rajivwelikala

Hi,
I am a 31 year old male, and I have been morbidly obese since I was a kid. Even though I was severely obese I was relatively active until I was around 26.
Now I weigh 210 KG and at a height of 5 foot 8 I have a BMI of 70 !
I know it sounds shocking,
I am very unfit, and after about 10 min of working out the elliptical machine or bike i am exhausted.
I checked my blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol and all are normal.
I consulted the leading bariatric surgeon in our country and he has got me appointments with the cardilogist, endocrynologist and a liver expert and a breathing expert for next week.
I know given my condition bariatric surgery will be a no brainer.
My main concern is choosing the right type of surgery.
I would prefer to get something with less complications like gastric sleeve,
But want to know if given the right commitment of diet and exercise will it be enough? I cant afford two surgeries and like to know if there are any cases of successes for people who have done gastric sleeve only and lost the desired amount of weight for someone who is over 70 BMI? even now i am on a very low carb diet which I have gotten used to as a lifestyle in the last few months with no sugar and carbs such a bread/rice and i work out about 5 times every week as much as I can.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks
Rajiv
from Sri Lanka

I'm only 6 months out from sleeve surgery so not a complete success yet! But I'm very pleased with my choice to do sleeve. When I first met with my surgeon exactly one year ago, my BMI was 76! I didn't have to lose weight before surgery but since my insurance required a 6 month medically supervised period, i used that time to gradually make some changes and start very slowly increasing activity. So on surgery day my BMI was ~66. Now 6 months later it is 48 and dropping.
When I started, i couldn't even walk a city block without being completely out of breath, heart racing and in excruciating lower back and knee pain. So yes, my exercise routine started VERY slowly - but you know what? any little bit helps and just very slowly gradually increase activity so you don't injure yourself. even the slightest bit of improvement in that area will make recovery from surgery so much easier. and now? well, in October I hiked over 5 miles in the Great Smoky National Park - broken into 2 smaller hikes on the same day - without ANY problems! Something I couldn't have even dreamed of doing a year ago.
So is sleeve an option for someone with a BMI of 70 or higher - yep absolutely! Ultimately which surgery to have is a decision between you and your doctor. Weigh all the benefits and negatives of each procedure in regard to your particular case and make an informed decision.
Regardless of which route you go - good luck on your journey!