So I started my bariatric surgery journey on 2/12/16 and 7/22/16 will be my 6th and final appointment before everything gets sent to insurance for approval. I'm scared, because I'm second guessing everything and everyone seems to have an opinion. I've struggled with weight most of my life and to be honest I'm sick of struggling with it. It's very difficult to lose weight due to my hypothyroidism. I just feel so overwhelmed with all the doctors appointments, clearances, etc. I feel like maybe if I just ate the right food or exercised enough I wouldn't need this surgery. I keep asking myself, am I make the right decision? Will I just have this surgery and then fall back into old habits? Will I regain all of my weight after a period of time? I also feel like my work is getting frustrated due to all the time I'm using towards appointments. I feel like people are judging me or think I am taking the easy way out. The truth is that I wish this was the easy way out, but it's been anything but easy. I'm just really confused and scared. Any advice???

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WLS is definitely NOT the easy way out! It is a big decision and it sounds like you've been thinking about this for a while. Don't listen to what others say or think. Listen to yourself! You know what's right for you. It is scary. I am just 1 week post op. I am glad that I had the surgery. I know I have a lot of work ahead and believe this was the best step for me! Do what works for you!

If you've come this far, you already know the answer to all of these questions. You know that you've tried and failed, or tried and regained, and that you need help to become the person you want to be. There's no shame in seeking help for yourself - quite the opposite! Your choices are to either deal with the possible negative side effects (including ignorant, judgmental people who have no idea what they are talking about) and regain your health and self-confidence, or to continue on this same path that will yield the same results until you get sick and die decades early, never having lived to the full extent you could have been capable of living had you been healthy. You deserve a full and healthy life! Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise. I'm over ten months post op and have lost almost 220 pounds since I began this journy a year and a half ago. I would do this all again a thousand times if it always brought me back to this wonderful place. I'm still about 50 pounds from my goal but I can't even express how worth it this whole process has been - the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can do this! Even if you lack support on the outside, you still have all of us here who support you 100% and understand the difficulties, anxieties, and triumphs that come with weight loss surgery. Use the resources at hand, do your best, and you will benefit greatly from all of your hard work and dedication. Good luck to you! Feel free to friend or message me anytime if I can help you in any way.

Thank you for your kind words, they mean the world to me. You have no idea how much I needed to hear all of this

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@@stsch06 Many of us think maybe we could do this on our own - but the sad statistic is that only 5% of people who lose weight on their own keep it off long-term. You need to change your eating habits but the surgery is a tool to help you with portion sizes. If you stick to the plan - you will be successful. You're doing this for you - and it's the right thing to do.

Good luck on your surgery. A bit of general advice. Having hypothyroidism could interfere with your weight loss after surgery. Maintaining the correct amount of thyroid hormone in the body is very important to success with weight loss surgery. Work with your medical team if this becomes a problem.

@@stsch06 I had my surgery on Monday. I felt and thought all of things you are feeling. This IS a very big decision. It's about the rest of my life. How could it not be as big of a decision as any decision I will ever make? At my last surgeon appointment, I asked him how often people just don't show up on surgery day...he said that it had never happened with one of his patients. I asked that question because I was still filled with fear and questions even a week before the surgery. In the end, what kept me moving forward was the knowledge that I have tried and failed to lose significant weight enough times that I know I couldn't have lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off long term - I had to listen to my own experience and the reality of a 5%-7% dieting success rate. The most important thing that kept me putting one foot in front of the other was the inspiration of a renewed life - all the things I can't do now but will be able to do a year from now... Run a 5k, ride on a roller coaster, fly on a plane to visit friends, sit on a folding chair without anxiety, go to games and concerts without worrying, TRAVEL to other countries and so many more...

So now I am on the very first steps of the other side of that decision...and I have already have not doubt that I made the right decision for me.

Good luck. Stay mindful and be kind to yourself. Listen to and acknowledge your thoughts and feeling. Remember that just because you think a thought doesn't mean that thought is true. It's just a thought. Oh yeah...and Breathe. :-)

To be honest I have felt the same way at times. However, I just try to remind myself why I am doing this, for me, to be healthier. It is not the easy way out, it takes self control, and facing the struggle everyday of changing bad habits. Bariatric surgery is a tool it does not fix the problem of being obese, it helps prevent over eating and helps with weight loss but one can fall back into old eating habits if they do not remember everything they learn along the way. Do what is best for you and stay strong.

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