Need to Lose Weight - Is Surgery an Option? -- My Situation

Hi, im 18 years old and i weigh just over 700 pounds

I have been overweight my whole life and i have never successfully lost a single pound. I had the disadvantage of having parents who both didn't understand how to eat healthy and also who didn't know how to say no to me.

This meant for my entire childhood, any outing would turn into that situation we all know too well, where you'd stop to get food 3 times in a 1 hour trip to target. When i was at home it was an endless cascade of snacks, to this day i can not relax without a snack readily available.

I was always big. but it wasn't until middle school things got serious. i went into 6th grade at 250 pounds and started high school at 450 pounds. i went to high school for 2 weeks and moved to online school. That made things worse and worse because i was never leaving home. I still live with my parents and don't have the means to move out

I am at the point where i do not leave the house or go into public more than once every few months (with some exceptions like family gatherings)

I say all of this because i need to learn how to lose weight, not so much learn because I KNOW how to lose weight. I just need some friends online to help me, possibly encourage me to do surgery if that whats right for me. PLEASE PM ME i want to make some friends who can assist me

Surgery could be truly life-changing for you. The first step is to call your insurance company and ask if they cover weight loss surgery and if so, which surgeons in your area they prefer you go to. Then call up a surgeon's office and make your first appointment. At that appointment, your surgeon can help you decide if surgery is right for you and if so which one you should get. Many surgeons would recommend a two step surgery for you, first sleeve gastrectomy and then, once you've lost some weight, going back into surgery for the duodenal switch. Keep posting here with thoughts and questions. Welcome!

Oh goodness, honey. You've got friends out here every time you log in. That's what I love about these online forums. It sounds like your parents showed love with your favorite indulgences. I am the mom of an only child, so I understand the urge to please and delight my child every chance I got. So, it sounds like you're ready to make some positive changes to go with your newfound adulthood. Hopefully, those changes will help you gain your own independence.

First of all, have you addressed anything medically that's keeping you from losing weight aside from your choice of foods? Something like your thyroid can be inhibiting success. You want to investigate this with your doctor. It may not negate the need for surgery, but it will make your efforts less of a fight. Do you feel you have a food addiction? You'll want to address that separately, as well. Addictions can transfer to something else (like alcohol or drugs) when the food is no longer providing comfort. You also don't want to sabotage yourself with an addiction, either.

Also, check if insurance covers weight loss surgery and exactly which procedures are covered. We are obese for different reasons, so thankfully, these procedures address correcting obesity in different ways.

Next, you want to learn everything you can about each of the procedures you have to choose from. Learn how they promote weight loss and compare that to what you already know about yourself. Don't look for the "less scary" options. You want the most effective for your situation. Selecting a procedure is probably the most important part, for you want to be successful the first time and not have to get a revision further down the road. With your high weight, I am compelled to plug the procedure I had, the Duodenal Switch, which yields the highest rate of weight loss and smallest rate of regaining over time. This is so aggressive that some docs only recommend it for SMO - even though it works very well for lightweights too. The trade-off is becoming your own nutrition expert. The metabolism changes so drastically that you have to do extra supplementation to make up for what your body skips over during digestion. Not all surgeons do this procedure because it is a complicated one but in the hands of a skilled surgeon, no more riskier than any other.

You've got a lot of research and soul searching to do. When you talk to your insurance company, find out what they require you to do before you submit for approval. Common requirements may include medical tests, psych evaluations and a supervised diet, and they're all different, so you want to know all of this and get started.

My dear, always feel free to PM me for help. My highest weight was over 750, and I know exactly how it is more than anyone else. I became isolated and did not leave my home for a year at one point. Even walking two feet was excruciating.

I am glad to provide encouragement when you need it. I went from being completely disabled to going to grad school and losing over 450 pounds. It absolutely can be done.

The first thing you need to do is be kind to yourself, and cherish yourself and your bravery. It takes no small feat of courage to begin the journey you are on. And have hope because many of us have done the same. Being 18, you have a huge opportunity to succeed no matter what anyone else says.

OP, I really encourage you to reach out to Donna. She knows a LOT, and is probably the best person on OH to understand your situation.

I won't have a ton of advice, but I'm happy to join your cheering squad!

I am sending you a digital hug.

We are her for you. Personally I find the daily support here incredible and would not have succeeded without it. Even if I don't post everyday I come and read.

Please reach out to Donna, she truly is the best person here who can understand your situation.

We all knew how to lose weight, at one point I was well over 400lbs and lost 100lbs 5 x in my adult life and 75-80 several other times. Keeping the weight off eluded me. With the Weight Loss Surgery for the first time I have some hope of keeping it off.

Good Luck, and stick around

Lucab295, my heart truly began to ache when I read your post. You already started the process by reaching out for help. Everyone above gave so much excellent advice and encouragement! That is what OH is for, come back, ask A LOT of questions.

You are no longer a minor, your an adult that can make your own decisions. I say this only because I started researching Weight loss surgery on my own and didn't tell anyone in my family or the few friends I had. I wanted to have enough knowledge about it before I approached my Primary Care Practitioner for a referral. I didn't want anyone trying to talk me out of the decision that I made, like my mother(who didn't try because I had enough information about it). She then became my biggest advocate

1.Check your insurance to see if they cover Bariatric surgery and what they require from you

2.Talk with your PCP

3. Contact the Bariatric Clinics/Hospitals in your area ask them to send out their information packet and application asap.

4. Find a good therapist to begin gaining some coping skills, confidence and ways to set boundaries with your family.

Like others have said above, contact forum member Donna. Send her a PM, she has so much information about her experience that she would love to share with you.

I wish I would have had my VSG at your age instead of at 50. That would be my only regret. The whole process has changed my life in so many ways. It has also changed the way I think and feel about food.

Best of luck to you, we are all here rooting for you!

If I regret anything about my surgery its waiting so long to have it done. I'm 50 years old and more than half of my life is past and I just want to experience stuff again before I get to old to do anything fun. If I had it to do again I would have done it earlier even if I had to go in massive debt to do it. Seriously, your life is just started and i know you think it seems like it's been forever that you've been overweight but it hasn't. But you have been overweight for too long. Even one year is too long. There are doctor said it will do surgery on someone your size. I have been watching "my 600 pound life" for tips on keeping the weight that I have off. Usually on that show the doctor makes the patient lose a little weight to get down to 600 or close. I think it just depends on the doctor. In my case I didn't have to jump through hardly any hoops. In your case I can't imagine them making you wait 6 months to jump through all the Hoops that some insurance companies request... The good news is more and more insurance companies are covering the surgery... If your particular insurance company does not perhaps your parents can switch to the other parents insurance for a year or so. If not then there is payment options at the doctor's office. It's like a credit for the medical expense only. You're 18 so old enough to get that medical credit. I guess there's always the option to try and get on that show as well. They have to get their participants from somewhere. I know there has to be a benefit in it for the patient. nobody is going to allow themselves to be filmed for a whole entire year without getting paid in some way. You are so young. I hope you don't wait. Everyday that you wait is a day longer before you're thin and healthy again. Good luck. Feel free to pm me anytime. I'm not the best one for advice but Im already a fan. Good job starting the search. That's the first step.

Only your doctor can determine if surgery is for you and insurance as the surgery is expensive and most insurances have guildlines you have to follow in order to be accepted. My dear man , move heaven and earth to get the surgery. I pray you get help.