What was your defining

For me, I felt so rotten last winter with dizziness and feeling so off balance and light-headed that I could barely walk much less drive.  I felt HORRIBLE.  I stopped all of my meds for a week or so(FLIRTING WITH DISASTER) out of pure desperation to try and figure out what was making me feel so rotten.  Eating out of control, I packed on 30 pounds.  All the hard work it took me to get 21 pounds off with WW the prior year, I gained not only the 21 pounds back, but then packed on an additional 9 pounds.  I had to do something to SAVE MY LIFE, so I started investigating WLS.  My theory was that if I had a stroke or a heart attack, I'd have a life style change forced upon me with residual side effects from the stroke or heart attack.  I thought, if I'm going to have a life style change, it may as well be to MY benefit....., that started my journey.  I read 4 books, attended support groups, and asked as many questions as I could to learn about WLS.  I am currently 9 weeks out and FEELING WONDERFUL!  No meds, no problems with my bladder, no longer up all night urinating, sleeping better, and being 40 pounds lighter.  Life is great!

My defining moment was my fasting blood sugars being 250+ with two medications for over a year. I have had diabetes since 1997 and was always able to control my sugars with minimal medication and diet. As I aged controlling the diabetes had become increasingly challenging.

The second defining moments were not being able to walk up the stairs from our family room. Not being able to cook, do dishes, clean the house, etc., because the pain in my back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet hurting me so bad.

The final defining moment was this past summer at Gene's family reunion, instead of being able to be up on my feet, talking, playing games, etc., I was sitting with all the matariarchs of the family. The minimum age of these matariarchs is 80 yrs old, I'm sitting with all the 80 yr olds because my body hurts so bad. When I realized that I knew I'd made the right decision, now it was up to God and my surgeons to bring me through the operation.

When I saw pictures of me in Hilton Head I started looking into it.

Being on 8-12 meds and a c-pap

It was not until Dr Brader told me the % of sustained WL for people who lose it reguarly compared to the % of those who had RNY. That made my decision.

Shilpa,

I didn't have a single light-bulb moment that I can recall.  I just came to the realization that something had to change dramatically in my life or I wouldn't be around to a "ripe old age" and that I wanted to be able to see my grandkids someday.

I realized that I was in my mid-40s and felt 85... when I would get up in the mornings, I literally creaked and hurt all over.  Walking up and down steps was a chore and I increasingly found myself asking my kids and others to "fetch" things for me so I wouldn't have to move too much.  I was tired all the time.

I hated going to the doctor and refused to get on a scale if it was avoidable.  I had failed miserably at every diet out there.  I fought to keep my cholesterol and triglycerides at a "high" (as opposed to sky-high) level...  I felt like all I thought about was food - worrying about food, being guilty about food, binging on food.  

I hated looking in the mirror and had started dressing to "hide" from the world (as though that were even possible).  My workday attire was ratty jeans, sneakers, and a polo shirt (too big) pulled out in a vain attempt to disguise what was underneath.  

Where I had previously maintained that I would "never" sink so low as to have surgery, I started thinking about it and weighing the risks... for about 2 years before I even mentioned it to my family.  I finally talked about it with my primary doctor, and he was wonderfully supportive.  He helped me think through the pros/cons and the risks... and I clearly realized that the health risks associated with remaining obese with my genetic heritage (my father's side of the family is rife with cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, etc.) far outweighed the risks of the surgery given that I had not yet developed any of those conditions.  His thought was to nip it in the bud before the conditions developed, rather than increasing the risk later.    He said to me at one point - "A lot of people turn their lives around after their first heart attack, it's true... but look how many don't SURVIVE their first heart attack."

Coming to those realizations collective made up my "wake up call."  My only regret is that I didn't do it 10 years ago, when my body would have been in even better shape to bounce back and I would have had more years of feeling amazingly great to look forward to.

Karen 

Like a few others had said...there wasn't just "one" moment for me...but a lifetime of things that added up.

I was obese most of my life, from pre school on.  There were so many things I "couldn't" do or wear.  I remember getting a prom dress from a wedding boutique store because the regular stores didn't have anything that fit me.

However, in my adult life, things got worse.  I started working in healthcare.  I knew SOMETHING had to change when I would come home from work, an 8 hour shift, and hardly be able to work because my knees and back would be screaming in pain.  I would literally be limping in to the house. 

And then there was the time hubby and I went to six flags and I couldn't fit in one of the roller coasters.  I was 23 at the time and that was one of our fav things to do...and here I was...unable to do it.  Like Mary - what did I do?  I went to the next food stand over and ordered butterfly fries with cheese and at the majority of it.

Wedding dress shopping....oy.  Talk about crash dieting as the dress I had gotten no longer fit when the wedding drew near.

Pam

I had had my consult and was working through all the insurance steps...but still had those internal doubts about whether I was doing the right thing.

Then, in June, my husband and I took a vacation to Florida. We rented a house and it was absolutely beautiful. One evening, he suggested that we go to an upscale restaurant for dinner and dancing. I had nothing to wear - last year's summer clothes didn't fit, so I had come on the trip with just a skeleton wardrobe (claiming that it's a virtue to pack light).

He suggested that we go shopping for something new. Right away at the mall, I knew I was in trouble. I never shop for clothes *with* anyone else, so he went on his way...and I scanned the mall directory only to find that there were NO plus size stores. In the first 2 department stores I went into, the plus size department was nothing more than garbagey knit tops and ugly big ass capris made out of cheaper than cheap fabrics.  

I dared try on something in Misses sizes....of course it didn't fit, and I simply started to cry in the fitting room.

Tears continued as I found my way to the next store....how humiliating to be in a beautiful place, with my husband WANTING me to buy an outfit and WANTING to take me out on the town...and nothing fit. How humiliating to be CRYING as I walked through the mall.

I knew then I had to go forward with the surgery.

At age 56, it occurred to me that I now weighed more than my mom and wore a larger size than her.  She was obese my entire life and my biggest fear was that I would end up as large as her.  I watched her suffer emotionally and physically and there I was fatter than she ever was.  I actually would hope that I would become a diabetic because then I would be "forced" to watch my diet.  One day I was talking with a friend who said she was looking into RNY and it suddenly clicked.  From that moment on I knew that's what I would do.  I immediately joined OH, made Dr. appointments and the rest you all know.

Arlene