Hi I'm new here

I'm at the very beginning of all of this.  I'm 36 and I've been overweight my whole life and am now considering some sort of WLS.  I'm not really sure where to start, obviously I need to discuss this with my PCP but I'd appreciate any advice or information from you.
thanks.

Hi,
I'm new at this too and am not too sure how to navigate this site well. I'm 31 and overweight. I'm looking into the Lapband right now and am goign to a seminar next  month in Norwood. My sister had gastric surgery last year and is doing well but I don't want to have part of my stomach actually removed as she did. So that's me in a nutshell.

Welcome!  are you interesting in the bypass or the band? 
Everyone here is very helpful...ask as many questions as you need!

Susie

Welcome!

Ask anything you like!  There are message boards for each type of surgery, so feel free to explore those too.

I had my surgery at 34 years old - best decision EVER!!!

Welcome!

Welcome!!

There's lots of inspiring and motivationing people on the boards!!  Stick around, read, ask questions!!

Welcome Newbies!!  We are a friendly bunch so feel free to hit us up anytime with specific questions.  Theres so much information that sometime just asking for "advice" can be hard because there really is so much to tell, but if you have a specific concern, its much easier to address.  WLS of any kind is a long hard journey and definately not "easy" as some people would say, but I think everyone here would agree that its the best tool we could have given ourselves to help us succeed with permanent weight loss.

thanks for the welcome.  I'm not sure which procedure I prefer yet, I'm just beginning my research. 
How long does the whole process take?  I know there are counseling requirements and weight loss requirements as well.  Does it depend on the type of surgery? 

I would say the wait time is more dependent on where you are having the surgery... what hospital, some hospitals have a longer wait time than others, it also depends on your insurance company, and yes theres a specific amt of weight you have to lose too, again that depends on your surgeon.  The best thing to do is to just start the process, you dont need to know for certain which surgery you want, you should be discussing this with all the team members of the program anyway, the nutritionist, the doctor, the surgeon, to help you figure out which surgery is right for you, dependent on your personal eating habits, exercise habits, that kind of thing. Just get the ball rolling, make the first appt, start the paperwork, thats really the only way to get the personal answers you seek.

I hope this helped...

 What Dwind said is the way to go...