Layla

My impression is that you deceive yourself on a number of levels. All of us fat people do it. The most basic truth I ever told myself was "There is no way I will lose 100 pounds and keep it off without this surgery." I have lost 85 since July 2011. Your anecdotal comments about people in your family who are fat but still alive are a rationalization for not taking the step you know you need to take. And if you think you are "in the driver's seat" with your eating being your master, you need to think again. I know this sounds harsh, for which I apologize, but it is no service or help to you to encourage you to continue in self decpetion. You cannot lose the weight as much and as permanently as you should, or you would have done so. And as we ALL know, health is only a portion of our pain. Do you really like being treated by society like a person a little lower than a criminal? If you can honestly tell yourself that none of the fat hatred you are surrounded with every day hurts you, then by all means, yo-yo for the rest of your life. As for myself, I am overjoyed to have been sleeved, and HATED being fat every second (though really like myself in general) And I do NOT believe for a minute you'd be happy at 175 for the rest of your life. There are NO guarantees in this life, but the previous commenter, talking about this surgery having been done for decades for other medical reasons, is absolutely correct. The first few weeks post surg are not particularly easy, but I urge you to go with the sleeve if you can do it. And at the very LEAST, take a long cold look at what you are telling yourself about your problem with food. All the best...

I have been "thinking" about WLS for about 1 year. Last year I did a pretty restrictive diet and inbetween ate normally. I lost close to 40lbs without a whole lot of effort (gained the holiday 10, but that is almost officially off too). I am 35 and don't want to wait until I am 45.

I went into my surgical consult last month convinced to get the band. However, they seemed real keen on the VSG and saying without saying not so much on the band. So I have been reading both.

I am fat, but I have no health problems related to weight. My blood pressure is good (105-117/65-80 on average). My cholesterol is good, triglycerides are good, my HDL is good. My blood sugar is excellent and no diabetes in the family.

I am able to stick to a diet for awhile, but when I go off, I go off and then have big motivation problems getting back on. I do best on a high Protein, low carb diet so this sounds like a good match. My tendency is to be very black and white in my eating patterns. If I am not on a diet, then I am being "bad" and if I am at a restaraunt, then I order what I want to eat. I am trying again to reroute my mind into middle ground that yes I can have Cookies, but that doesn't mean because I had Cookies, I need to eat chips to round out the badness. I can just have the cookies and still be good. So I am *working* hard on changing my thought patterns.

I was normal sized up until my early 20s when I was first put on birth control pills. I had a slight weight gain then. But then they changed my pills and I ballooned up. Combine rapid weight gain with a "damn I'm gross, eff it I'm eating Burger King morning, noon, and night!" attitude after I gained about 60lbs in about 6 months or so, I continued to pack on the pounds year after year. From my lowest weight of 118, my old "set point" of 125, to at my highest recorded of 252. OMG.

So basically, there are many elements of this surgery that I like. I like that after time you can still eat all of your favorite stuff, just a few bites instead of a full serving or two. I like that there is no foreign body to have to work around or ports to get infected or the nearly 100% chance the band will have to come out within the next 5-10 years.

What I don't like is the lack of long term data. What happens to me in 10, 20, 30 years? Will long term nutritional deficiences cause me problems? Is this surgery going to shorten my life? Because it can. There is absolutely no guarantee being fat will since we have some chunkers in my family who have lived to ripe old ages (although I would need to lose and keep off about another 30-40lbs in order to be where they were).

I also don't like that it is permanant and that if anything goes wrong with the staple line, or my stomach explodes, I am stuck in some sort of bypass situation which is something I DO NOT want. In fact that is my biggest fear. The other part of the permanent thing is the lack of control. I can't get my stomach back but a band can be removed. So I am still in the driver's seat.

I am also a bit scared of the rapid weight loss. I'd prefer to lose a steady 5-10lbs/month than huge 30lbs drops that I am seeing on the boards. Crazy, I know! But I am weird :tongue2:

The VBG was popular and people who were a few years out raved about it. But it is now considered a very dangerous surgery by the AMA according to the wiki. Liver and kidney failure were common with that one. Bypass patients seem to end up with heart attacks. I know it may sound dramatic but it is very real to me trying to make this decision.

Many of the people posting on this board had serious weight related health issues and mobility issues, so the choice is much easier to make, at least in my mind. Hands down, if I had diabetes, could barely walk, and/or was on a million pills a day to keep me alive, I would do it ini a heartbeat.

But was anyone healthy but fat and made this choice? What brought you to the decision?

Some restaurants will let you order from the kids menu. Other times, I eat a small portion of whatever my husband ordered. The portions are always WAY too big even for him. Or you can order a high Protein appetizer , which works fine, and I STILL end up bringing somew of it home. So bring your leftovers home. If you don't eat it, someone else will.

Dear Lola,

Here's an idea that has really saved me (and I was sleeved almost 6 MONTHS ago and STILL have a little nausea after eating once in a while.) My doc gave me a tablet that dissolves on the tongue called Phenergan. It clears up nausea almost instantly.

BUT, sounds like you are having other issues as well, besides physical ones. If you have real depression, seek help for that forthwith, as well.

Nothing in life that is worth having is easy to get. Don't mean to sound preachy, but it's true. Note that most people on this site are very happy post-op.

We are USED to having our most important relationship in our lives with FOOD! This is suddenly and completely taken away, and THAT may be causing your depression. It's a shock, I can tell you that from my own experience. Now food is something I have to eat to keep alive, but other things can easily take it's place as your healthier obsessions. Distract yourself! Start a new book, or a craft project, or get active in politics, or volunteer work, or all of the above. If not, meds for depression may be in order. They work!