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?

Is pcp primary care physician? If so he recommend the bypass because he himself got his done. But yes I'm writing down questions and things I've seen on here to talk to my surgon about.

We've all been there, dealing with the nay sayers and negative talk. But in the end it's your life and your body. It's saving your life and giving you a better quality of life. They just don't understand, they will see the difference. You will still have to do the work, WLS is just a tool. You will still have to change your habits, eat right and exercise. But the surgery makes that possible. Maybe even take a family member with you to the seminar, so they can learn and shift the rest of the family, or at least give you one person who understands.

Oh BTW, I'm a Texas girl, where are you? I'm in the DFW area.

Im in Plainview sparksrn

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 also had a spine injury and it has also affected my life. Many don't understand until they go through it, just like being heavy and not feeling in control. Having a physical limitation and/or disability on top of weight issues is like a double whammy. Whatever choice you make, its not about them, its about you.

My husband had the gastric sleeve procedure 2 years ago and it saved his life. I am having the procedure in 3 weeks. What part of Texas are you in ?

Panhandle.

Marissa, your family and friends aren't the ones carrying around all that excess weight. You are. You have to do what is best for you. Whatever choice you make always think of your daughter, because she depends on you. I have been overweight my entire life. No one can tell me what to do or give me advice, unless they have lived in my shoes. You know? I am carrying well over 240 extra pounds on my body. I am physically drained. My back hurts when I'm standing, sitting, and God forbid I walk a little ways it literally feels as if my back is cracking. I have 5 children and they range in age from 5-18. I missed out on majority of my children's lives because I have been overweight. Don't get me wrong I am here in the house with them and I provide food and shelter, but I can't do much else. I can't go to the park with my 5 year old and push her on the swing or chase behind her, because this weight has me miserable physically. I stay in pain. I said all that to say this, YOU DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR YOU! Any and everything that we do in life has its share of risks, (I don't know your religous beliefs) but that's when you pray about it and give it to a higher power. My family tried talking me out it as I'm not going to, but I sat them all down and I explained why it was necessary that I have this surgery. All that mattered to me though was that my children understood why I wanted to have the Gastric Bypass, and what I would be benefiting from it. The first thing my 5 year old said was " Momma when you lose weight you'll be fast like me! So you know I'm going to have to race you, so we can see whose the fastest!" Lol. That alone was enough for me, my baby will finally have a mother that can run and play with her. Even though she'll still probably beat me but it'll all be worth seeing her smile. You know? Do you research, and get on YouTube and follow some of the people that have already gone through it. Don't be scared, you are headed in the right direction. I wish you the best of luck on your journey of success!

Thank you beauty+5. I was in a really bad place this morning and your post helped. Thank you again.

News flash people. WLS is hard work. There is NO easy way to lose weight. Anybody that has it in their head that this is easy needs to pay more attention.

I chose to have WLS because I am 54, just lost my husband and really want to see my grandchildren grow up. They took the loss of their papaw very hard and I'm not making them lose another grandparent due to poor health choices.

I'm going with the gastric bypass because I was recently diagnosed with diabetes.

BTW I am also a transplanted Oregonian in Texas. I've been hear about 30 years now. I visited Oregon in February and again, after my husband passed in October of 2013. It was great seeing my home state, but I sorely missed my adopted one. I thought it was too cold and too wet. That was before the great wet spring of 2015.

I'm scared. I was so proud of my initial decision to have WLS . I went to a seminar and that was it, I had made up my mind. I have been through so many doctors appointments and stayed positive and am nearing my vsg surgery, that will be scheduled sometime in July. All of a sudden I'm getting cold feet. For some reason I'm feeling angry with myself for not having the willpower to just stop overeating and hit the gym!!!!!! I'm angry that I have to resort to butchering my insides to prevent me from stuffing my mouth! I think I'm in denial, seriously. I weigh 270. That's wayyyy to much for my height of 5' 3". I know that. Maybe I'm guilty since the vsg surgery historically was performed for seriously ill patients , ie those with cancer or bad ulcers, and here I am someone who can't stop eating. I guess it's hard to admit I have a problem and haven't been able to solve it on my own. Perhaps I should be grateful that there are skilled surgeons that perform these surgeries to help people like me. I'm still going through with it, but wondering if anyone has felt like me out there? Ps for all of you brave individuals that have gone through the surgery, I give you so much credit, thank you all for sharing your experiences. They provide priceless information. So again, just wondering if anyone has wigged out before the actual surgery date??? Thank you.

Honey, these feeling are in no way unusual. We feel them with most any big life change. The high school grad who decided to go to collage halfway across the country will start feeling like he should stay close to home in case his parents need him. Everyone knows the prewedding jitters. Then there's the widowed mom that has accepted a marriage proposal, only to feel like she's cheating on her late husband.

These are all normal reactions to stressful situations. That's all you're having. There is no reason to feel anger or guilt. And it's not like you're taking one of the magic "and you don't have to do anything different to lose weight" pills. You're taking control and making an effort. That says a lot.

This is not an easy path we have put ourselves on. It is a lifetime commitment. It is possible to screw the whole thing up if you loose sight of why you're doing it.

Keeps your back straight and your head high. Walk proudly my sister in surgery.

I have 6 months of medical weight loss monitoring and they are also going to put me in physical therapy so I can build strength in my back safely so it won't be so hard on my back after I have the wls that's all I've been told so far

I have 6 months of medical weight loss monitoring and they are also going to put me in physical therapy so I can build strength in my back safely so it won't be so hard on my back after I have the wls that's all I've been told so far

That's a great start ! Sounds like you are on your way

I only have to have three months. I started walking with a wheeled walker with a seat on it so I could rest. I have degenerative disc disease, and have a lot of pain. I Also have COPD and run out of breath quickly. since I have been walking the muscles in my back have strengthened enough that yesterday I walked several blocks without walker or cane. I feel better and have more energy.

Awesome Susan. Keep up the good work