What was the final straw/final trigger for you having WLS/starting the WLS process?

Hi all! Just wondering what was the final thing that made you go from considering WLS to starting a program/having the surgery? Mine wasn't that a negative thing happened but it was a big jolt to my mental state!

In June 2017, I was diabetic (2 meds) with HBP (1 med) and also on statins (just in case). I was in for my annual physical and my NP said in a rather offhand manner "you're young and healthy- have you considered having weight loss surgery?"

It was like a bolt from the blue -- I realized I didn't consider myself young or healthy and that my NP thinking of me that way was a shock. I started seeing her right after my diabetes diagnosis...she should know I was not healthy, I was in her office ever 3-6 months crying about my test results, yet she thought I was healthy enough that I should look into this?

I scheduled myself for the next orientation (July) and started researching and reading everything I could. I knew walking out of the orientation that this was the right thing for me, I called the next day to get into the program and was told..."2-3 months for the intake appt."

That was frustrating but I signed up for that first appt and said to call if they had a last minute cancellation.

They called a week or so later said "we have an appt tomorrow" and I took it; I didn't realize it was 8 back to back apts with just about any kind of doctor that exists but I took it.

I walked in and told the surgeon (I think he was like 3^rd of the 8 that day) that I wanted RNY and my rationale and he was a bit taken aback, said usually HE's the one telling people the options but he was ok with it. I started their 10 week behavior program a week or two later; did my 6 months with the RD and the psychologist and the work with the insurance company, etc, etc; it seems like it happened really fast and that it took forever too.

Many times through this process I've marveled at how that one observation/question changed everything - if she had phrased it differently, would it have had the same impact? If she had been more aggressive in her statement, would I have listened? When I went for my physical earlier this year, I told her this but I'm not sure she really understood how amazing it was to hear just the right thing at the right time and change my life.

Hi Jen,

What an amazing life-changing moment. I think doctors likely have to tread a fine line between not fat shaming their clients but also nudging them to do something about their weight. I never had a doctor suggest it to me, but I'm not sure if I would have listened if they did.

Like you, I was "relatively" young and healthy when I had surgery. I'm not sure how at 350 lbs I wasn't diabetic or had health problems, but I didn't - YET. But it had gotten to a point where my knees ached. They just ached when I woke up. I had torn the meniscus in both in the preceding few years which were my very first ever "operations" so I was finally no longer terrified of anesthesia and dying during surgery (I had a real aversion prior to going through it myself). So one day, I woke up, heaved my ass out of bed, walked to the bathroom on my achy knees, and said, "I am having weight loss surgery". I didn't know anyone who had ever had it (successful or otherwise). I didn't tell a single person. I just made a doctor's appointment at a center of excellence DC hospital about a mile from me, and started the six months of appointments.

When I finally did tell people, a few weeks in advance since I was going to be out of work for a week, I just kept it really casual and said "so I want to live to be 100 and I have to lose weight to do that, so I am having a procedure in a few weeks". Everyone in my life was beyond supportive.

Since then, I have had two people come to me for guidance and support who had WLS, and then I ran into one former coworker who was half her size and when I exclaimed "wow! Look at you!" she said, "Well I saw how well you did and decided to have WLS". It made my heart happy, because I used to see her walking slowly from the elevator to her office and I could vividly remember the daily pain of just LIVING.

Anyway, no major event on my end either, just general exhaustion and achy knees tipped me over to this side of living! And I am a month out from five years post-op and don't regret it for a second. I feel like I am honestly living the life I am meant to live - a healthy, energetic life! I am beyond grateful.

That is awesome and what an incredible way to take control of your life! It is such a big decision and to make it so fast and so self contained is pretty incredible.

It is amazing to me what we learn to live with in terms of aches, pains, difficulties; I definitely understand the frog in the boiling water not realizing they are dying a lot more now.

Great story, Jen!

For me, I think I went directly from not thinking about WLS to calling my insurance company and scheduling with a surgeon. There wasn't much "considering WLS" time, at least not that I was conscious of.

The final straw was a weekend at my parents' house and two big experiences there. The first was their kitchen table chairs that had arms and I found myself noticing how super uncomfortable I was in those chairs. This was a problem because my family tends to eat a meal and then sit at the table for hours and chat. Then, there was the mirror. The only mirrors in my home at that time were the bathroom vanity mirrors, but my room at my parents' house had a full length mirror on the wall. As I was getting ready for bed (and I sleep naked) I looked over and saw my entire naked body in the mirror and... I was not pleased.

I spent the entire 3-hour drive home thinking about options and, when I got home, I told the guys that I was going to look into WLS. At that point, I didn't even know if my insurance covered it. I had three friends who'd had WLS - one RNY who became an alcoholic, one lapband, and one VSG. I went on a fact-finding mission to learn about the different types of surgery, to find out what the insurance requirements/coverage was, and then scheduled with my PCP to run the idea past her, and scheduled with a surgeon because of course scheduling with specialists always takes longer (so I saw my PCP first).

I'm one of those people who was "healthy on paper" prior to WLS. No comorbidities aside from super morbid obesity. All of my labs were always fine except for my triglyceride level and vitamin D. I did have blood work done that my PCP ordered at that appointment and, for the first time in my life my A1C had crept into "pre-diabetic" ranges so that just served to reaffirm my choice. But no one in my life - medical provider or otherwise - ever suggested WLS to me. I don't know how I feel about that.

Wow! That's a great example of how "when you're ready, you're ready" and then to take action so quickly; that is awesome!

I'd been thinking about it off and on for about 10 years before I finally made the decision to do it. I'd gone to a handful of orientations during that time - and the last couple of years before I actually did it, my PCP brought it up during my annual physicals. She said if ever and whenever I was ready, she'd write the referral.

the night I decided was the night I went to my final orientation. The surgeon there showed a PowerPoint slide that summarized all the health benefits (80% reduction of this, 50% reduction of that, etc). It's not that I'd never heard any of this before, but that night, something clicked. I knew I had to do it, even though the only co-morbidity I had was early-onset arthritis. I knew everything else was just around the corner if I didn't go through with this. So I did - and have never looked back!

It is fascinating to me how something can just click and then you are rolling...even if you've heard it all before, that one example, that one way of presenting it can make a huge difference!

I had a surprise baby at 40. I was about 60lbs overweight when i got pregnant and during the pregnancy I gained about 80lbs, had poorly controlled gestational diabetes, despite following the diet/insulin to the letter. 10 months later I had lost 40lbs, but could not shift the remaining 100lbs I was now overweight (40 BMI)

Because I had mine back in the olden days, I was Google to surgery in about 3 weeks. I had an appointment with surgeon, got my date, did my psych and pre op and it was done.

It was also in the days of Cadillac PPO insurance, so I didn't even tell my PCP until afterwards, and I had zero co payments, deductibles or insurance interference. I had my clearance from them the same day it was submitted.

It worked for me because I'm a very driven person, have a healthcare degree etc, so knew what and how I was doing this. Not sure it was a good service for the majority though. I think having to wait, attend programs and classes is probably a better system.

I lost 120lbs in under 6 months and have had regains and losses several times over the years. Today, I am within 20lbs of my 6 month weightloss, which is ideal for me at this age. I have zero intention of getting back to that weight as it really was too low for a 6ft women. 100lbs loss at 14.5 years is good for me.

That is an amazing sustained accomplishment! Good for you!! I think the goal orientation has to be a big factor in success, with/without the program/classes.

(The reminders of the PPO insurance days makes me sad though, lol! I think I was well served with the program from the surgeon for pre/post so no complaints there....but the insurance stuff was a bit headache inducing!)

It's funny I was in to see my PCP for one of my many visits and talking about how I was now taking 40 units of insulin with meals and that I still couldn't keep it well controlled. In passing i mentioned weight loss surgery and she responded that she'd had a number of patients who'd had it and done really well, she logged onto the Ontario Bariatric program at that appointment and signed me up and so my journey began. Not completely health and this point but have been able to stop many of the drugs I had been taking and am no longer on Insulin.