Hey everyone, I weigh at,my highest 250 pounds, I have lost the weight on my own but gained it back & it's frusrating, my friend who has had gastric doesn't think I need this surgery, she feels if I've lost it before I can do it again. I kno I have 6 months,to think about this but despite being nervous about this I really felt this,would be a good idea for me, now I feel confused. Does anyone have advice for me.

My advice to you is that you need to listen to what your own heart is telling you. This is such a personal decision and it shouldn't be influenced by other people. When you ask yourself if this is right for you, go with your own answer. The sleeve is not an easy way out, it is a tool. It is a journey that still requires lifestyle changes and commitment. Nobody is doing this for you which is why you need to be the one to decide. Good luck!

You are right, I'm still undecided but I will start my nutritionist appts. As scheduled and see how I feel. I know its not a quick fix I just feel I could use it as assistance to help, I feel drained losing and gaining constantly. Thankyou for that advice, I agree.

From the photo you look young. I am 62 and will have my VS surgery Sept. 4. I went through my 30, 40, 50 over weight. If I am every going to be my proper weight it's got to happen now as time is getting shorter. If you can lose weight on your own then I would seek help to keep the weight off. This WLS is a life changing deal with no reverse. I would explore all options. Remember the older you get it's difficult to lose the weight. Hope this helps. I wish you the very best.

JDY

I can lose weight, but I always gain it back, plus about 50%. I've been doing this since I was in my 20's. I started at 10-20 pounds overweight and dieted my way to 110 pounds overweight at 50. For me, it's not a diet. It's a total lifestyle change that will be facilitated by this very effective tool to assist me. After every diet that worked, I thought no problem, I'll just eat for awhile and diet again. And here I am.

I don't know what is right for you, but please try not to get caught up in the yo-yo dieting!

I was around the same weight when I made the decision. My doctor was against it because I just wasn't big enough until he realized that he had been saying the same thing for 7 years and I still hadn't gotten rid of the excess weight. I am also a diabetic and am looking at weight loss surgery as a way to fight that horrible disease. You may not have any weight related conditions but at that size you are at increased risk of developing them.

My advice is do whatever you have to do to get healthy. Follow the guidelines set by your NUT religiously for the next 4 months and see where you are at. If you are not making the progress you should be then start going through all the other tests you need for this surgery. If you are doing well and know you can keep it up then you don't need this.

I had the sleeve at 236 lbs, and it was the best decision I've ever made! dont regret it at all! People are ALWAYS going to have an opinion , its only YOU who knows your body, your issues and your stuggle....... good luck

I was 318 when I started - at 5'3' - surgery weight was 274 on may 21, 2012 - this morning I am 221 and continuing on my way down. Oh I think I have done every diet on earth - including Optifast, hypnosis, etc. Each time I would be very successful only to gain all of it back and more - which is statistically accurate for those who attempt to lose large numbers.

When my husband and I attended our surgeon's info seminar he laid out the statistics and this is what made up our minds - I was not sure about it. He said that if you are 100 lbs or more overweight that the likelyhood of you being able to lose the excess weight and maintain that lose is less than 2%. That having a BMI of 40 or more is like having cancer - and they operate on cancer - if you had a BMI in those ranges he said that you had a higher mortality rate sitting in the chair in that conference room than we did laying on his operating table.

I have to say the big difference is that for the first time in my life I am not starving all of the time - I was a compulsive binger before, and I will always work with those head issues, but the vsg as a tool is spectacularly effective.

For once I feel that I will be able to reach my goal and i will be able to stay there - i was never able to say that before sugery. Myhusband had surgery as well 2 weeks beore i did and he has lost over 100 lbs - I have a bit further to go but am feeling great.

I would do my research and not let friends who are not obese, morbidly obese, or super-morbidly obese (as I was) sway you too much. Best of luck

@JDS i am 28yrs old, i told myself i will not go into my 30's being this weight so this is crucial and i agree with you this a big decision because it is irreversible. And hope you are doing well on your journey post surgery. @Raven i am the same way, up and down up and down and it's frustrating and exhausting, this is why i finally chose this as an option i feel your pain. @lsb i agree thats exactly what i was planning to do as well. i lost almost 60 pounds on a healthy lifestyle and excercise regimen and eventually gained it all back which brings me here now. @blugirl im glad it worked out for you. stories like yours make me more optimistic about it. I was just worried about side effects, also the fact that i dont have any children and would like to have some and im scared if this surgery would effect that. just alot of thoughts.

Thanks chimera that is awesome congrats on you and your husbands success. i know it's an amazing feeling to finally get control of something that seemed to be out of your control for so long. Thats how i feel now. I just want to finally have control of my weight once and for all!!

HI my name is Mindy and I just started the journey. I am excited and yet I feel I have travelled to the unknown. I want this surgery so bad because I want a new life. I am 47 years old and have been told so often that I don't look my age, to be honest I don't feel it either. I have met with the surgeon, the nurse and in a couple of weeks I meet with the dietician. The doctor wants me to lose 25-30 pounds before the surgery and Im terrified I am not going to be able to do it.

I started the diet they gave me and also started exercising. I am hungry a little but not at starving mode. This is so hard because what if I dont lose the weight? I met with a psychologist for the program and he was nutty but I know that he had to say what he did. My next step is getting some lab work and a sleep apnea test.

Can someone please tell me their story and how they started and what was their procedure. I know it is a lot of work and I am ready for this!! More than anyone knows! Thank you for all your support

Joy, you are so young and so beautiful. Don't let weight ruin you life. I have been sitting on the sidelines watching my life go by for too many years waiting until I lose weight. I've missed so much. Don't wait until you're my age to find a way to beat it. Whatever way that may be!

@Raven thankyou so much. You are right, i feel the same way, watching my life go by just trying and aganozing over my weight. Never feeling truly comfortable with my weight. I know that i have to made a decision once and for all, whether it be naturally or with the surgery either it's a decision to implement a healthy lifestyle in my life for good. I really hope whatever decision i make that it works out. I can't begin to tell you how fed up i am. Have you had your surgery or waiting?

I am waiting for it. I am completing all my requirements for it. I just have to lose about 30 pounds before it. My surgeon said he would like for me to lose it to make it easier for surgery. I am so scared I wont. So far day 3 with the diet the dietician gave me and it has been ok. Not really starving but knowing the things I can't eat, makes me want it more. I know that this is the best decision for me. I just pray that everything goes well and I get approved for it.

Hang in there

I'm positive you will be able to lose it, even if its 20 pounds you can do it and every pound lost counts. Goodluck and keep me posted.

HI my name is Mindy and I just started the journey. I am excited and yet I feel I have travelled to the unknown. I want this surgery so bad because I want a new life. I am 47 years old and have been told so often that I don't look my age, to be honest I don't feel it either. I have met with the surgeon, the nurse and in a couple of weeks I meet with the dietician. The doctor wants me to lose 25-30 pounds before the surgery and Im terrified I am not going to be able to do it.

I started the diet they gave me and also started exercising. I am hungry a little but not at starving mode. This is so hard because what if I dont lose the weight? I met with a psychologist for the program and he was nutty but I know that he had to say what he did. My next step is getting some lab work and a sleep apnea test.

Can someone please tell me their story and how they started and what was their procedure. I know it is a lot of work and I am ready for this!! More than anyone knows! Thank you for all your support

Mindy,

I am 5'2 and signed the papers for surgery at 252 pounds. I reached the decision after years of yo-yo dieting and beating myself up when I failed. The motivating factor for me is that I am turning 45 in October. Both of my parent's died at the age of 52. My Dad was 135 pounds and 5'7. My Mom was 5'1 and 120 pounds. My Dad had all kinds of heart problems...high blood pressure...high cholesterol...history of heart attacks. My Mom died of lung cancer. I was scared. I am approaching the time in my life where I start to feel like I am running out of time to make things right. I have been on cholesterol medication for close to 15 years. I have hypothyroidism and hashimotos disease. My Doctor told me last year that I was borderline diabetic and if I was smart, I would lose weight to reduce the risk of being a diabetic. That scared me. I tried and tried and tried to lose the weight. That is when I heard that an acquaintance of mine had the sleeve. I never heard of it. My Doctors have suggested the band to me several times over the years. I was not going to give in and do it. I was determined I would lose this weight on my own. Finally, I asked this woman about the sleeve. She gave me information and I attended a seminar that the Surgeon had. I was sold. I had more of a chance of dying from a stroke or heart attack than I did from the surgery. It was a chance to get the life I wanted for so long. I was thin until I had my kids and I know the difference between living life as an obese person and a thin person. That was it for me. I started the process. I dieted and lost 20 pounds. I did everything I was supposed to do until the day of surgery. Once you start the liquid diet pre-op, more weight will fall off. The reason for them wanting you to be on a liquid diet is it shrinks your liver, making for a safer surgery. My Surgeon insisted on 2 weeks liquid. I know many Doctors call for less. It was well worth it. Everything has been. I had my surgery June 11, 2012 and am down 53 pounds and hear all day long from people how incredible I look. It has been years since I have been told that. I feel great, I look great and I am eating well.