It was suggested by my personal doctor to have bariatric surgery. I had never really thought about it. But I have several issues that are directly related to obisity. H/P, back and knee pain, Shortness of breath, extreme fatique. So I started the journey. Good thing I did, in pre-testing they found a cancerous tumor on my kidney. It would have never been caught until too late if it was not for bariatric pretesting. Thank you God! I will like being thinner but honestly it is not the reason I decided to have the sleeve.

skip to 10 days post op: Back pain is much less, SOB is almost gone and they already dropped one of my H/P medications.

Life is good

So when you hear people say WLS saved their life, you really understand. How fortunate that you listened to your doctor and went through the pretesting.

Edited to answer the question. I had WLS because I was living a miserably unhealthy life and I believed that without it, I was heading for an early death. I chose the VSG because I have several family members who had gastric bypass with varying levels of success. I thought that I could do just as well with a less drastic surgery. So far, I was correct.

I'm tired of being sick and tired. I'm tired of my weight holding you back from living my life. I want to be able to do more with my children and not have them be a shamed of me. I just want to live.

suggested by my personal doctor to have bariatric surgery.

@@judyoz

I "think" many family doctors are "afraid" to mention to you that your overweight

at least that is how i think my doc felt

my doc on occasion would mention that i should lose weight

he never pushed the issue, and i wasn't mentally ready for surgery

i finally realized after trying all other methods of loosing, and then gaining i would go ahead with WLS

so glad i took the big step

my health was terrible, took so many meds, looked and felt terrible about myself

those are just a few good reasons to have surgery

good luck

kathy

To answer your question, I had WLS because I'm shallow and I like being thin. I could diet myself skinny but then I was constantly starving and I would gain weight all over again. The sleeve seemed like a permanent solution to a problem of yo-yo dieting. Fortunately for me, I would gain and lose weight so quickly that I never really developed any major health concerns, so improved health was just a nice byproduct of the procedure. I had surgery because I like having a nice butt.

Also, I am so glad that your doctor suggested you have surgery and that as a result it did literally end up saving your life!

I did it for a mix of reasons. Absolutely to look and feel better. I hate getting an extender on an airplane and wondering if I could get removed from a flight. I hated being limited in what I could do because I didn't like to stand for long and walking exhausted me and the summer heat was unbearable. I also began working in a Senior apartment building and became infinitely more aware of health as one gets older and the impact excess weight has on health. My ObGYN told me in no uncertain terms that he felt I was a cancer risk due to being over weight. For years I tried to do this on my own and @@AvaFern has said it very well- a permanent solution to yo-yo dieting that I was not able to give myself without help.

So, one day right before Christmas, when I was dreading the clothes family members would buy, inevitably too small, and ask me to try on, sliding into the airplane seat and praying and sliding into the booth at Denny's -where I really didn't fit, after family picked me up at airport and any other number of things I made the decision to meet with a surgeon and made the appointment before I left for the holidays. I met with the surgeon on December 29th and Got my sleeve on April 21st - almost 4 months later and I haven't hesitated or regretted yet. It is early on and I do look forward to getting off the purees and having some veggies and fish and steak (fingers crossed) but I am also looking forward to losing the weight, to starting at a gym, to arranging activities that don't center around food or alcohol.

I'll admit- most of my current friends I met at a local restaurant bar and we had 3 nights a week that we met- but some of that has changed and I find myself a little at a loss of how to fill my time just now but I'll get there. But I am largely happy and on my way to healthy and so glad I made the decision to do it.

Edited May 9, 201511 yr by MissLiss

I work in a rehab hospital and I see everyday how weight can negatively affect your health. It's not the only thing certainly. But if you are obese and have a stroke, your overall recovery will be harder. I didn't want to end up like so many of my patients. And I also want to look great and feel fabulous! I'm 5 weeks out now, and I no longer take medicine for high blood pressure. I have always enjoyed healthy foods, but I had a sweet tooth and trouble with portion control. I also ate out way too much. My sleeve helps with portion control and I feel so much better on a lot less food.

I've briefly thought of having WLS for years, but never seriously until they started a program in my home province (I'm from Canada). The two options here are by-pass and VSG, with them leaning heavily towards by-pass. For a variety of health reasons I opted for the VSG and even though I have been a slow loser since surgery, I feel stronger and healthier every day.

I now swim a minimum of 1.5 km (almost a mile) every morning, bought myself a bicycle and am signing up for yoga. It feels so good to be able to move again. I hope one day to be a fun grandma who can crawl around on the floor and be active with my grandchildren and this has been a huge step towards that goal.