Last Monday I had my first surgery. It was parathyroid surgery which means it was on my neck. Very painful at first but after a week I'm feeling better. I've only got one more weigh in with my Doctor before we send information to insurance and I'm getting nervous and wondering if I'm doing the right thing. Why did you do it? Other then the fact that you wanted to be healthy.

Why, well I yo-yo'ed for years, and could loose the 1st half but never the 2nd half, with this tool I feel my odds of loosing all of it are much more likely. A year a go I would have said no way, 6 months ago I would have said hmmm. The seminar was a way to placate somebody else, well at least that is what I thought. I met an excellent surgeon and critical mass of others who had done WLS must have been met because I committed to it after that seminar, for the purpose of having a better 2nd half of life.

I'm doing this for my family - I want to be there for my son now and do things with him and I want to grow old with my husband.

I am doing it because I'm exhausted. I've tried, tried and tried again to lose weight "conventionally".

I am doing this because I see a future that doesn't appeal to me - diabetes, joint pain, a sedentary lifestyle, difficulty doing the most mundane tasks around the house. (I see this because my mother is living it right now - I don't want to.)

Am I scared - heck yeah I'm scared. But I'm committed to making myself better.

I wish you luck in your journey - I know it's a tough decision. You'll know what is right for you.

Hello!

I am too waiting to get a surgery date. I am doing this for a lot of reasons. The first being I am 28, have hypertension, am on the verge of diabetes, and keep gaining and losing weight. I have been on many diets, some very successful, others a waste of time. I don't want to waste my 30's like I wasted my 20's overweight, unhappy, just waiting for another health issue. I also have vain reasons for doing this, shopping at regular stores, fitting into a cute pair of jeans, getting out in the dating world. Whatever your reasons are, just keep reminding yourself of them when you are doubtful. I find myself having to do this a lot lately!

I had my sleeve in June of 2013, and I had parathyroid surgery 10 years ago. In my experience my parathyroid sugery recovery was 10x worse than my sleeve recovery. You will do great! I did this for many many reasons. But the most being my family. I want to grow old, be there for my kids, and my husband, and I was afraid if I didn't lose weight, I wouldn't be around much longer. My husband and kids rely a lot on me. I am the backbone of the family, and I was afraid of what would happen if they had to go on without me. The other part was I just didn't fit in the world anymore. Physically I mean. I was getting to the point where I didn't fit, anywhere. Airplane seats were too small, restaurant booths were to small, seatbelts in cars were too tight, I couldn't find clothes in stores to fit me, I just didn't fit anywhere anymore.

One of the main reasons was the obvious obesity and diabetes rampant in my father's side of the family. I saw an aunt take 6 insulin shots and that was a wake up call for me.

I had my surgery in Jan 2009!! I am grateful every single day i had the my sleeve. It is so much part of my life and absolutely no big deal anymore what so ever. I feel normal when i eat around people, i just tell them i eat small meals and leave it at that. I love receiving compliments from people who didn't know me "before." I never was called gorgeous or beautiful in my life before and now i am told this. People in average clothes sizes share clothes amongst themselves, so i get tons and tons of free clothes all the time! I can find cheap and good clothes at resale shops, and I love it.

All the other things people said, having a lap, wearing a seatbelt, sitting comfortably in any chair....all those things are a distant past. I am so used to being size 12, sometimes even a 10 (height 5'5"), being overweight is a distant memory.

Of course you're doing the right thing, if you are obese, or morbidly obese as i was!! I speak the truth, you won't miss being able to eat so much. You'll be content being full when you are full. It's absolutely one of the best things i have ever done. Although I do battle 5 lbs up and down, but it's 5 lbs, not 100 lbs.

Good luck

I am 29... have PCOS and borderline hypothyroidism... i am a medical proffessional ...was tired of sounding like a hippocrate when i asked my patients to lose some weight & adapt a healthy lifestyle... for once i wanted to practise what i preach ... By far this has been the best decision of my life... Finally getting in control of my life :)

Sent from my GT-I9100 using VST

I thank everyone for your replies! I think this first surgery just scared me into thinking I dont want to have to go through this again but i know im my mind and heart that this is going to be the best thing for me. One more week and I should have information sent to insurance for approval.

Other than being healthy I want to start dating and get married and have children. I've dated before but realized if i dont love the way i look why should i expect someone else to? To stop lying about sitting in a booth would be great also. I say they dont get them clean enough but really i just like to be able to breathe while i eat. Not having to shop online for clothes will be a great plus as well and hey i actually like to work out but my knees and feet start to hurt so i have to stop after about a half hour. Im looking forward to being able to run outside or be on the elliptical for an hour. OH and to buy a bike for less then a grand because you weigh too much to get the ones from Wal-Mart or Target. My ultimate goal however is to be able to go back to an amusement park (cedar point!) and ride ALL the rides. Last time i was there (mind you i'm 27) I didn't fit on some. Looking forward to saying "Yeah I rode that!"

I deserve to be happy.

My weight was a burden. I wanted to be able to be more active and enjoy everyday activities like hiking and biking again. I wanted to be able to go canoeing without worrying about the weight capacity. I want to go on a zipline. I want to take a horseback tour of Gettysburg.

As far as appearance. I didn't want to lose weight in order to look better.. Though I DO look better already. I also am enjoying a better selection of clothing.

I bought a Tory Burch sweater tonight. That's why I had the surgery -- so that I could shop in the regular department without feeling like a fraud. The salesperson told me, "oh, you only need the large." Not the XL, or the 1x or 2x size. Truth be told, I actually bought the XL, 'cause I am insecure about my lumps and bumps. But it was a regular size, and beautiful!

Okay, that's the vanity reason.

The real reason for the surgery was to save my feet. After years of out of control diabetes, I was starting to lose the feeling in my feet (diabetic neuropathy). So I figured it was either 85% of my stomach, or my feet in a few years. And I am much too much of a shoe addict to lose my feet.

I did it for my kids. I'm 39 years old. I have a 11yr old and 3yr old. I want to be here for them. Diebeties and high blood pressure run in my family. I was already borderline diebetic before surgery. I had gestational diebeties during both my pregnancies and had to give myself insulin shots. I could see the writing on the wall on that. Also, my kids have never been able to experience some of the adventures I think they should. I want to be able to show them an active life. Hiking, canoeing, bike riding in the park. I want to be able to say yes to there friends coming over and not no simply because I've been too tired (from lugging around all this weight) and lazy to straighten the house. I want to be so active its routine and not a chore. My kids are my everything. I'm doing it for them.

Honestly I'm still on the fence. I have my consultation on November 1st. I have so many health issues (diabetes, hypertension, depression, and so on) and recently found out I need spine surgery; which is why I started really thinking about it. I unfortunately am a very bad emotional eater with no will power. I read some of the comments and wonder how I am going to do it. My former cardiologist told me "It's not a matter of if you are going to have a heart attack it's a matter of when." What do you do with news like that? I'm so afraid I'm going to fail yet again but I know if I don't do something soon I'm going to die. I am terrified of having the surgery but also terrified of not having it.

Edited October 18, 201312 yr by Cocodrea

I have 3 kids aged 6, 6 and 5. All have autism. I need to live as long as possible.