What was the deciding facor for surgury?

Was there a certain event, cir****tance, or anything that made you say surgury is the answer for me?  For me it's a series of things.  I fasted off and on to get down to 203 lbs. (size 14).  I regained quickly due to a medicine I'm no longer taking (even if I didn't eat the weight rose).  Realizing it takes fasting to lose weight is saddening, I called myself the fat anorexic.   The other day I was out X-mas shopping with my mom.  I saw this leather jacket I just loved, well it fit her and she bought it.  Now I get to see my mom who has upteen jackets, wearing this red leather jacket that I saw and love!  I then thought if I had surgury it would have been too big rather than too small, but at least I she couldn't say it looked bad on me.  Yes I could get it on but it was tight.   That was actually the day I decided surgury was my answer.  What was your deciding day? Of course now I have a road to hoe before actually getting it, but I'm hoping for several little miracles that make the trip faster.  I regret not doing it two years ago, it would have been slightly easier.      

It was a comercial for lap band sugery...it was a gal walking with her hubby and kids and her before vs after was so amazing!  She looked so  much younger and cute...that was it I called the 800 number and got the ball rolling ( eventually changing to RNY )

Also turning forty.... and thinking I feel way to old and dont want to live another forty years like this.

 

Thats my story and Im stickin to it.

:)

Love your story Linda.  

Ooooooo its not very exciting but I do remember that comercial and that momment..it was clear in my mind.

My rude awakening was when my mom was in the nursing home and being obese, the staff had a hard time taking care of her. There arent very many dignified ways to move a heavy older person, to get her up and down and to even dress her. I weighed a little more than she did at the time and all I could think of is "what if I end up here some day and they cant move me around with dignity". I knew then that with all of my additonal health problems that this is where I would be headed. The only funny piece to the whole thing....when she passed away last Nov. she was cremated and I told everyone how proud she would have been to fit into that little black box!! Okay, so maybe thats kind of sick...but I think thats funny! ( she had a great sense of humor and would have found it hilarious!)

Ooooooooooo one more thing.... I was in the hospital having my hyster and they were putting my into my bed afterwards and they had to call extra people in to move me  :(  I was so horrified it took over six people to lift me... OH that makes me sad thinking about it now again. So I think that was the real turning moment., Hugs

I had to get my own, individual insurance when Blue Cross cancelled mine because they realized that the main office for my company is in Canada. So, I thought, no big deal, I'll just get my own through Blue Cross. It was a pretty bad day when I got the letter in the mail denying my request, based on my weight. I was 5"5" and 267 lbs. with no other health issues. Obviously, I knew I needed to lose weight, but I never realized I was considerered to be such a risk. I started going to seminars the next month and went on to get the band. I am grateful everyday that this option was available! Jean B.

For me it was along road to get to the point that I made the decision. When my Dr told me 2 years ago that I was a walking time bomb, at that point I was still in denial, and really did not have any idea how much I weighed because I would not let the Dr Office tell me and all my mirrors were head level only. All I knew is that the clothes manufacturers must have changed the sizes again, because nothing was fitting me any more.  I like Linda had seen the commercial about the lapband. I decided to look into it. I am approaching 50 years old and was not healthy and felt more like 80 years old.  I want to be that 50 year old Grandma in the bathing suit on the beach!!! I wanted to be around to watch the grandkids growup and play with them!!! A while before that we had hired a girl here at work who had had WLS a year before and I could not believe her before and afters. That is when I made my appt in January of 2007! I started out thinking I would have the lapband surgery also but switched sometime in May to the RNY. Sooooo happy I have had this surgery and Thank the Good Lord everyday for the surgery!  CarolN

I had looked into surgery 5years ago but the risk of death scared me so I thought I could try to do it on my own again and told myself I'd reconsider if I got to 300lbs.  Well I hit that mark last year so I had to reconsider.   When I was going through the decision process 2 things were pulling me in the direction of surgery.  My father passed away at 41 when I was 11 from a heart attack.  I never realized how young 41 was and I always was kind of angry at him for not taking care of himself with his health problems associated with his weight and because of that I grew up basically not knowing my dad. I realized I'm following in his footsteps and I'm only 28.  Plus my grandmother and grandfather had weight related heart attacks before age of 50 so genetics were not on my side. My mom lives a few hours from me so we don't see each other often but when we did I could see in her eyes the disappointment in my weight gain and then the little comments she would make about my dad dying so young and not wanting it to happen to me.  The other important thing that pushed me towards the surgery was the fact I want a family and have not been able to get pregnant because my weight.  My husband and I have been married for 8 years and I'm putting the pressure on myself to have kids soon.  I knew IFI was able to lose weight on my own it was going to take a lot of time and even then I didn't think I'd be successful at it since it hadn't worked yet.  So I looked into surgery again and found out I could start to have a family after 2 years and thought that would be perfect timing.  

What a great question!  Thinking back it brings tears to my eyes!!!  I had heard of bypass surgery but thought I could do it on my own.  Then when my eldest was three we went to the county fair.  My DH doesn't do rides and so I thought I'd be able to.  To my horror, the only ride my daughter wanted to ride was that big slide and I thought good!, I vividly remember having to walk her up the stairs and I had to walk sideways due to my size.  I rationalized that it was built for kids.  Then I laid the sack down and sat down and put her in my lap. I went to push myself and well my butt was too big to slide down!  We had to inch down the whole way.  She thought it was fun but I was so embarassed and depressed.  My middle child was 5 or 6 months old.  THAT is when I KNEW I had to do something.  It still makes me sad thinking about that.  SO many months later I got signed up (against all wishes from my family) for my first intial consult (there was a HUGE waiting list, this was Jan and the appointment was for JUNE!!).  2 months later I found out I was pregnant!!  So, I had to cancel.  After she was born, for some reason I lost all the baby weight(never did with the first 2), so I thought I could do it myself~ WRONG!  But it took me another year before I signed up again(this time with much support from my family), this time at a different location and the rest is history!!!