Hi Fatt Lady..
I have actually considered surgery 2 years ago, did all the pre-op assessment and was just waiting to do it, but I chickened out! The thought of surgery (any kind of surgery) was too scary for me, so I convinced myself to give it my best and try to lose weight on my own. It worked at first, and I lost some weight (not alot), but then gained it all back. By that time, I felt that I had given up on myself and was really upset about the way I piled on even more weight. I felt powerless to do anything about it. But the thing that really struck me was that although I've always been fat, my obesity was mainly in my hips and thighs. However, lately it had been all in my tummy, that's when I realized that this is a warning sign of what's called the metabolic syndrome, and based on my family history, I knew that diabetes and hypertension were soon to follow with all their complications, all before I am even 30! That's when I felt I had to do something drastic. After discussing the options with my doctor, I knew that a band was not for me, I needed something more drastic and more permenant (it would have been easy for me not to fill the band to tighten it, and now as I am devastated by the restrictions of the new size of my stomache, I feel grateful for not doing the band). So he suggested a sleeve gasterectomy (less time in OR than RNY or DS and less complications, since I was soo scared). And there you go.. I had my surgery in March and despite some hardships at first, I couldn't be happier now
Sorry for the long post.. I wish you the best of luck whichever way you choose to do it, cuz what matters in the end is that you DO SOMETHING! Good luck and keep us posted
D.