The day or two before I got sleeved, I thought , I lost a lot on a pre-op diet, do I really need to go through with this surgery? Do I really need to get to a "normal" weight, or is just being less obese enough. (Maybe I was afraid of the committment I had to make? )

Ultimately, I decided to have the surgery and I am happy with my decision. Today, I saw this clip on the internet and it just reinforced my decision, so I wanted to share it with all of you.

Dr Oz says in Prevention Magazine, " Listen, if you're one hundred pounds overweight at age fifty, you have the same mortality rate as if you have a solid cancer. Would you operate for cancer? Yeah. So if you cannot lose that weight, get one of these procedures. You have to do it with counseling and full awareness of what you're doing, of course. "

I felt I needed help, but I think I think I felt kind of guilty or selfish for wanting to get surgery. After reading this, I felt, of course I would get surgery for cancer, so of course I was right for getting surgery for another disease -obesity- that was killing me!

I hope this helps some of you with your decision. Happy Holidays to everyone.

Thanks for sharing!

I didn't know it was Dr Oz that said it, but I've been using this quote when people doubt the WLS decision. I'm glad to know who said it!

That should shut some neigh sayers mouths right up!

I needed to read that. Surgery is in two weeks and my dad was asking me to reconsider the procedure at Christmas Eve dinner. I told him I wasn't changing my mind, but quotes like that really reinforce just WHY I am doing this. Thanks for posting!

Finally, Dr. Oz says something intelligent. I get so tired of hearing patients tell me they have changed their medications because "Dr. Oz said so" or asking off-the-wall questions because "Dr. Oz said so". Geeezzzzz, Louise!!

Sorry for the outburst...I just get frustrated with media hype...Kathe

Yup. Needed to hear that.

such a great motivating post!! thanks for sharing and helping all the newbies who had no idea what awaits them after surgery!! cause I really started living after having it:)

That is good to hear, esp. considering I was at the grocery store yesterday and saw the cover of a magazine (People maybe or something like it) that had two weight loss stories and before/after pics on the cover and the headline (I'm paraphrasing): "Real people lose weight! No weight loss surgery! No gimmicks!"

Yeah, because WLS is a "gimmick," and it's so much more "real" if you don't have surgery. I hate, hate that attitude. To go back to the cancer comparison, no one would think less of you if you had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor vs. trying to cure it "on your own," BUT using surgery is cheating somehow, you have no will power, etc.

We had a talk at my support group yesterday about that "half their size" People mag. We talked about how weight is one of the last "acceptable" things to discriminate against people for. We are made to feel bad because we are fat, and the when we can't lose the weight we feel even worse, and now, we are made to feel bad because we opted to have surgery.

Someone told me yesterday that the ways he looked at her sleeve was like a gall bladder gone bad. She truly felt something was wrong with her stomach; that she was Ron with a stomach that was either too big, or was disproportionate to her body and her grehlin levels. Because she saw it as a problem, she had to have it remove, much like someone would take are of a gall bladder that no longer worked, or a tooth that was hurting her. I think that's how we all need to look at her. We had a problem, and we opted to take care of it in a way that would work FOREVER.

I am glad those people on People were able to lose the weight themselves, but we all know the stats on people who lose it and Are able to keep it off. I'm sure many of us here have lost lots of weight (almost 60 lbs on my own myself) but were we able to keep it off? And, would living such a restrictive lifestyle in order to keep it off work for me for the rest of my life? No way. The reason i chose to get the sleeve was for freedom from that way of life!

I am glad Dr. Oz is supporting surgery. Awhile back, he had some shows that seemed to not support it. I remember one show where some weight loss surgery patients were on and they were saying that all they could eat was broth and yogurt. It seemed like he was trying to make people not want the surgery by implying you would never be able to eat real food again. I am so glad I had surgery. I tell anyone that asks me about it that I had the sleeve. I really feel the sleeve is a true answer to obesity. I still can't believe how much it has changed my life in a year.

I really like this post so...I'm just trying to bump it back up to the top. Thought it might help someone with their decision...

I needed to read that post about Dr. Oz so badly just at this moment. That is exactly how I explain my decision to friends & family. I am sitting in Atlanta airport after having missed my connection to San Diego- I have my VSG surgery Monday with Dr. Aceves. Stuck here due to bad weather (and I purposely chose a connecting flight through the south from Boston, so I wouldn't have to worry about winter weather when connecting-- never thought to worry about a tornado!!!) Originally, Delta told me they couldn't get me to CA until tomorrow afternoon and I said I cannot do that- I have a pre-surgical workup tomorrow. Bless them- they moved me to the head of the standby list for the last flight out tonight and I am crossing my fingers that I get on. I was thinking "hmmm, maybe this is a sign that I shouldn't be doing this" but having read this has cleared my head. I am a widow supporting 2 kids, my elderly mom & disabled sister. They need me to be around for the long run and this is just another way of taking care of myself to make sure I will be. I love this forum & thanks to all of you who empowered me to be (literally) on this journey.

Good Luck!

I needed to read that post about Dr. Oz so badly just at this moment. That is exactly how I explain my decision to friends & family. I am sitting in Atlanta airport after having missed my connection to San Diego- I have my VSG surgery Monday with Dr. Aceves. Stuck here due to bad weather (and I purposely chose a connecting flight through the south from Boston, so I wouldn't have to worry about winter weather when connecting-- never thought to worry about a tornado!!!) Originally, Delta told me they couldn't get me to CA until tomorrow afternoon and I said I cannot do that- I have a pre-surgical workup tomorrow. Bless them- they moved me to the head of the standby list for the last flight out tonight and I am crossing my fingers that I get on. I was thinking "hmmm, maybe this is a sign that I shouldn't be doing this" but having read this has cleared my head. I am a widow supporting 2 kids, my elderly mom & disabled sister. They need me to be around for the long run and this is just another way of taking care of myself to make sure I will be. I love this forum & thanks to all of you who empowered me to be (literally) on this journey. :smile1:

GO get 'em, Gramom!!

Dr Oz says in Prevention Magazine, " Listen, if you're one hundred pounds overweight at age fifty, you have the same mortality rate as if you have a solid cancer. Would you operate for cancer? Yeah. So if you cannot lose that weight, get one of these procedures. You have to do it with counseling and full awareness of what you're doing, of course. "

Wow, this really resonated with me- thanks for the inspiration. i decided to plan this surgery when my gynaecologist recently scared me by giving me some facts and figures about morbid obesity and cancer- i had been conning myself that it would all just work out until then.This just makes me feel so much more determined to do it.