Back again

Hi everybody,

I hope its okay to cross post.  I want to be active here as well given my high BMI, but I also posted this introduction under the VSG forum.

I joined the site about a year ago when I was hoping to get surgery.  I wasn't able to, but now I am on track to getting surgery.  I am 5'6" and I weigh about 525 lbs.  I've had a really rough year.  My income dropped over 50%, but I think the struggle has been serendipitous.  With my current income, I was able to get Medicaid, which lets me get surgery!

I've had one nutritionist appointment (two more to go!) and my psych eval is coming up on 4/20.  I am hoping to get the sleeve procedure.  

This may seem like an odd question, but has anyone ever wanted to lose the weight just for health and mobility?  I feel like what I encounter is primarily people who are excited about changing their appearance.  At the risk of sounding arrogant, after my 20's or so (I'm 34), I am pretty happy with  my appearance.  I just want to get healthy and active.  Right now I don't get around well at all, and I have to depend so much on others for daily living.

I really love reading this site.  It is truly an incredible resource!  I am going through the typical anxiety, and I feel like I should start posting regularly to get the support I need.  I look forward to chatting with you all.  

Hi, I'm the same age as you. Though I've started from a lower BMI, health has always been my aim. I've never been "normal" and in fact had worries about feeling more vulnerable being smaller.

I never felt ugly even at my heaviest but I have/had diabetes II, severe sleep apnea, extreme hyperlipidemia, infertility and chronic back pain. My PCP always asked me if I was sure I didn't have any chest pain and always seemed surprised when I didn't. The PA snapped at me once that maybe I'd be worried about it after my second heart attack...

I'm glad to hear that you don't feel ugly either.  I have type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea as well.  Don't you just love how doctors treat us?  I had a doctor who told me that I'd be able to go off my psych meds if I lost weight!  I have bipolar disorder.  She was all, "You won't be depressed anymore."  wtf?

Wow! Doctors definitely don't know everything, especially ones who don't listen :)

While I agree there are a lot of people who decide to do this in large part for vanity. I think there are just as many who do it for their health. Especially when you get into the higher end of the BMI scale. I personally am motivated by a need to live. My weight has gotten out of control and it is killing me. My BMI is around 60 and honestly I have very little quality of life, I spend most of my days sitting in the house only getting up when I absolutely have to. I can no longer go out and do things. I need my life back. 

As far as me doing it for vanity, if I actually manage to lose the weight I need to my body is going to look like my skin is melting off of me. And I will spend the rest of my life with the deformed sagging. So honestly for appearance purposes I look much better now than I will then.

My weight is killing me too, I completely understand. I get out a little bit here and there, but I am primarily stuck at home as well. I have a lady that I pay to do housework and get groceries (when I can afford her).  The rest is all leaning on my best friend, and I hate being such a burden on her.    I guess I didn't explain myself very well.  Thinking about the numbers on a scale or about my appearance freak me out.  I want to focus on the health and mobility related non-scale victories!  

Although a lot of posts seem appearance-driven, I really do think the vast majority of people who pursue WLS do it for their health and quality of life. My health is absolutely my #1 concern. I'm 30 with the medication list of an octogenarian. DMII and HTN by age 23. I want to live and enjoy my life. I want to hike without having to stop frequently because my feet hurt so bad. What's interesting though is that appearance started becoming more of a focus for me more as I started having success with my pre-op weight loss. Not because it suddenly mattered to me (I never thought of myself as ugly or attractive; I just wasn't particularly worried about appearances), but because seeing changes in my appearance provided some concrete, objective proof that I was making progress.

That's really interesting!  That makes sense to me.  I definitely like seeing the before and after pictures.  It's hard for us to see the other victories from a distance.  

I'd also recommend starting to take measurements now to track over time. As you get healthier and stronger, your body composition will change, so there will likely be times when you don't see a change on the scale for awhile but will notice you're losing inches. This helped keep me from getting discouraged when I had a 2-week stall awhile back. I need proof of progress to keep my motivation. Now I just wish I'd started taking measurements like thigh and arm circumference in addition to just bust, waist, and hips!

I definitely decided to have WLS because of my health.  I wasn't unhappy with my appearance --- I have a wonderful marriage, career, and beautiful son.  All my health co-morbidities are gone now -- and that is the most amazing thing ever.

However, truthfully, there were things besides my health that sucked.  I couldn't sit in a booth.  I didn't fit comfortably in an airplane seat.  I needed a seat belt extender when I flew.  Theater seats were uncomfortable.  I couldn't fit into the desks at the university I teach at.  Clothes in my size were expensive and often ill-fitting.  Strappy sandals or shoes with heels were impossible.  I sweat all the time -- I was always hot, even in the winter.  I could go on and on an on....

Truthfully, there have been a lot of benefits in addition to my health.