I wanted to know from people what the final catalyst was in deciding to be banded.

Mine was when my father was diagnosed with type II Diabetes, along with most of his 7 other brothers. I decided that unless I did something about this weight I was going to have the same fate.

My last straw was my granddaughter asking me why I had three stomachs!!!!!

Alexandra: Agree w/you 500%! I have a 3 year old that out ran me and ended up darting across the street at my sister's house. Luckly it wasn't a busy street, but that didn't mean a car couldn't have come racing down the road! I couldn't believe it that my soon could have been killed because of ME! I'm in the insurance approval process now (wish me luck). I'm 4'11", BMI 45, size 26WP. Not a good thing at all! My dh has worse habits than me and I DO NOT want him (or the "outlaws") raising our son! I promised myself that I'd be there for my son regardless what my husband wants to do w/his health. I've gotten to the point that if he doesn't want to see his son grow up, that's his choice. Kinda gruff, but sometimes the truth hurts! Oh also, someone at work asked me if "there wasn't something he didn't know" and looked at my belly.....No I'm just fat, not pregnant!:cry

The last straw (there were several)

-not fitting in a wheelchair at the hospital when I hurt my ankle

-hitting an all-time high of 301, I swore I would never hit 300

-not fitting in the rides at an amusement park

-not fitting in chair at the movies

-not fitting in the airplane seat, having to ask for an extender

-buying size 28 jeans (devastating)

-facing a lifetime of depression

-not being able to get pregnant after a year of trying

A girl in my law school class asked me about when my fiance and I were going to get married. I thought I knew this girl well enough, so I replied that we were waiting a little while because we both wanted to be in good health.

I was referring to my sinus problems, but she replied, "Yeh, I've noticed you've gained a lot of weight this year."

THAT was it. It was time to take back my life. I got into the doctor that next week and had my surgery 2 months later.

Kristin

will be banded on tomorrow

Very exciting that you'll be banded tomorrow! Let us know how you do! And best of luck on an uneventful procedure.

Moody: Have you been able to stop smoking yet? It's so difficult.

My last straw.... I woke up christmas morning and could find NOTHING to wear. I mean nothing. I usually wear sweats around the house and scrubs to work. It had been a while since I had to get dressed "normally". Now when I say I had nothing to wear, I mean Nothing fit over my hips. I could not and would not go to my family xmas party in sweats or scrubs. I stayed home, cried, ate, cried, ate more, cried. Finally I got on the internet and discovered the band.... then I wept for joy because I knew that this was going to help me save myself.

Humm, yes, there are so many.

I have recently decided that I just don't have another "diet" in me.

The weight loss battle has been life-long for me. I remember saving my allowance at the age of 10 or so to buy "Aydes". They were a carmel-flavored supplement to help you loose. They didn't.

I have lost and regained hundreds of pounds over the years. I'm now 58, have HB, joint, foot and back pain, and generally feel lousy. My aunt, 10 years my senior and morbidly obese, was diagnosed with Type II diabetes last year and she is now in danger of having her foot amputated.

Check, please!

So, it is time. I don't know how I'm going to get banded, or how much it will cost me, but I feel as if I have no other alternative. It is time.

Glad I found this site. You all have been of such help and inspiration. Thanks!

I was tired.

Tired of feeling bad all the time. Tired of being tired. Tired of having diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, bad knees, bad hips, bad feet, bad ankles. I was tired of not being able to play with my granddaughter. Tired of not being able to play with my younger sons. Tired of not fitting into the seats at the theater or auditorium at work. Tired of tight airplane seats, tired of fighting to get in/out of the back seat of the car. Tired of getting out of breath walking to the bus stop. Tired of having to sit at a table instead of a booth at the restaurant. Tired of having kids stare at me. Tired of embarrassing my family (especially my kids) because of my size. Tired of not being able to have fun at amusement parks. Tired of not wanting to make love to my husband. Tired of being embarrassed when I did. Tired of the discrimination at work. Tired of looking 20 years older than I was.

Should I go on? I can you know.

Yes vicki, I am there. My husband and I use to have an extremely active sex life. But just recently, I think the feeling of being overweight has just ruined it for us. He has been my one and only and out of 30 years of marriage, we have had 29.5 years of good sex, but just recently I have started shying away from it. He thinks something is wrong with him. But I promise you, there is nothing wrong with him.............he is 6'2'' and 195. He is adorable, outgoing and just as good as gold. I know he loves me, but I just do not feel like a sexual being any longer. I try to explain to him that it is all me and not him, but he takes it as rejecting him.

Yes, I am tired of squeezing into places I probably should not be, as well as places I really don't fit any more. I have to go interview in the next few weeks, and I just hate trying to sell myself when I hate myself.

Thanks for sharing..............I am not banded yet, but seriously considering it. God bless

WhippleDaddy

I'd been fat since I was nine years old, and I had gotten pretty much used to it. Not happy about it, but resigned, and yes, a little comfortable. There is a payoff to the fatness. For each of us it is different

.

What an eloquent testimony! I thought, "This man should by a writer." Then I went to your signature page and saw that you ARE a writer!! NO WONDER you wrote so well... You put into words somewhat of what I feel. There is a payoff to being invisible. I have never had someone that was so rude as to say something about how big I was, thank goodnes! But I do feel somewhat invisible, people just don't notice you for the most part. That was fine when I was married but now that I'm not, I don't want to be so invisible any more. That brings up the question of why I wanted to be invisible, especially to men, but that is a whole 'nuther can of worms.

I think my last "moment" was when I went over the 300 lb. mark. YIKES!! That couldn' t be real... 300 lbs???? There is a lady that I work with that had gastric bypass last Sept. I told her then that I was thinking about WLS, I was going to wait and see how she did with it. Well, she really has lost the weight and she looks great. I don't remember where or when I first heard about the band, but that has always made more sense to me than the bypass. I know she was out of work for several weeks and she still felt pretty bad when she came back. I know she had one really bad day when she had dumping syndrome. She was lying on the bathroom floor at work, sick as a dog. I did some research about the band and then found out I knew someone that had had it done. I emailed her and asked about a zillion questions. Then she took me to a seminar and the rest is history. I have lost some since surgery but since I went to regular food the loss has stopped. I also get hungrier at night now. That scares me, but I get a fill in July. I'll have to hold on until then and hope that helps me. Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book. Don' t want to tread on any toes "Wippledaddy" he, he.

It is sooo good to vent!

I have so many pictures of my Husband and my 8 year old son together, and I won't let anyone take my picture. I'm embarrassed to have lunch with old friends. My feet hurt all the time, and I need naps on a a daily basis, because I have no energy.

I have a heavy set secretary, who is about 20 years older than me. She is always having weight related healthy issues. We were talking one day, after I had a doctors appt. I said- well everything is a-okay. "I'm the healthiest fat person I know"- and she said- "I was too when I was 40". That made a light come on in my head, and I realized that I couldn't keep abusing my body this way. food is not going to fall off the face of the planet. I can make this sacrifice, and try to get back on track, and be around to watch my son grow up. And he is getting heavy too, so I need to set a better example. I'm getting banded on July 5th! ~

PaulaA in Houston:typing:

Very good thread, as I always wondered what made everyone else do this.

I went to Las Vegas last year, my favorite place on the planet! I could barely fit into the airplane seat and discreatly grabbed the seat belt extension when the flight attendent wasnt looking. Think thats bad? The same trip coming out of the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay I got stuck in the turn-style. (those evil metal contraptions, not sure how you spell it) Yep there I was stuck while my friend and her son were laughing there ass off. I might have been ok with it except that later my neice told me she felt sorry for me. That hurt. So I decided I could either smash her teeth in for that comment, or really try to do something. It was about that time that someone I work with had been banded, with great success. She has since inspired 6 others where I work to have the procedure.

Oh! And the picture of me standing next to George Clooney's wax figure didnt help either. Fat Chick next to Hot Man! Someday I'll post them. That one is my before pic. hehe

Great Thread!!!

My last straw was on my 13th Wedding Anniversary.....my husband and I had gone to a $300/noc bed and Breakfast with plans for some wonderful relaxation away from the kids. We decided to take a bubble bath to relax. Now mind you my husband has never said ONE WORD in 13 plus years to me about my weight. That night as we sat there talking about our lives by candlelight.....he said to me with tears in his eyes, "Honey, I am really worried about your health. Would you ever consider doing something like surgery to help you get the weight off, because I want to spend many many more years with you....and I'm scared for you."

Boy did that hit me hard. I wasn't at all upset because I knew he was saying it from his heart and that he was truly worried about me being around much longer. I have to say his timing wasn't very good (being naked in the bubble bath with him and all ). I was one of the ones that said I would NEVER EVER have weight loss surgery. But, his words and love was exactly what I needed to gain some perspective and make that big step to take back control of my life.

I dont recall "the last straw". I do remember things that have happened during the years.

Ten years ago I went on a interview, to be a 1 on 1 for a 5 year old Autistic boy to assist with homework and "life skills" and they also had other children. I had spent half hour with the boy and is father for the "interview". Then as I was leaving thier 3 year old asked how I had got there. I told him I drove, and he looked up at me, and in all his sincerity said, "your to fat to drive". The Dad said nothing to the child or to me, so I just walked.

Absolutly hate to fly now, because of the seats, and I am petrified that at any moment they will force me to buy another seat...lol and yes they are making seats smaller, putting them closer together...learned it in my Airline Saber class! Rat bastards!!!!

But when I first knew I wanted WLS, which was 4 years ago, I was in a Taco shop, at lunch time, in the middle of the week, with a line of 20 hispanic men waiting to order looking at me, while I was sobbing, telling my Mom I needed help and I wanted WLS....and I didn't care that I was doing the "ugly" cry, I just wanted help....

In desparation I was looking for a "gay" military man to marry so I could get surgery....LOL but did not find one!!!

So here I am, I am hoping that I will finally be able to get a loan. I called yesturday. We shall see...

I can't pinpoint it to one particular thing . . . I know that every time I tried a new diet I hoped it would be the one that would help me lose and keep the weight off forever. That never happened. As the years have gone by, I've gained more and more weight and now suffer from high blood pressure, cholesterol, arthritis, joint pain, depression. I kept thinking what's next.

When I turned 41 this year, I decided I didn't want to struggle with my weight any longer. But mentally, I couldn't get myself to try not one more diet. The thought of regaining the weight plus some extra equated to too much effort for the reverse payoff. I'm pursuing the band as a tool to help me keep the weight off because I too want to be a member of the "Gone for Good" club -- both weight and comorbidities.