surgery, but that's my story. =)

i had surgery just before my 25 brithday i use to be 323 now i;m 242 as of today. i had the vertical sleeve done 4 months ago and i'm down 81 pounds with 92 more to go. and all i can say is the quailty of life is wayyyyyyy better on this side. you are 33 year old which is still very young why waste any more of your youth? JUst know in the confidence that you are doing it for yourself YOU deserve to be happy and healthy. Yes the fear of doing something wrong is scary but isn't never knowing more of a biggerfear? either way you will be risk something. good luck with your choice! OH and lots of joy sent for the little to come!!((hugs))


xoxo,
nikki

hi Mama!!!! wow - with being preggers with #2 and all, you sure have a lot going on these days [and that's why it's a GOOD thing that you're not planning on making a decision!!!]

i think what you'll see around here is that most of us decided to have surgery because of health problems, or fear of health problems. and we've ALL had a very VERY long history of dieting - yo-yo-ing, trying everything, and failing over the long haul.

i was extremely ill going into the surgery [and the tale is around here somewhere or other]. surgery was my ONLY chance for living longer than a year. and it was the right choice.

it sounds to me, though, that you're trying to come up with SOMETHING you can do to help yourself while you're pregnant and making the decision. here's a suggestion - and it's NOT 'just eat like you had the surgery' [there's MUCH more that goes into that!!!]

try to address your food demons - you'll have to do it anyway, no matter what your decision. are you a stress eater? a boredom eater? sweets? salt? snacking? drinking calories? the possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!

look at what/how you're eating and see what changes you can make - one at a time, and add another one every couple of weeks. maybe it'll be drinking water instead of soda. or using lowfat milk instead of cream in your coffee.

or taking a 10 minute walk before you eat anything.

whatever it is - it'll get your head around the concept of SUCCESS!!!

and we'll be here -

For me, it was 2004 and I read an article online about new research being done on women who were menipausal and obese. There was a correlation between them getting breast cancer. That scared me. That was enough for me.

I did a LOT of research and I chose the lap band because it was the right choice for me.

I also went to TJ Mexico because it was the right choice for me.

I chose a surgeon whom I believe is one of the top three in the world.

$$/lack of insurance was also an issue for me, and the surgery there was MUCH less expensive. (Under 10K for EVERYTHING compared to $32K at Cedars Sinai at the time).

The surgeons in Mexico and some other countries have been doing this surgery for 15 years and the US FDA didn't approve this surgery until 2002.

For me, it was and still is the right choice. I have no regrets in doing this surgery.

My impending death in the future was enough to scare me. My Mom had a massive heart attack at age 59. I was way bigger than her and knowing that I had the genetics in line was enough to convince me.

Seriously, we all have worries and doubts going in. When we do surgery we are heading into a world of "what ifs". It's change that we can't always predict. Any kind of big change requires risk.

Dawn

Wonderful and insightful answers, everyone. Thank you so much, and keep 'em coming! This is helping me sort things out in my own mind, and I bet a lot of lurkers are finding your answers very helpful too.

Thanks again!!!

I also had fears but I have asked myself - If you dont do it what else you can do and you already did not try? The answer was NOTHING. And the question was - if there is nothing that you did not try already can you accept yourself fat? And the answer was NO.

I know I cant leave my life further without peace with myself and I had to try with the lap band. I am not doing fine with it for now but I am sure I will master it after some time. Maybe I will not be for the records but I will loose it and nothing can compare with it.

Not to talk about the benefits for health! Good luck!

I I took lap band because I think its the most safe. I know that in USA its not popular as here because people are looking for more easy solutions. Dont get me wrong - my doctor told me that in the beginning ALL other methods like by pass has better and faster results but that after 5 years results are the SAME so that I dont worry just wait :-)

I picked it up because I would like to have kids someday and I am skeptical about other methods and feeding the baby in your stomach and so on. And I though - if something goes wrong I could take it out. And if you cut your stomach you can undo that.

Lots of ladies that did other methods have more cases of osteroposis after 40.I am not saying that lap band is good for you I am just explaining why I picked that one up. Yes, it is the hardest was to loose also - but I am little bit masochistic so its fine for me, hihihihi.

I chose the RNY GBP because I have more then 100lbs to lose (it has a higher success rate at my highest weight then the band and is less dangerous, in my eyes, of complications due to malabsorbtion then the DS) Also, GBP has the possiblity of the "dumping" syndrome which I though would be a good kick in the pants to stop the binge eating I was doing on high fat and high carb/sugar food I was doing. The chance that dumping will occur after time goes down to 30% but I am lucky that I still do...it keeps me in line and helps me change my habits long term.

Remember, research is the key and what's best for you is the answer.

Angela

I chose WLS because of health reasons. The reason that I chose RNY was because my insurance would only cover RNY and lapband. Since I needed to lose way over 100 pound and as old dirt, I took the RNY. For two years, I read, READ, daer, R E A D, everything that I could about WLS. I came here cried, bawled, asked, begged for information; read other people stories. All of this was from my couch because by the time I finally applied for WLS, I wasn't able to hardly take care of myself, family, or home. I did do a low carb diet about a month before my surgery and managed to lose 16 pounds, but had done that before and knew without the weightloss surgery I wouldn't be able to keep it off. Frankly, I want to LIVE. That is why I chose WLS.

Good Luck!

I had some health issues, and even more family with weight related health issues. I did not want to become diabetic. at my heaviest i weighed 335 pounds. I was nervous about the surgery, but once I went to a seminar and listened and made my choice, I was not really nervous any more. I chose the RNY because my insurance would only cover the RNY or band, and with my weight i felt the rny was better for me. Its been 2 months and I have lost 45 pounds since surgery and I feel great

It isn't an easy decision. I had complications and have rehashed my decision several times. But in the end, I chose WLS because I knew it was my only hope. I was 28 and weighed 296. I had lost a child mid-pregnancy (perhaps due to my weight as well as other issues) and it was my only "hope" to be normal again. Like I said, I've had a bunch of complications and have wondered if it was 'worth it', but if given the choice again I'd probably do it again.

Think it through. Weigh the pros and cons for YOU and then make the decision. I pray you can make the right one for you.

I'm so sorry for your loss. How heartbreaking...



Today I ate about five (mini) york peppermint patties. They are my favorite sweet. After eating number five, I thought "good God... if I get the surgery, I can't do this. I'd get really sick." It made me think that (a) can I really handle the post-op diet? (I've done uber low-cal before, but never had to cut sweets entirely if I was really craving) and (b) Can I live the rest of my life without my beloved york peppermint patties?

Sigh. I shouldn't have eaten them.

How did you know you could handle the post-op diet? I mean, it isn't even a diet -- it's a lifelong way of eating. How did you know you could resist your favorite food for the rest of your life?