Hello everyone,

I'm 23, don't have any co-morbidities, and scheduled for surgery July 28. Blood pressure 122/78, lab work is good, endoscopy/cardiology etc were good. My BMI is 40.16 as of this morning. Thus, I barely qualified for the surgery. I'm currently on my preop liquid diet , day 6, down 8-10 lbs. As I've been on the liquid diet, I've started to have doubts. No one but my partner and sister know I'm doing this surgery, my parents do not know. I just wonder if the change I'm making to my body at such a young age is worth it and if should just try to lose weight by myself. I have done it before. Some of the side effects some people experience that I've read: GERD/gallbladder removal etc, seem daunting since I have always been/felt very healthy, have had no major surgeries, I don't even have allergies, nor do I smoke or drink. Introducing such a change to my body feels very scary. However, the opportunity to finally become who I want to be within the span of 1-2 years is promising. I don't want to pass this opportunity up but I'm scared of complications. All this being said, would any of you have done this surgery when you were 23?

Thank you,

3 hours ago, LaoDaBeirut said:

I would say for you don't commit to the surgery YET. I wish I would have done something about my weight sooner. However I think I did surgery at the right time. I had to work out the emotional issues I had and process childhood abuse first to understand why I ate. I didn't do that until I was past 30. Once I did that I was in a better space to get surgery.

What I wish I would have done way sooner would have been sought therapy and worked with a dietitian back when my weight was still lower. If you haven't done other serious interventions to lose weight, then maybe surgery is right.

Since my surgery was recent, I still lack a good sense of perspective. But I will say that I began the process twice over the preceding six years before finally completing it three weeks ago.

I feel very strongly that I have a very positive frame of mind now, and that it gives me a MUCH higher chance of success than I would have had the previous two times.

While I've surely lost something by waiting six years, the improved attitude and likelihood of success seems worth it to me.

My 15 year old neighbor had sleeve surgery after years of therapy, "fat camps" and depression. Three months after surgery and a pretty significant weight loss, I actually saw her smile for the first time! She began walking, working out and would actually engage in lengthy conversations. Fast forward 5 years...…she's in college, enjoys hiking, is in a serious relationships and looks wonderful. Her parents had to go through a lot of family counseling and do a lot of research to find a surgeon who performed bariatric procedures on children. But they knew it was in the best interest of their child to set her up for a healthy adult life.

So in answer to your question, you should have the surgery when you are mentally ready to commit to a healthy future. Sleeve surgery only works in the long term if you make the necessary life style changes in that first year after surgery. If not, the weight gain will put you right back where you are now. So I would suggest that age isn't as important as attitude.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

Working with the nutritionist and working through any disordered eating with the therapist are a huge part of why the surgery is successful imo, if you are truly not sure you are ready for surgery you could try losing it yourself with the help of those two “tools” and see how that goes.

You are smart to be considering the surgery. When I was your age, the thought never crossed my mind. I thought it was for people 500 pounds, not for people in the 200s like me. If you are close to having children, I would wait. If they are still a few years away, then it might be a good time to act.

There are quite a few changes that will be necessary, with increased protein, supplements, smaller portion sizes, no added sugar, etc. I admit that these sounded daunting to me before surgery, but things are so different now. The hunger and cravings are minimal, if any. I don’t obsess about when I next get to eat. And I don’t count calories, which made me crazy on diets.

It’s like I have a secret tool inside my body that allows me to lose weight easier than people who have not had the surgery. Not that life is perfectly easy, but it is easier than before.

As previous posters wrote, even if you are in good health now, the comorbidities will catch up to most people eventually. If it is a good time in your life, go for it!

Everyone has differing opinions, but personally, I would not want to have surgery prior to having kids (not sure if you want kids). I was extremely nauseous during my first pregnancy for months and I couldn’t imagine having to deal with additional dietary restrictions after I finally was able to eat again. Others probably feel differently tho!

I absolutely would have considered if I could afford it at that age or have been offered it. My life though has been one yo yo diet after another - it s difficult to really say what I would have done at 23. Sounds like you made your mind up, and you still have time to think things things over. For me an absolute yes. Wish you all the best x

I would 100% recommend the surgery to young people. I wish I had gotten it a few years ago when I was 23 and not waited until I was in my late 20s. I would have had the chance to enjoy my 20s a whole lot more. You have probably already tried dieting several times and it didn't work, that's why you're considering surgery in the first place. Doing the pre-op diet can trick some people into thinking they can lose the weight on their own. They Can't. If they could, they would have done it by now.

I don't know your situation, but for me, being very fat prevented me from truly enjoying my life the way that I wanted. I wanted to be that girl on the beach in a bikini. I wanted to go hiking with friends. I wanted to run a marathon. I wanted to date more and be confident about it. Being fat held me back from that.

If I had had a full time job with health insurance at 23, I would have run to get this surgery.

I got my surgery 8 months ago I was 22 at the time and got it the day before thanksgiving lol?‍♀️ at first I regretted it but after a while I realized it was the best decision I could of made! My highest weight was 255 and my current weight is 155. I can talk to you more about it if you’ll like, my Instagram is @shambrae__

Something else to consider: the younger you are the less loose skin you’ll likely end up with. Of course there are a lot of factors that influence how much loose skin you’ll have but when you’re young you have a lot more elasticity in your skin for it to bounce back better.