hello. my name is marissa. and im new to all of this. i have been overweight all my life. i often look back and think. when did i start eating for comfort. or when did i just stop caring. my senior year of high school. i became paralyzed from the waist down. and after having surgery on my spine to repair the discs that had hit my nerve. i got by butt in gear. and lost almost 90 lbs. i felt great. things were turning around for me. my family life got horrible. and i made a big move from oregon to texas. it wasnt untill i was here in texas a year that i realized that i fell back into my old habbits.and i started working on trying to loose it again. then i found out i was pregnant. and had alot of complacations with it. and to add my spine injury i was on bedrest. so i gained alot during my pregnancy. my daughter is now two. and i loose and gain quite a bit. but i could never keep it off. i have been doing zumba (my daughter does it with me as a game) so i loose a little bit but my back has gotten worse. my current weight is twice as much as i was in high school. and my doctor said i would be a great person for the gastric bypass surgery. and that it would help my back to loose the weight. and keep it off. so talking to my family. they are compleatlly against it. most of them are saying its an easy way out and that i dont try hard enough to loose weight.

i dont know exactly what to think. i want to do this. so that with this and working out like i have been and eating better like i have been and acctually do better than i have been.. how did you all make your decision?

"most of them are saying its an easy way out and that i dont try hard enough to loose weight"

To the ones who are saying it's the easy way out , they are not well informed nor knowledgeable about weight loss surgery. It is certainly not the easy way out as you

are making a committment to have your life changed permanently. One doesn't have alot of their stomach removed (sleeve surgery) because, it's the easy way out !!! I say to you find people who will support you and be open minded.

Losing weight and gaining it back again (yo yo syndrome) is what made me have the sleeve surgery. You will be healthier and happier if you make the decision to have

surgery. Of course it is my opinion but, I want to emphasize that you and you alone

need to make the ultimate decision. I hope you are happy no matter what you decide to do !!!

hello. my name is marissa. and im new to all of this. i have been overweight all my life. i often look back and think. when did i start eating for comfort. or when did i just stop caring. my senior year of high school. i became paralyzed from the waist down. and after having surgery on my spine to repair the discs that had hit my nerve. i got by butt in gear. and lost almost 90 lbs. i felt great. things were turning around for me. my family life got horrible. and i made a big move from oregon to texas. it wasnt untill i was here in texas a year that i realized that i fell back into my old habbits.and i started working on trying to loose it again. then i found out i was pregnant. and had alot of complacations with it. and to add my spine injury i was on bedrest. so i gained alot during my pregnancy. my daughter is now two. and i loose and gain quite a bit. but i could never keep it off. i have been doing zumba (my daughter does it with me as a game) so i loose a little bit but my back has gotten worse. my current weight is twice as much as i was in high school. and my doctor said i would be a great person for the gastric bypass surgery. and that it would help my back to loose the weight. and keep it off. so talking to my family. they are compleatlly against it. most of them are saying its an easy way out and that i dont try hard enough to loose weight.

i dont know exactly what to think. i want to do this. so that with this and working out like i have been and eating better like i have been and acctually do better than i have been.. how did you all make your decision?

I am trying to find more information but most of the places I've looked seem to try to talk people out of it. Where did you find your info

I am trying to find more information but most of the places I've looked seem to try to talk people out of it. Where did you find your info

You can attend a seminar sponsored by a bariatric surgeon (look for a Center of Excellence near you and/or ask your primary care doctor for a referral), read (there are lots of books available, The Big Book of Weight Loss Surgery was written by the founder of this site), and read posts on this site and ask questions.

There is a lot of information on the Internet (some more reliable than others), so you can find a lot of info online, including Youtube, just be careful when evaluating the accuracy of the info.

Edited: because autocorrect sucks.

My appointment to meet my doctor is next week so I will ask him all of this. Thank you for replying

@@MissRissa922, if you just google Roux En Y Bypass, you will find a wealth of information. If, after doing your research this is what you want, go for it. I have only told a couple close friends, my brother and of course my husband because I did not want to hear the negativity. Not even that I thought I might, I just didn't want to take that chance. I have done my research and feel this is the best bet for me, so I am doing it. I have also been overweight my entire life, have lost weight on diets and gained more back each time and I am just tired of it. I believe this is going to be a life changing opportunity for me and I am going to take it. By far.....NOT the easy way out!

You posted this in the Bypass forum but if you haven't yet met with a surgeon you may not be aware of the other options. The Sleeve (VSG) is a newer procedure that you will definitely want to consider. There are also other procedures but you will want to learn about the most common as you come to a decision.

@@MissRissa922

Hello and welcome! I am really glad you are taking steps to learn more about weight loss surgery. It can definately save your life.

I am also glad to hear you are going to speak to your doctor about it. If not them call your insurance company and they can recommend a bariatric center of excellence. The first step is attending a semina and learning everything there is to know about your options, once you meet with the team, they will assess your health and work with you to determine the best surgery for you.

In terms of your family support, it is very clear they do not understand that obesity is a disease that needs to be treated medically for long term success. Most of us that have been through weight loss surgery have yo yo dieted for years only to gain it all back and then some.

I also have degenerative disc disease and completely understand your pain. In fact in less than two weeks I will be going through another fusion. This time my cervical spine will require a 3 level repair. I really wish I would have had this bypass allot sooner before I did all this damage to my spine.

I am 51 years old and have been over weight since I was 19 and morbidly obese since 1987. It really tore up my body.

Once you go through your seminar then it might help to better educate your family. At the end of the day, you need to do this for yourself.

You are very brave for taking the steps to get healthy.

I wish you all the best and if you want feel free to reach out.

hello. my name is marissa. and im new to all of this. i have been overweight all my life. i often look back and think. when did i start eating for comfort. or when did i just stop caring. my senior year of high school. i became paralyzed from the waist down. and after having surgery on my spine to repair the discs that had hit my nerve. i got by butt in gear. and lost almost 90 lbs. i felt great. things were turning around for me. my family life got horrible. and i made a big move from oregon to texas. it wasnt untill i was here in texas a year that i realized that i fell back into my old habbits.and i started working on trying to loose it again. then i found out i was pregnant. and had alot of complacations with it. and to add my spine injury i was on bedrest. so i gained alot during my pregnancy. my daughter is now two. and i loose and gain quite a bit. but i could never keep it off. i have been doing zumba (my daughter does it with me as a game) so i loose a little bit but my back has gotten worse. my current weight is twice as much as i was in high school. and my doctor said i would be a great person for the gastric bypass surgery. and that it would help my back to loose the weight. and keep it off. so talking to my family. they are compleatlly against it. most of them are saying its an easy way out and that i dont try hard enough to loose weight.

i dont know exactly what to think. i want to do this. so that with this and working out like i have been and eating better like i have been and acctually do better than i have been.. how did you all make your decision?

I'm going through the same thing with all if the negativity. I wish it would just stop. I have to do this for me.

I am just getting started as well. Someone I have met in this journey recommended "weight loss surgery for dummies" book. I just started reading it but I can already tell that it's very honest about the good and the bad. The people here are also very helpful with ANY questions. Even the ones you think are dumb. Good Luck with your decision.

I am trying to find more information but most of the places I've looked seem to try to talk people out of it. Where did you find your info

I just had surgery monday the 18th and if this is the easy way out my god help those who choose the hard way!!!!! I can barely eat or drink and lack energy. I know all this will get better but when people say that this surgery changes EVERYTHING they most certainly are speaking the truth!

My doctor recommend the bypass. I've been looking at the other options as well but I think I might go with the bypass.

Good luck with your recovery mal0712.

Did your PCP recommend the bypass or your surgeon? I have found that most PCPs aren't as familiar with the options either and only know about the bypass. I would definitely explore the various options with your surgeon.

My doctor recommend the bypass. I've been looking at the other options as well but I think I might go with the bypass.

Good luck with your recovery mal0712.

Either way I'd really look into statistics and what ur gut us telling u to do. If u have any issues with reflux I wouldn't waste time with the sleeve. I'm happy so far with my choice. My dad went from 475 lbs the day of his surgery 10 years ago to 230. And has maintained it! When they say it's work it's no joke. It feels like I am constantly trying to get fluids in.

Did your PCP recommend the bypass or your surgeon? I have found that most PCPs aren't as familiar with the options either and only know about the bypass. I would definitely explore the various options with your surgeon.

I didn't involve my PCP with my decision to have WLS at all. I went directly to the surgeon, and only emailed my PCP's office aa needed for referrals.

Did your PCP recommend the bypass or your surgeon? I have found that most PCPs aren't as familiar with the options either and only know about the bypass. I would definitely explore the various options with your surgeon.

I didn't involve my PCP with my decision to have WLS at all. I went directly to the surgeon, and only emailed my PCP's office aa needed for referrals.

The reason I asked is the OP said her Doctor recommended bypass but she hasn't yet met with a surgeon based on her post.