I'm 24 years old, going to be 25 in a few months and I weigh about 340 pounds. I've been overweight my whole life. Partly due to PCOS and partly because I haven't previously had the motivation to do anything about it. It got out of hand so quickly that I would start a diet and lose about 10 pounds. Then I would stop losing weight and get frustrated. I'm otherwise healthy, though I know this won't last long if I keep going as I have. I'm honestly so tired of struggling, so tired of feeling out of place. On top of my weight issues I suffer from sever anxiety, which makes me terrified of rebuke and ridicule. It's not the easiest thing to force myself to be social when I knis my weight makes me such an easy target for both of those things.

Recently, at a wedding shower I saw an aunt of mine who used to be about my size. Now she's about 150 pounds lighter and she looks amazing. I asked her how she had done it and she told me that she had gastric sleeve. Previous to this I've never considered surgery an option for me. Most everyone I know who's had it done is in their 40s or older.

I started to doing some research and the first thing I found out was that my insurance was not going to cover it. Disappointing, but it seems to be a pretty common thing. I started looking into self pay and realized that about the only way I'm going to be able to afford self pay in the US is if they just sell some other organs on the black market when they open me up. So, I started looking into medical tourism. I read reviews, both good and bad, about people who received surgery in Mexico. I did hours and hours of research about it and I'm not opposed to the idea.

I do have some questions though:

Is this something that I should discuss with my PCP? I'm scared that people are going to try to talk me out it, or make me feel stupid for even considering it.

If I decide to get the surgery done in Mexico, how much can I expect to pay monthly if I finance?

Once the surgery is done how do I get post op care?

If something goes wrong, which I know the chances of are pretty slim, am I going to have to go back to Mexico to get help?

I'm thinking that the gastric sleeve is probably the best option for me and my body. What have other's healing processes been like? I work a pretty demanding high stress job and I can't afford for this to negatively impact it.

I want to make a change now, while I'm still young enough to live a normal healthy life. I'm just terrified that I'm going to be that one person who things go horribly wrong for.

Answers and encouragement are greatly appreciated.

31 minutes ago, tashapats said:

I'm just terrified that I'm going to be that one person who things go horribly wrong for.

I know how you feel. It would be very unusual not to be concerned that you could draw the short straw.

When I first considered WLS ten years ago, the mortality rate was about 1 in 45 and the rate of complications from surgery was 2 in 45. That was when surgery was scalpels and open abdomen, etc.

Now that it's keyhole and minimally invasive, the risks are lower.

Mortality now is about 1 in 230 and complications from surgery occur in about 3 of 230 cases.

Roll a die/dice 230 times and count the number of times you get a triple ... i.e. three of the same number consecutively.

It's possible but extremely unlikely.

Get the surgery but make sure you do the pre-op and post-op eating plans ... minimise the risks to you by doing what you're supposed to.

(I'm 17 days out from my surgery.)