So I am going to be 22 in 5 days, I am about 340lbs. I have always had issues with my weight and when I try and lose weight I lose hardly anything. Even working out everyday! So I've been thinking about the surgery to help me get to a healthy weight, diabetes runs in my family and I know my unhealthy weight ups my chances of getting it. I'm scared and I'm not sure what to expect or if it would be a good option for me. Any advice??

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This site is definitely a great resource to read through other people's experiences and learn a lot about what to expect on the journey. I'd keep reading and gathering information. Knowledge is power. Schedule some consults with surgeons if you haven't already. It's scary and not at all an easy journey, but getting healthy is so worth it! I was 340 at my HW. You can do anything with a little hard work and dedication! I wish I'd have started it at 22! Good luck!

I can't advise you, but I wish I had done this years ago. So many years of frustration and feeling uncomfortable that could have been avoided!!

For me, the surgery has turned out to be (even after having a slip fixed) a total non issue!!! I went from a size 24 to a 12 (granted my 14s are tight at the moment) but in general I feel thin and the whole thing hasn't been a big deal. I was TERRIFIED of the surgery, felt like a failure, like this was the last resort, my life was over, yadda yadda. But surprise. It was pretty awesome and worked as advertised...

My only question for you is about life stage and maturity—how "rebellious" are you? Because you are going to have to be careful if you do things like go out and get waisted with your friends. Puking is not good for the band, and if you're going to experiment with other things you don't want to inadvertently damage yourself. If you're not going to go nuts and harm yourself, if you're pretty stable emotionally, it's a good option.

Good luck to you!

@@SashaWLS thanks for replying that makes me feel a lot better! I am a TOTALLY boring 22! I don't really party, I don't binge drink and I've never thrown up from drinking too much

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@@treblecutie23 my boyfriend actually found the app! I was scared to tell him what I was thinking because he would make comments about it being a cop out. But he's seen me struggle and has been researching it with me since I brought it up! I'm hoping my insurance will help cover it. I'm nervous but I'm ready to get started.

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That cop out line is the biggest BS ever!! WHY SHOULD IT BE HARD? People get surgery all the time and this is important. No one would think twice about it if it were, lets say, surgery to fix your knee more quickly than doing "naturally" through years of physical therapy. It's ridiculous. It's bias. Because inherently there's some lame belief that you did it to yourself and therefore you deserve it. But that's not true. This is medical.

Read this, it was my tipping point. When I read it, I felt so helpless that I just thought WTF and got the surgery:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?_r=0

I had actually read into that as well but I figured eventually it would work you know? But it feels like if you're overweight you not only have to work twice as hard to get it off, but also to keep it off forever! It's crazy, and the repeated failures are not helping!

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