Hey guys so I just entered the program at my hospital to start my journey to get the sleeve. I am still very nervous about my decision and am contemplating if this is even the right decision. I am a 20 year old college student and my weight has made it overall very hard for me to live and enjoy my life. If anyone can share their stories with me it would love to ask questions. And if there is anyone my age going through the process I would love to get into contact. Like I said I am very nervous. I haven't told my family my decision yet mainly due to the fact that they will think I'm too young and I do not feel they would support. If anyone has some encouraging words I would gladly appreciate them and would love to engage in a discussion. Also I am worried about scars ? If you don't feel comfortable sharing pictures that's fine but I would like to know how bad my scars will be after the surgery.

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While I'm newly out from my Sleeve surgery (I had my surgery May 27th) this is not my first weight loss surgery. I am 29 and I got the lap band surgery when I was 22. This is a big decision but if your life is severely impacted by your weight and you have tried and tried to lose weight without results you should keep considering weight loss surgery. I hope your family is like mine was when I started my first journey when I was 21 and sees how much you struggle and understands this will help you immensely. I did not have success with the lap band and had many complications (many people have and it was not as successful overal as they had hoped it would be). I had mine removed in 2012. I started down this journey again a little over 6 months ago and I am very hopeful. This is a huge change though and this surgery is not to be taken lightly because you can severely hurt yourself if you don't follow the directions. If you have any questions about the process and what it's like I'm always open to talk

Also, scars fade over time. Most surgeries are done laparoscopically so there a multiple small incisions. They will be the darkest right after surgery but will fade to be faint lines

my surgery scars are very small - maybe an inch or so for the longest, the others maybe 1/4 inch? and they will really be nothing by next year. compared to other ways I've scarred up my body over my life, this is nothing. I can try to get a picture later, I am almost 4 months out so they are still slightly red.

Family can sometimes be tricky. because they care, and they worry for you. I am considerably older - shoot, I have kids considerably older than you - but my family was worried when I told them my decision. However, they were also worried about my health due to obesity and comorbidities - so at the end of the day they supported my decision. If yours does not turn out to be supportive you will have to decide if the risk/benefit is worth you going through this and finding other areas of support.

let us know how you are doing!

Thank you ! I'm so nervous. Like I said I haven't told anyone about it yet but I'm just not sure they'll be as supportive as most. I'm just most afraid that once it's done I'd regret it ... It's such a hard choice to make. I've literally tried every diet and every exercise there is and just have had so much trouble . But thank you that was very helpful

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