What was the final thing that you encountered that made you say this is enough? I have had numerous.

1. Leaving a wife and 2 sons, Husbandless and fatherless.

2. Not being able to get on amusement park rides with my sons.

3. Not being able to take my wife to a concert, because i could not fit in a seat.

4. Avoiding restuarant,movie theaters and sports complexes with tiny seats.

For me, walking through a a department store and some little child looking at me like im a alien had to be one the hardest things.

Respectfully,

Joe

I've had many straws. The most recent was having blood work done and it coming back with me as borderline diabetic. My mother and sister are both diabetic and my grandfather died when I was in my teens, of complications from his diabetes (this was after having both legs amputated many years before). I just don't want that for myself.

The other is my children. My son joined the Navy last year and he's stationed in Guam now. That's a 20 something hour plane ride away, buying one seat is going to be expensive enough let alone having to buy two seats because I can't fit! I want to be able to walk around the mall with my teenage daughter and not huff and puff along the way. I want to be able to try on clothes in no matter what store we go into. I'd like to go to amusement parks and actually be able to ride the rides!

Also, I don't want to be invisible anymore. When I was younger, and smaller (not thin, I've never been thin) people would notice when I walked into a room. Now, more often than not, people tell me they didn't even know I was there when I speak up or join a conversation. I guess that's vain, but I want to be noticed...

I haven't had surgery yet, I'm still trying to lose the pounds the surgeon asked of me prior to scheduling the surgery. Six pounds to go according to my scale this morning!

A little over a year ago my 10 yr old daughter wanted us all to go hiking. We went and it was very fun but strenuous. Going up hills everyone had to "wait for mom". There were a few things everyone else did that I didn't want to try for fear I'd fall or need help. The next week I asked my doctor if I was a candidate and, yay, she she said yes. I was sleeved on July 8, hooray! Can't wait to try hiking this fall with less weight to carry around.

not wanting to go any where feel depressed hating how i look and my life was just passing me by I would walk short distance and be out of breath walking up stairs hearing my knees grind I had a tough childhood and had to grow up fast and food was my comfort and the last straw was when my sister said she was worried about my health..

Mine was this past Mother's Day. You know when your kids make those adorable things for you from school......yeah well my son had this letter. It was called "I am." He had to complete the sentences that began with "I am", "I do", I see".....well when I came to the sentence......"I understand" that you can't play.......yup that did it for me! First I cried my eyes out. Then I realized that this descion was definitely the right one. I knew that I needed to do this, not just for me but for my boys. I can't wait til next Mother's Day!

I have no friends left. I have literally alienated myself from everything and everyone. I feel like I am trapped in my life and trapped in my body. I thought I was ok with it until I realized that my anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, tiredness, and lost sex drive ALL have to do with my self esteem and weight. I have turned into a lazy, unmotivated, grumpy person. I used to have tons of friends, be outgoing and very social.. now I am a hermit. I dont love myself, I dont even like myself. Luckily, I have a long term boyfriend that loves me for who I am and is supportive and happy for me.

I want to have a baby. I am 34 years old and I want to be happy and healthy for a child. I want to get married. We have talked about it. I will not be a fat bride. I just wont.

I am tired of having my life feel like its over at 34. I want it to just begin. I want to start over. This time I will make the most of it.

this is the most empowering choice I have ever made. for the first time in years, theres a spark of life in my eyes and hope in my heart.

I have no friends left. I have literally alienated myself from everything and everyone. I feel like I am trapped in my life and trapped in my body. I thought I was ok with it until I realized that my anxiety' date=' depression, lack of motivation, tiredness, and lost sex drive ALL have to do with my self esteem and weight. I have turned into a lazy, unmotivated, grumpy person. I used to have tons of friends, be outgoing and very social.. now I am a hermit. I dont love myself, I dont even like myself. Luckily, I have a long term boyfriend that loves me for who I am and is supportive and happy for me.

I want to have a baby. I am 34 years old and I want to be happy and healthy for a child. I want to get married. We have talked about it. I will not be a fat bride. I just wont.

I am tired of having my life feel like its over at 34. I want it to just begin. I want to start over. This time I will make the most of it.

this is the most empowering choice I have ever made. for the first time in years, theres a spark of life in my eyes and hope in my heart.[/quote']

I've been there..some of the things you wrote really resonated with me..good luck to you:)

I'm putting the eating, excersize, and emotional work in on my journey, and I can tell you even early as it is on my road the flood gates have opened and so much life has come back in..

It's amazing what an impact weight has on every aspect of our lives...how people approach us and most importantly how we approach them and everything else... this was such the right choice for me..hope things improve for you!!!

The final straw that broke the camels back for me was... My mother passed away May 18, 2013. She was only 55 and not morbidly obese but overweight with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and MS. It was a massive stroke and heart attack that took her. If that was not enough to scare the crap out of me, her oldest sister who was 61 suffered a massive stroke just one week later, that eventually took her as well on June 3, 2013. My father also had a heart attack and open heart surgery in 2010. He is morbidly obese with HBP, Diabetes, and obviously heart disease. Given the fact that these are my genes, I have no option but to do everything in my power to try to get healthy.

Mine was this past Mother's Day. You know when your kids make those adorable things for you from school......yeah well my son had this letter. It was called "I am." He had to complete the sentences that began with "I am"' date=' "I do", I see".....well when I came to the sentence......"I understand" that you can't play.......yup that did it for me! First I cried my eyes out. Then I realized that this descion was definitely the right one. I knew that I needed to do this, not just for me but for my boys. I can't wait til next Mother's Day![/quote']

I never realized how by weight affected me until I heard myself telling my three yr old nephew how tried I was when playing not to mention the hard time I had getting from the floor. He would ask, you ok? I knew this was right for me to do.

Now I freak my niece out by telling her I plan to borrow her clothes LOL!

I had a infected bone removed from my left foot, I had become a hermit, my diabetes was out of control and I was just through with it all. I just had to do something. I am glad I am on this journey.

For years I had been toying around with gastric bypass surgery - as I watched myself get bigger and bigger. Then last Oct I flunked a pre-op EKG and next thing I know I'm having quintuple bypass surgery. As soon as I was cleared by my cardiologist & surgeon, I began this process. After researching all the surgical options, I've settled on the VSG as being perfect for my situation.

One more Dr, nutritionist, nurse, and psychologist visit and I get submitted for final insurance approval. Beginning to get excited about this journey!!

My story is probably like a many others. First came the depression from just another of the many failed yo-yo diets. Then I started losing my center of gravity from lack of strength thus falling down stairs or injuries at the gym. Osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease of the spin followed quickly behind. Then, lack of sex with the spouse led to low self-esteem. Diabetes followed that, and then the last straw...optic neuropathy. Okay, I can deal with a lot but going blind??? Hell no. I didn't have to get super large to make my mind up. I had to start losing my eyesight for me to "see" the light.

Surgery was this past Thursday and I am resolved. People have the nerve to tell me I don't have will power. They just don't know what they’re talking about. People who have gained and lost 70+ pounds multiple times have will power...more than most. I don't need skinny people giving me unsolicited and uneducated advice. I need smart people, who have been through what I have been through, giving me smart advice. That's why I posted...to talk to "real" people...who know...

Oh yeah, I know! I have been trying to lose weight since the age of 12, when I weighed 142 lbs. Yo yo dieting & now at 44 I am twice that weight. In 2007, I made the decision to have gastric bypass, but unfortunately a surgical mistake derailed my plans to have the surgery, and I almost lost my life. After recovering from that debacle, I never thought I would attempt WLS again. Then in 2010, my amazing vivacious and otherwise very healthy mother, aged 75, was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. I was her caregiver during her last five months until she passed away on May 8, 2011 on Mother's Day. To say this time was brutal would be an understatement and I tried to keep things as normal for my kids as possible throughout her illness and after, but the truth is that my health was not a priority. i was exhausted, traumatized & now I'm 35 lbs heavier than when I went in for the failed gastric bypass a few years ago. Aside from all the negatives that go with being obese, being at this weight greatly increases my chances of developing cancer, and I just can't put my boys through that. Am I scared to go under the knife again? Hell yes, but that fear pales in comparison to developing cancer, living the rest of my life like this or leaving my children motherless because I was too scared to make a change. I suddenly realized that the decision I made in 2007 was the right one for me and I have to try again. Almost done jumping through the pre-op hoops and I AM READY!!! Bring it ON!!!!

Lost initially 120lbs to gain 90lbs back to numerous issues once I lost the weight. It's a lot harder to do a second time around without having to starve myself, plus now that's have fibromyalgia,it hurts most of the time to try to workout at the gym. Both my parents are now diabetic as well, so I thought it would be a good time to seek an alternate route to help me. Plus, I use to run half marathons (which is what triggered my fibro) and I'd love to do some again but not at such a high weight.

being asked time and time again when my baby is due.

having pain walking very far, embarrassing and causing me to hold back on things i want to do.

embarrassed to ride my bike with my huge butt hanging over the sides

struggling with basic day to day activites

Falling asleep at a stop light with my boys in the back seat because of sleep apnea.

No energy to play with the boys.