Hi everyone! New to this sit but I have been obsessively reading or weeks. I have decided to do this. I've been to the seminar and have had the consultation. I know this is right or me. In reading every thread I noticed that not one single person who has done it was sorry they did it.

I'm afraid of the recovery, I'm afraid of the catheter, I'm mostly afraid I'm going to regret it. But the thought of liking what I see in the mirror for the first time in 20 years and no living with the constant fear of becoming diabetic...

I'm glad iggy chimed in. There are definitely plenty of people who regret it. I'm only 3 days post-op' date=' so I may change my mind, but right now...I absolutely regret it. If I end up with a leak or something worse than my supposed "normal recovery" issues...I may just die. Not to sound overly dramatic. I did my research. I spent 8 months in "the program" before I met my surgeon, & another 6 months on VST really digging around, reading, doing more personal research based on stories I heard here... I thought I knew what I was getting into. I am in so much pain right now. Nothing you read or talk about with anyone can prepare you for that.[/quote']

I was the same way the first four days post op. I regretted it. I was sad I had "ruined" my body. Now I'm 10 days out down 18 obs ane moving to purees today. I No longer regret this. But as you said nothing prepares you for the pain, insomnia, and regret fresh out of surgery. When others say it gets better with time it truly does. One day at a time.

I think it's been covered, but wanted to chime in about the risks. The risk of complication is low, but if you get one, it could be life threatening. If you are the 1 or 2%, then those statistics mean nothing, because now it's 100% all you living with it. I really think it comes down to a risk/benefit analysis, and deciding what your risk tolerance is. I would NOT do this surgery if I didn't have a significant amount of weight to lose, and if I didn't have health issues that could be resolved from it.

Now, having said all that, I don't regret the decision for me. I was beginning to get health issues from obesity, and as I was getting older, it was quickly gaining on me. I also couldn't seem to lose weiight any more. Another thing to consider...this isn't magic. You still do the work, though it does make it significantly easier. There is no guarantee that it will work, some people have the surgery and still only lose some of the weight. There are others of us who lose it slower than some.

I applaud you for asking this question. It's one form of the research that you should be doing, because reading that the complications are low statistically is way different than hearing from that 1% who actually had a complication and lived to tell about it. I wish all the best as you make this decision.