I'm in need of a reply when a friend says to me: "It wasn't God's intention for us to remove 80% of our stomachs. It's too drastic. It's not natural. Diet & exercise - AND STICKING WITH IT - are what you need to do. I've always said that."

My reply was: "Breast implants weren't God's intent, but you got those."

Her reply: "But they can be removed. You're taking out 80% of your stomach & you can't put it back."

Any KINDLY WORDED suggestions will be greatly appreciated, as she is, after all, my BFF, so I am not looking to disregard her feelings.

** NOTE: After several responses, I have edited this post to also say: Everyone's opinion is valid; however, I personally believe in God & pray continually that I am making the right decision & that he is walking beside me, or carrying me, through this. I am requesting KINDLY WORDED responses. If you do not believe in God or that this is not a God issue, then I kindly request that you not reply to this post. Thank you.

I was thinking about tis today and it occurred to me that there is a very easy reply for this that your friend will get and will be pretty light hearted.

there was this Guy stranded in the ocean one person in boat came up and said come on get in the boat, the man says no I'm fine God will help me, then the Guy in the boat takes off and says fine, another one comes and says the same thing to him and he says the same thing back to the second person then he says okay fine. hours later he drowns and goes to heaven and asks God why didn't u come save me. God says I did dummy I sent two boats.

This surgery is your life boat. glad to hear surgery went well. Welcome to the losers bench!

I too was thinking of this story!

And my question to her would be and who MADE her GOD'S spokeswoman? God is the one who healed people who were sick or disabled I believe God wants us to live life to the fullest and if this surgery makes this possible then so be it. It is not for us to question whether this is what God intended or not. This is after all a life saving surgery for some of us obese people. Without this surgery I most definately would have been disabled and unable to work. Now I am living my life to the fullest at age 58 years old of all things. Imagine that!!! And loving every minute of it.

It is what God intended, he allowed a doctor to make this surgery possible in order to help others live a healthier and happy life. I prayed God answered with the sleeve surgery, God illuminates all creations, especially doctors seeking answers to serve us in what we need, and the sleeve is a tool to let us know we can make it, some people are like trolls you just can't feed them.

I got this response from my mother. I told her that i guess God didn't intend stents in arteries, artificial valves, appendectomies or a host of other medical interventions. I just had a friend die of sleep apnea, so this IS a medical necessity.

I'm Catholic. I cannot find where medical procedures come under the heading of SIN. The definition of sin is something that drives you from God.

I suppose riding on a roller coaster is not natural either, but I think God would like roller coasters.

I got this response from my mother. I told her that i guess God didn't intend stents in arteries' date=' artificial valves, appendectomies or a host of other medical interventions. I just had a friend die of sleep apnea, so this IS a medical necessity.

I'm Catholic. I cannot find where medical procedures come under the heading of SIN. The definition of sin is something that drives you from God.

I suppose riding on a roller coaster is not natural either, but I think God would like roller coasters.[/quote']

Love it!! Made me chuckle out loud.

To me, if God wasn't a part of the discovery of weight loss surgery then... I mean, who would have thought we could replace hips and knees with ceramic and titanium? Is it unnatural? Well... kind of. But to me, God had a hand in helping the researchers and whatnot come up with this. Then again, I understand there are some religions who feel that any medical intervention is wrong.

Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs.

And when my best friend told me she was having gastric bypass surgery two years ago, I thought she was nuts and that weight loss surgery is so DRASTIC. I didn't tell her that though. I supported her decision and asked her a lot of questions. And... my opinion changed. LOL

My quick 2 cents... C-section deliveries! Woman died in childbirth for centuries before Dr's. realized they could save the baby and the mother by cutting open uterus. No one chooses this route lightly either! Just like my recent VSG-it was necessary to save my life! Gid blessed our surgeons with skills to help people! Ok, I'm done!

Hi all! I sincerely thank every one of you for taking the time to answer my call for help. I now know that my friend was just concerned about the complications. She told me of speaking with her beau's sister who is studying to be a nurse. The sister had told her that I was crazy & that just that weekend she had to help a lady in the ER who was having complications from WLS. Didn't expand on what WLS the lady had had, when, or anything. My friend told the sister "I don't want to hear about any complications." Our friendship will survive, and if it doesn't then I'll know that she was one who was here for a season (as opposed to a reason, or a lifetime). I sent out a quite hilarious email on Tuesday after my surgery to all of my friends & all of the responses have been overwhelming (& overwhelmingly positive). I am at peace & in a good place. Thanks again to you all for helping me with this issue.

Susan 2.0

You are the one that has to face God in the end so it is your decision and no one else but you and him can decide.

My response to her would be to tell her to read Matthew 18:7 and what its says if there is a temptation that causes you to sin then it is better to remove it. Gluttony is a sin and if removing 80 % of your stomach keeps you from that, I say God Bless You!

Wow ok apparently my comment was taken wrong - i was referring to the person the OP was talking about - not the Christians in this thread. I wasnt meaning to offend anyone here I just thought it was rude to make the comments she made to the OP.

I got this response from my mother. I told her that i guess God didn't intend stents in arteries, artificial valves, appendectomies or a host of other medical interventions. I just had a friend die of sleep apnea, so this IS a medical necessity.

I'm Catholic. I cannot find where medical procedures come under the heading of SIN. The definition of sin is something that drives you from God.

I suppose riding on a roller coaster is not natural either, but I think God would like roller coasters.

Sorry about your friend

Susan' date=' your surgery is today! Yay! I am praying for you to have no complications whatsoever and a perfect recovery!

I really enjoyed and was touched by many posts on this thread, so I wanted to thank all of you who brought such great insight, especially Piplula for sharing Matthew 5:30. I struggled with the idea that having this surgery is self mutilation in the eyes of God, but God has changed my heart about that recently and has even answered my prayers by allowing for my surgery to bring comfort and hope to someone else. She suddenly had several infected organs and had pretty much the same surgery done, but as an emergency measure with only her husband's consent. She was not overweight and unlike sleevers, she is very limited on what she is able to eat or else, she is put in the hospital for days (has already happened 6 times in 3 years) without pain medication or even ice to hydrate her lips since her bile duct was removed and a borrowed piece of her intestines is in place instead.

I also realize now that obesity is self mutilation. God did not intend for our body to carry all this excess weight.

I pray that God sends His angels at your bedside right now to bring you comfort and peace as you heal and as you praise Him through your success and working hard, with the assistance of the sleeve, to reshape His temple and bring more joy into your life. I'm anxiously looking forward to know that you are doing okay and will definitely follow your journey (added you as a friend)!

You already look amazing in your before/"goodbye" picture! God bless you!

I was able to get a hold of Susan's hospital room (sorry to sound like such a stalker) and spoke to her mom. She had surgery already with no complications, is out walking around right now and everything is great! Thank God![/quote']

Purplicious!! That was YOU who called. My step mom wears a hearing aid so she was having a little trouble understanding you. That's awesome you called. I'm going to be returning the favor soon by calling to check on Jennyannk73 shortly. Love when we can "pass it forward"!!

I agree that many of the replies to my original call for help have been wonderfully written. I have enjoyed each of them. Even the ones who have said something like: "I know you said you didn't want haters to post, but I have to get this off my chest!" It's a good discussion to have. It's helped me expand my heart, as I am a believer but not an active church-goer. For awhile I was regretting having asked for help on such a world-wide forum, but now I'm glad I did because I know now that I am not the only one facing this situation or struggle. We hardly ever are alone in any struggle we face, are we?

Anyway, I again thank everyone for taking time to answer this, regardless of your viewpoint of my friend. Yes, we might not see eye-to-eye on this subject, but if well agreed on every subject we'd all get very bored with each other, wouldn't we?

Susan 2.0

Tell your friend that God gave us free will to do as we please. That said, he leaves it up to us to do the right thing. By that I mean to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We shouldn't be critical of anyone nor should we be jealous of anyone. I sounds to me that she doesn't want you to get skinny and healthy for some reason otherwise she wouldn't be so hypocritical.

Wow...sugery is a surgery, is a sugery...they all have risks, the some high than others. Your friend's breast implants was for looks, to better her apperance. Her breast isn't God given, but man made, your potiental surgery is to improve your life, make you healthy, and change you for the better. Yes the surgery is man done, but nothing being put into your body, its being taken away. I would tell her like this, getting 80 percent of your stomach removed is like getting your boobs taken away, it will change your apperance. I wouldn't worry about her opinion, because overall your opinion is the only one that matters.