Kind of a poll!

I was just wondering something. What was the one thing that finally made you decide that WLS was something you were determined to have. I know most of us waited years after being overweight, so I was just curious. I think my last straw was I was on the internet one day and saw one of those things where you find out your BMI. Well, I put my weight and height in and it told me I was Morbidly Obese! Believe it or not, I never knew I was that heavy?? So...from that moment on it was my determination to get this surgery.

Lisa, I think that by seeing how much of a difference it made in my close friends life, is what inspired me. Like you, I was in denial. I had no clue I was so heavy.

I think I thought my height compensated for my weight. I was always in denial of being really heavy but pictures don't lie!

Lisa, Like Aliya, I saw how it made a HUGE difference in the lives of two of my co-workers. I never wanted to have to have surgery, but boy am I glad I did. My only regret is that I didn't do it 15 years ago! ~Wanda

I went for my Disability review and had not weighed in over 2 years. When I saw the scale said 365 I burst into tears. I made the decision on the spot. It took me almost 2 years from that point to get the surgery and nerve.

My husband had the surgery last August and I admit to thinking about it but actually I figured that I would lose along with him. Never happened. Then in September my mother went through a series of strokes. She died within a couple of weeks. She had had triple bypass surgery and her father had died from coronary artery disease. She had back trouble, diabetes (which she denied but she did take meds...for a while anyway), thyroid issues, cataracts and high blood pressure. You see...I am Marie Jr. I am my mother in so very many ways. Here I was at age 43 turning 44...and I already had cataracts, diabetes, high blood pressure and back problems - through my mother I saw what my fate would be at age 72. I couldn't accept that. I wouldn't accept that. So Rich and I talked about it. My insurance didn't cover WLS. So, we got married last November a year earlier than we planned so that I could get on his insurance so I could get this surgery done and not follow in my mother's footsteps anymore. Kathy

My back hurt, my ankles hurt, and my knees started to hurt. It made me think about losing weight. I would never take diet pills bc an aunt almost died from taking some P word pill. I had a picture taken on my 2 year anniversary from the day he proposed and oh my gosh!! I WAS HUGE! I cried so hard. Hubby didn't care bc he loves me. I applied and it took me a year almost to have the surgery. It was worth the wait. I still didn't realize how big I got pictures don't lie though. But to be 21 and not be able to walk to my college classes w/o being out of breath its hard. Now I can. Thank God ~April~ Lap Rny May 13, 2005 21 yrs old, 5'1 231 / 166.5 / 120

It was the fact that I was not 30 and needed high blood pressure meds. It didn't help that my grandmother died of Type II diabetes (she didn't take care of herself and was only 62). My dad was diagnosed with it when he was 45 but he whipped into shape and committed himself to outliving his mother and staying healthy. He's now 62 and doesn't take any more diabetes meds. He is a great supporter and motivator for me. Of course, my two babies helped too. I want to be a good example for them, both me and my husband.

I was always overweight, for as long as I can remember. I was an active person too, lots of bike riding, walking, skiing, etc. No one could ever say I was a lazy fat girl. I thought that someday I would be able to get ahead of the weight, lose it on my own, afterall, I was active! My sister had bypass surgery 3 years ago. She was so much heavier than me and she has done absolutely fantastic, no complications - but I still thought that I could do it on my own. I gave it a serious effort with Atkins - followed all the rules, lost weight, then gained it all back, plus. One day (summer 04) I realized that I getting so big that my fat was preventing me from doing the fun things I always enjoyed. I found myself saying "no" too often to things I would have jumped at the chance to do before. I wasn't sure at first if it was the weight or was I getting older and feeling that. It was the weight. So I looked into WLS for myself. I felt guilty at first. Like there were people out there who could use it more than me, like I was taking their spot. But then I realized, they could do it if they wanted to - nobody is stopping them. I had it done and would never take that back - no regrets. I have my life back and it's way better than before!

I had an ovarian cyst the size of a cantalope that went undetected because of my size. My case actually made it into a local university study because of the size of the cyst. I thought I had short-term disability benefits to cover the work I missed when I had to have it surgically removed. Turned out that I didn't, so I missed out on some of my pay and had to rush my recovery so I could get back to work. When I applied for short term disability during open enrollment time at work so that it wouldn't happen again, I was denied coverage because of my weight.