OilSooner

I def prefer a surgeon with more experience, and the other facility is much more well known, and the surgeon is very experienced and well reccommended. But (theres always a but!), he doesnt do the sleeve. So, the choices are get an experienced dr., and get the band.... or get an inexperienced dr., and get the sleeve. And, I want the sleeve, not the band. It's a very tough call. Thanks for your repsonse, lilmissdiva!

Well, I am 5-8 to 5-9 and weight about 268. I think I want to get the band, but am not sure. I know I weigh WAY too much, and know that I have tried every diet I have ever heard of, with the most success coming from traditional diet and exercise (lasted about 5 months, and I went from about 255 to 220). Now, I weigh more than when I started that diet (2 years ago) and am constantly gaining. I def feel lost with my weight problem (I think I am a binge eater/emotional eater/bored eater), but I dont know if the problem is bad enough to warrant surgery. I dont know if the Doctors are going to say "You're not nearly big enough for bariatric surgery." I mean, I would like to get the surgery if it was available, but I dont know that I will be a candidate. Anyway, I have insurance so that is a plus, and I am scheduled to go to a meeting Thurs night to get a consultation at the local hospital. So, just looking for advice from people who know more about it than I do. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the replies so far, and I guess I should have mentioned that I am a male, which puts my current BMI at 40.5, which is right on the border, as I suspected. I dont think there is any chance of me attaining a "normal" weight (the BMI calculator says "healthy weight" is 155, but I dont think I could ever get that small....175-180 would be comfortable for me) without surgery, so that is my main motivating factor. Plus, I have sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and diabetes runs rampant in my family.