Barbara, Thank you for your reply. You have added some wonderful additional information and I agree with you perspective. I think the only reason the insurance companies started to cover these procedures is they finally realized it was more cost efficient to pay for the procedures then to cover the life long additional expenses associated with the co-morbidities of the obese. Have a great day, Rick

Barbara, I agree if something comes to easily, we wont appreciate it. If we didn't have to jump through hoops to have this done, we would not have appreciated it as much. If it had been easy going the first few months we would not have appreciated it. We have had to learn, we have had to adjust and some of us have had to learn to live a whole new life. Was it worth it? YES You initial quote above reminds me of when a "kid" turns 16 and their parents buy them a new car. There is no way they would appreciate it as much as if they had to earn the money to buy their own car. You just don't place value on something you don't have to work for. Have a great day, Rick

Nice to meet you Irene! I won't try to talk you into the surgery It really is a personal decision. Thank you for greeting us and letting us know how it feels to be the SPOUSE of a WLS patient I know that there isn't much support out there for spouses who go through these life-changing times with their loved ones... The nurse at my doctor's office told me its been hard on HER, because her hubby had the surgery and she can't cook for him the way she used to. She said getting to a man's heart through his stomach is a LOT harder after WLS And he urges her to lose weight (she only has 30 pounds to lose) and he makes it sound so "easy" and it frustrates her. Heheh, so there is another wife's story... Good luck w/ Rick heheh I'm sure you don't need luck, though, he's such a sweetheart.

Boy you sure hit things "right on the head"!!! Yes our society is becoming more obese and obesity is I think more accepted now than ever before. I saw a documentary not too long ago on TV - can't remember if it was a show or news cast - saying that hanging out with obese people can make you obese - in other words if you consider that person a dear friend or relative and you hang with them you pick up their bad habits - bad food choices, no exercise, etc. You like that person and want to do things with them and that can lead to your own obesity and/or bad habits. I think the younger you are the less you worry about health issues. Maybe I am wrong about that, but younger people do seem to develop the co-morbidites at a later age because age is on their side to some degree. Prior to my WLS I was in the beginning stages of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. THAT worried me perhaps more than the fat body. I don't want to save the world from obesity, but wouldn't mind helping out a bit! I am not sure what the answer is - this is definitely one of the most obese countries around and it doesn't seem to be changing. Fast foods and our busy life styles seem to be contributing. Schools don't offer physical education like it used to I don't think. I do think society is changing their attitudes about obesity and I suppose it might be a tiny bit good for those obese people who have been discriminated against, but a bad thing for our national health crisis. I think we don't need to discriminate against obese people, but I wish we could spend more time and $$$$ on prevention and save all the $$$ we are spending on health care for obese people and their diseases. Good tought provoking post this morning Rick....Barbara

Irene - I think you and Rick are good for each other and lucky to have each other. Struggling with weight is a day-to-day dilema. I also used food as my dear friend and comfort for every negative thing that ever happened to me. As a child my mother controlled the amount of food that went into our mouths, so sneaking food as revenge and comfort proved to be a game for me. When I went away to college I would sock quarters (at that time!) into the candy machine and chant..."watch this and stop it Mother". Who did I hurt? Certainly not my mother, but me. I too became the best cook you could ever imagine - once out of my mother's control. In the south, comfort food was good to make and good to eat. I was the one who always brought the yummy desserts to any type of gathering. So I hear where you come from. I too have dieted, worked out, Phen-fen'd, starved, walked...and until I had the WLS surgery nothing worked. So if you make the decision to have the surgery - it has to come from you. But if you do, please know you do have a great support system in your wonderful husband and all of us MARCHers. Any friend (wife particularly) of Rick is a friend of ours! Good luck to you and thanks for your post. Hugs to you, Barbara