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

The end for me was when I looked at all the pictures of my daughter with me in them and thinking she can't see these. Telling people hold let me move so you can take pictures of her. Being 23 and 300 lbs and having my 50 year old aunt tell me that at my age she wasn't even close to my size, and she 450 now. That scared me so much. I know I have to do something now before my life and my daughter's is over. I don't want my back to hurt or my knees to pop. I have to fix it before the damage is unfixable. I want to be here for my baby girl for as long as I can, and be healthy for her so we can run and play without mommy having to stop to catch her breath or sit down because I hurt. I'm doing this for her as much as I am for me.

This may not be the best reason, but it was very motivational for me to finally get off of my bum and to vigorously pursue weight loss surgery. I'm on my husband's insurance. He'll be retiring in a couple of years. Not knowing what the future holds, I decided I better get this done while it's still an option.

There were a few things that made me decide to pursue weight loss surgery :

1.my mom died of a heart attack at 53

2.My daughter would draw pictures of us and I was always the big circle with arms and legs everyone else in her photo was a line.

3. Every time I would chat with friends about diets they would say "Your not THAT BIG". [hate that expression]

4. Tired of yo-yo dieting and constantly gaining the weight back

Going to the springs where I swim every summer and having to have my husband help me get in and out because I was afraid I would fall or my knees would go out. I love swimming, I've done it since I was a child. Suddenly I was struck by two thoughts:

1. I'm going to lose swimming too and then my husband will be doing more in coming years than just holding my hand. Things I swore no one would ever do for me.

2. If I don't do something, this is as good as it gets and that's completely unacceptable.

Just had my first appt with the WL surgeon and I'm into the insurance approval process now.

Buying an extra life insurance policy and after they called my doctor for my health info, I got a notice that I was being cancelled due to my height and weight!

1. Not fitting in an airplane seat.

2. Having to re-buy 3x clothes after I got rid of them after the last diet.

3. Metabolic syndrome and the prospect that with retirement 11 years away, I may not be healthy enough to enjoy it.

I was at the amusement park with my family and needed a wheel chair to get around. My right knee had been replaced two times and I was going to end up being a cripple if I didn't do something fast. I had lost weight and regained several times and then I heard about the Sleeve surgery and knew that was the tool I needed. My starting weight was 295 lbs. and I was sleeved on 8/16/2011, I am now 133 lbs. and have been maintaining since October of 2012. I am so greatful for my tool:)

Edited August 4, 201412 yr by diddled

I was working as a premisis tech at AT&T and while running cable under a house I became stuck. They had to call the fire dept and tie a rope to my uncle and pull me out.I was laid off a week later and that was the last straw for me.

Well, Rainmaker70...your story beats mine to hell . That's all I can say.

There are a lot of 'little things' that over time I've come to realize are not so little.

I hate the fact that my kids will have tons of photos of themselves, but very few photos of us together.

I hate the 'hard to wash' parts in the shower. TMI, but it's true.

Yo Yo dieting - my last attempt was HCG - lost 40 lbs and gained back 50.

Celebrating when my kids learned to swim - mostly so I could stop getting in the Water with them.

Becoming less and less outgoing the bigger I get

Feeling ashamed of being the biggest wife at my hubby's work functions

I could go on, but you get the point.

I've been on this road to trying to get wls for years but over the years there have been many things that have reinforced the urgency for me to get it done.

????The fact alone that I am 26, 5'2" and 325lbs! I've tried desperately to get that number down and at one point got down from 280 to 220 only to quickly gain it all back and then continue to pile on more pounds...I am literally afraid to diet now for fear that I'll just gain back plus more.

????having to use a seatbelt extender on planes. Having the person next to you either move or ask the flight attendant if they can move. And having people take your picture while sitting in the airport (some lady sitting across for me forgot to turn her sound off).

????Not being able to do as much as I want on mission trips and in some cases not being able to doing anything physical.

????Being asked if I'm doing okay because I'm breathing heavy when I don't even know I'm doing it.

????Being unable to do certain activities with friends (sky diving, hiking, roller coasters, unexpected trips ect) and becoming more of a hermit because of it.

????Being unable to ride my horses anymore.

????Being too embarrassed to go to my sisters sports games or anywhere in public with my family because I'm the towns "fat girl" and I feel ashamed and don't want them to be associated with me.

????the pain, constant back and knee pain.

????Having children pat and pinch my fat arms because they don't know any better and aren't use to being around someone my size.

I've been on this road to trying to get wls for years but over the years there have been many things that have reinforced the urgency for me to get it done. <br>

ddd39The fact alone that I am 26, 5'2" and 325lbs! I've tried desperately to get that number down and at one point got down from 280 to 220 only to quickly gain it all back and then continue to pile on more pounds...I am literally afraid to diet now for fear that I'll just gain back plus more. <br>

ddd39having to use a seatbelt extender on planes. Having the person next to you either move or ask the flight attendant if they can move. And having people take your picture while sitting in the airport (some lady sitting across for me forgot to turn her sound off). <br>

ddd39Not being able to do as much as I want on mission trips and in some cases not being able to doing anything physical. <br>

ddd39Being asked if I'm doing okay because I'm breathing heavy when I don't even know I'm doing it. <br>

ddd39Being unable to do certain activities with friends (sky diving, hiking, roller coasters, unexpected trips ect) and becoming more of a hermit because of it. <br>

ddd39Being unable to ride my horses anymore. <br>

ddd39Being too embarrassed to go to my sisters sports games or anywhere in public with my family because I'm the towns "fat girl" and I feel ashamed and don't want them to be associated with me. <br>

ddd39the pain, constant back and knee pain. <br>

ddd39Having children pat and pinch my fat arms because they don't know any better and aren't use to being around someone my size.

Welcome.

It's the best decision you can make. I only wish I had done it sooner. I am 60. Down 85 pounds, and feel and look Great!

I know I am more healthy. And will be there for my sick wife.

Welcome.<br><br> It's the best decision you can make. I only wish I had done it sooner. I am 60. Down 85 pounds, and feel and look Great!<br><br> I know I am more healthy. And will be there for my sick wife.

Thank you, I have been trying for 6 years now to try and get WLS but it's always been right out of my grasp and I'm now at a point where I HAVE to do something. I'm really hoping my new insurance change will bring about good news in that department.

Perhaps my reasons could be because I'm young and a high school graduate, but I'll share my past pain anyway.

I couldn't fit into anything--XL sizes in stores were still too tight. And going into the plus-sized sections (though there is nothing wrong with being plus-sized, but this is me) only made me want to cry and leave. I would no longer be in the mood to shop. I never wanted people to take my picture, because next to everyone I felt like I looked like a pig. I would eat something ridiculously unhealthy and fatty at a restaurant and finish it all, but whether or not it was delicious, I found myself depressed and crying afterwards because of my lack of self control.

But I suppose my final breaking point was when my OB GYN told me that aside from having PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) and being pre-diabetic, my poor health could also take a toll on my fertility.

While I'm still much too young to ever have children now, I definitely want to in the future, and just the thought of not being able to shattered me.

I knew I needed help, and as diets and exercise regimes never helped, I turned to gastric surgery and never looked back. I'm happy with the choice that I made.

I've been obese nearly all my life. I was athletic, I had friends, I coped well with the mean comments and jeering whispers that go along with being morbidly obese. But as I aged, the weight started tearing on my joints, and, having an hereditary malformation at L4-L5 L5-S1 in my lumbar spine, I'm in constant pain, and mobility is becoming a huge issue. I think it took me so long to embrace WLS because I was embarrassed and ashamed that I could not control my weight on my own. But, when my pain specialist, 2 orthopedic surgeons, and a neurosurgeon all recommended that I have WLS, I had to consider it.

I had started the process with my insurance company back in October, 2013, but put it on the back-burner when I tried, once again, a futile attempt to lose the weight myself. I reached a point with my pain that I knew I had no choice. I contacted my insurance company again, and, having my history of pain treatment on hand, they allowed me to restart the process where I left off. It was a series of God-moments that made me realize I was doing the right thing. My pain specialist was begging me to have VSG, but I told him I wanted to see one more back surgeon, and if that surgeon said "No", then I would consider it. Turns out the surgeon I wanted to see was my pain specialist's teacher during his residency, and he told me the man was brilliant, that I had made a good choice. I went to see the neurosurgeon, and he agreed that I definitely needed back surgery, but I was not at emergency state, so he recommended WLS, too. He gave me the name of the Dr. he recommended, and turns out that physician was the ONLY physician my insurance company covered in this area. God-moments...

So, I get sleeved on August 21, 2014. I'm on my liquid diet and doing well, and I'm excited about my future. Blessings to all of you!!!