tmbrown

Apologies if I am posting in the wrong place! I used to have a BMI of around 60 (330 lbs) - I kept being told to get bariatric surgery but managed to lose weight without it, going down to a BMI of around 22 (115 lbs). I've maintained that weight loss for a long time, but over the past year my BMI has shot back up to 33 (180 lbs) but my waist size is disproportionate from everything I have read and is currently around 51 inches. I know most surgery says a BMI of 35 is the lower limit, but would my increased waist size and history of being severely obese count in my favour and mean I could go for surgery earlier? I have had to have my gallbladder removed and have a medical condition that flares up when I am significantly overweight too. It probably sounds stupid as I know I'm obese but my waist is so big in comparison to the rest of my body it feels constantly uncomfortable and I'm feeling absolutely desperate to sort it out and I'm just not managing with dieting like I did last time, plus I'm concerned that I'll keep gaining weight without help. I know it is probably something I just need to discuss with surgeons but I thought it would be worth getting other opinions or experiences if possible. Thanks in advance!

This is exactly what I have done in the past, lose weight then gain it back plus more, although I've never gone past my highest weight. One of the reasons I'm keen to get started with a surgery journey is because I've gained back so much in such a short space of time that I'm worried that I'll keep getting bigger at this rate and before I know it I'll be further from healthy than I've ever been. I have now booked in to talk to a doctor next week, which is something I've been delaying in the hopes I can lose the weight without help, plus I hadn't realised that I had slipped beyond a BMI of 30 (although now I know for sure, it is incredibly obvious that I am at an unhealthy size/shape, I even used to have loose skin that is now full again, I do not understand how I've been in this denial so badly, I feel like an absolute idiot!). I just want to be a healthy weight without using disordered techniques!! Suzannethemom - I was concerned that that would be the case. I do suffer from idiopathic intracranial hypertension when I am at an unhealthy weight level, plus my home blood pressure readings have been high recently, I've just not seen the doctor about it as of yet. With the remeasuring of my height (I haven't been measured in about 20 years!) it does put my at a BMI of 36 so I'm hoping that they'll agree I am a suitable candidate. Thank you all! Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you both. I've just remeasured myself and I'm 2 inches shorter than I was last time I was measured (it was years ago to be fair)! My BMI then comes out at 36 which obviously isn't a good thing as I'm further from my goal, but at least it might make it easier for me to sort getting support. Would my past history of being able to lose weight without surgery hold me back at all? Or that I've obviously gained a fair amount of weight in quite a short amount of time. I really want to nip it in the bud but I'm concerned that without some intervention I won't be able to and I don't want to go back to where I was originally.