You aren't BIG enough for WLS!!

I needed someone to pick Miranda up from school and watch her for a couple of hours today while I went to that informational seminar... STUPID me!!  I told my friend where I was going...  she said: "You aren't big enough for that surgery!"   "You have to be 100 lbs overweight!" "I had a friend who had that surgery and yeah, she's skinny, but she's had a LOT of problems and she's MAL-NUTRITIONED!" Today, I wish I had thought about counting the number of times she said "GOOD LUCK" when I was there to pick Miranda up!  She talked to me like I was playing Russian Roulette!  Like half of my chambers were loaded and I had a 50/50 chance of shooting my brains out!! For her information, my BMI is 38.8 so I'm NOT that far away from the 40 BMI that most insurance companies require for approval...  (7-8 lbs to be exact)  Plus, I have at least 2, possibly 3, co-morbidities that I know of (HBP & High Cholesterol, possibly Sleep apneal...  my dad died of a heart attack at age 58).  Why would I want to postpone the surgery that I qualify for NOW until I have a BMI of 50 or 60??  I'd rather take control of my life NOW! I think SHE would benefit and feel MUCH better if she had weight loss surgery herself.  I don't know why some people are so narrow minded and think they know ALL the answers just because they *sort of* know ONE person who has had WLS. Everyone is different and I don't even know how healthy her friend was to begin with...  She probably doesn't know if her friend followed the rules as far as nutrition and exercise post-op... OK.  I'm going to get off my soap box now.  I just don't like hearing negativity from people who don't even know what they are talking about. Dot*

Agree, I agree... people who havent' been there don't have a clue, they can't possible know anything real about wls.  I would suggest however, that you do take into consideration the complications (not negativity) from first hand counts on the boards. There are REAL issues that come up. Poor ReneeA on the main board is a perfect example!! Everyone should go into surgery fully educated on the risk of the surgery and possible life long complications. There are so many that doctors don't ever mention!!!  Education is the KEY to making a sound decision that you can live with. Then NOTHING others say will sway you one way or the other.  HUGS

Yeah, I've spent a LOT of time on these boards over the past month reading, reading, and more reading.  I visit the main board at least a couple times a day, I've read MANY blogs from members of this site, and the memorial pages. I feel like the risk is low enough (even though I COULD be in that 0.5 - 1% who has a deathly complication) that it is worth getting my life back.   Thanks for replying! Dot*