DS in our 20's - Warning...Long and "Random" thought process
Has anyone here had DS in their 20's?
I'm 27 and looking at having the DS...well maybe a little past looking - I am currently waiting on a date. I had pre-op testing last week. I thought I was all excited that this was finally happening after a year or looking, reading, and researching...but after pre-op testing I'm back to being nervous/thinking "Is this this right thing"....
Mostly because after testing whi*****luded:
- EKG
- Upper GI
- Chest X RAY
- Lung Function Test
- Blood work
I've found other than a previously diagnosed fatty liver and elevated blood pressure (not yet to the point of taking meds but close)....I'm healthy.
Kind of freaks me out to cut open and change the workings of a healthy body. Then I start thinking I want to do this naturally. However, after 27 years of attempting dieting - losing a few pounds here and there just to gain it back I want to put an end to this obeisity. It's so weird saying i'm obeise....
I honest to God never thought I'd ever associate myself with that word. I always pictured an obeise person as a 400 pound guy sitting in sweat pants on the couch watching TV and eating potato chips. Until last year I decided I'd get a scale and see I was 360...a mere 40 lbs to that 400 lbs guy I had in my head. I then went to the doctor for a checkup and to talk about options and found out my scale was off by 10 lbs....Talk about a low blow....!
I've decided to give up trying to figure out what happend. I can blame everyone...including myself....but the fact is...well...it's my problem now and I must deal with it.
I'm so affraid of the what if's...
You know how the physicists talk about parallel universes or time lines...? Essentially, the theory that all of the "forks in the road" still exist no matter which fork you take...In my case there are three possible forks....
Fork A - have the surgrey. I'm not fearful at all about being on the operating room table. I have total confidence in the surgeon, nurses, doctors...etc. Funny enough, i'm not really affraid of the pain either...I'm affraid of failure and will my life be better on this fork or one of the others? I'm also still kind of young...I feel older everyday...I keep realizing that i'm 27 years old and hitting 30 in a couple years. SCARY. The surgrey later down the road is going to be way more difficuilt.
Fork B - don't have the surgrey and embrass my current ealth and live like I have been with not really thinkig about my health - or - supressing the thoughts. Most likley I'd end up diebetic, heart attack, losing a leg like my grandmother did, probably and early death....OR end up on one of the other two forks....Fork A for example - having the surgrey with all of those problems...in poor health and having additional complications...or fork C
Fork C - Don't have the surgrey and really focus on getting healthy...work out hard everyday...hell call the biggest loser...what ever...This fork worries me because I have to face facts about my own personality. I've never been an organized guy (which also is a fear of mine for Fork A)....With this fork I see it maybe working for 40-50 lbs...I might get down to 300ish MAYBE in the high 200's until I get comfortable and then slack off...and I either end up on fork A or C...I feel part of the failure on this fork is that I have really no one to go down this journey with....no one to hold me accountable...I'm a single guy. I'll lose a few pounds and then justify to slack off.
When I look at the least objectionable direction...or that is...the one I can can least screw up....I think I have to have the surgrey. I have that extra tool and a whole community behind me. I have friends who have had WLS (they've had RNY but it's a similar journey)...while they can't necessarily help me with Fork C they can help me with A....
Anyway...In summary....Having surgrey when I'm currently "healthy" and relativley young....idk...I guess the thought of it makes ME question my decision...What if something does happen on the table or huge complications? But...on the other hand...what if this SAVES MY LIFE...in more ways than one...What if I lose this weight and improve the way I think about myself, meet someone, and live happily ever after? But what if I don't?
If you have not been able to tell I am the classic over thinker. I'll probably end up having the surgrey...but it'd be great to find out what others in their 20's have gone through, where you came from, and where you're going...Males in their 20's would be really helpfull :)....
Also I know things like this probably don't belong in the message boards...maybe a blog somewhere? Anyway...done with the ramble :)
I'm 27 and looking at having the DS...well maybe a little past looking - I am currently waiting on a date. I had pre-op testing last week. I thought I was all excited that this was finally happening after a year or looking, reading, and researching...but after pre-op testing I'm back to being nervous/thinking "Is this this right thing"....
Mostly because after testing whi*****luded:
- EKG
- Upper GI
- Chest X RAY
- Lung Function Test
- Blood work
I've found other than a previously diagnosed fatty liver and elevated blood pressure (not yet to the point of taking meds but close)....I'm healthy.
Kind of freaks me out to cut open and change the workings of a healthy body. Then I start thinking I want to do this naturally. However, after 27 years of attempting dieting - losing a few pounds here and there just to gain it back I want to put an end to this obeisity. It's so weird saying i'm obeise....
I honest to God never thought I'd ever associate myself with that word. I always pictured an obeise person as a 400 pound guy sitting in sweat pants on the couch watching TV and eating potato chips. Until last year I decided I'd get a scale and see I was 360...a mere 40 lbs to that 400 lbs guy I had in my head. I then went to the doctor for a checkup and to talk about options and found out my scale was off by 10 lbs....Talk about a low blow....!
I've decided to give up trying to figure out what happend. I can blame everyone...including myself....but the fact is...well...it's my problem now and I must deal with it.
I'm so affraid of the what if's...
You know how the physicists talk about parallel universes or time lines...? Essentially, the theory that all of the "forks in the road" still exist no matter which fork you take...In my case there are three possible forks....
Fork A - have the surgrey. I'm not fearful at all about being on the operating room table. I have total confidence in the surgeon, nurses, doctors...etc. Funny enough, i'm not really affraid of the pain either...I'm affraid of failure and will my life be better on this fork or one of the others? I'm also still kind of young...I feel older everyday...I keep realizing that i'm 27 years old and hitting 30 in a couple years. SCARY. The surgrey later down the road is going to be way more difficuilt.
Fork B - don't have the surgrey and embrass my current ealth and live like I have been with not really thinkig about my health - or - supressing the thoughts. Most likley I'd end up diebetic, heart attack, losing a leg like my grandmother did, probably and early death....OR end up on one of the other two forks....Fork A for example - having the surgrey with all of those problems...in poor health and having additional complications...or fork C
Fork C - Don't have the surgrey and really focus on getting healthy...work out hard everyday...hell call the biggest loser...what ever...This fork worries me because I have to face facts about my own personality. I've never been an organized guy (which also is a fear of mine for Fork A)....With this fork I see it maybe working for 40-50 lbs...I might get down to 300ish MAYBE in the high 200's until I get comfortable and then slack off...and I either end up on fork A or C...I feel part of the failure on this fork is that I have really no one to go down this journey with....no one to hold me accountable...I'm a single guy. I'll lose a few pounds and then justify to slack off.
When I look at the least objectionable direction...or that is...the one I can can least screw up....I think I have to have the surgrey. I have that extra tool and a whole community behind me. I have friends who have had WLS (they've had RNY but it's a similar journey)...while they can't necessarily help me with Fork C they can help me with A....
Anyway...In summary....Having surgrey when I'm currently "healthy" and relativley young....idk...I guess the thought of it makes ME question my decision...What if something does happen on the table or huge complications? But...on the other hand...what if this SAVES MY LIFE...in more ways than one...What if I lose this weight and improve the way I think about myself, meet someone, and live happily ever after? But what if I don't?
If you have not been able to tell I am the classic over thinker. I'll probably end up having the surgrey...but it'd be great to find out what others in their 20's have gone through, where you came from, and where you're going...Males in their 20's would be really helpfull :)....
Also I know things like this probably don't belong in the message boards...maybe a blog somewhere? Anyway...done with the ramble :)
my situation is similar to yours. im 26 currently 297 pounds and a size 22/24 but i look like a size 16/18 and have 0 health problems except for the occasionally joint pain etc that comes from extra weight. my only answer to you is that you dont have these health problems NOW because you are young...but if you continue on this weight you will have these problems, i guarantee you. its taken my 2 years and im finally getting the surgery soon in a matter of months. dont give up, it will be all worth it in the end. good luck!
NOTHING tastes as GOOD as SKINNY FEELS...
Starting Pre-Op Weight: 305 Weight On Day of Surgery: 297
LJ123
on 8/30/12 11:11 am
on 8/30/12 11:11 am
I'm 25 and recently had the VSG, not the DS (and am a woman), but I can relate...
Major surgery is always a scary thought, especially when it is perceived as an 'elective surgery'. But I think it is important to keep in mind, and it sounds like you are thinking along these lines, that once we are morbidly obese, bariatric surgery isn't an 'elective' procedure any longer. It is literally life saving. I've seen time and time again people posting on the VSG board, and heard the same thing about the DS board, people saying they were very apprenhensive about the procedure but came to believe it was truly a life saver. A LOT of people wish they had done it sooner.
It sounds like you've put a lot of thought and consideration into this. It's very important to weight your options- and you are clearly doing that. But don't let fear overpower a thoughtful analysis of your options. Only look at the research on the health outcomes associated with DS for reassurance. The mortality rate associated with the procedure is very low.
I am extremely grateful that I was able to have my procedure as young as I am (and I am younger than you), rather than having to wait until I am 50 or so, having lived my entire adult life being morbidly obese and having a dramatically decreased quality of life because of it (like my mother, who had her VSG a couple years ago). Having the procedure young means your chances of a healthy recovery, increased quality of life and many other benefits are more likely.
Good luck!
Major surgery is always a scary thought, especially when it is perceived as an 'elective surgery'. But I think it is important to keep in mind, and it sounds like you are thinking along these lines, that once we are morbidly obese, bariatric surgery isn't an 'elective' procedure any longer. It is literally life saving. I've seen time and time again people posting on the VSG board, and heard the same thing about the DS board, people saying they were very apprenhensive about the procedure but came to believe it was truly a life saver. A LOT of people wish they had done it sooner.
It sounds like you've put a lot of thought and consideration into this. It's very important to weight your options- and you are clearly doing that. But don't let fear overpower a thoughtful analysis of your options. Only look at the research on the health outcomes associated with DS for reassurance. The mortality rate associated with the procedure is very low.
I am extremely grateful that I was able to have my procedure as young as I am (and I am younger than you), rather than having to wait until I am 50 or so, having lived my entire adult life being morbidly obese and having a dramatically decreased quality of life because of it (like my mother, who had her VSG a couple years ago). Having the procedure young means your chances of a healthy recovery, increased quality of life and many other benefits are more likely.
Good luck!
Im 7 years and a little over 1 month post-op DS. I was 22.5 yo when I had my surgery. No regrets here. I was as many doctors put it the healthiest fat person they had met. No high BP, no diabetes, like none of the usual just extra fat. But knew it would be catching up with me if something wasnt done.
I may be of the opposite sex but feel free to message me if you want to hear more in depth of what my life has been like.
I may be of the opposite sex but feel free to message me if you want to hear more in depth of what my life has been like.
DS Aug 15th,2005 @ goal, living life and loving it.
"An Arabian will take care of its owner as no other horse will, for it has not only been raised to physical perfection, but has been instilled with a spirit of loyalty unparalleled by that of any other breed."
Other than my knee being bad from hard labor from being a truck driver. I am 24 years old ( will be 25 shortly) I have been overweight all my life. I am currently 312 and only 5'4. I am healthy other than my knee. I had the same thoughts but I just looked in the mirror and realized how unhappy I was. How hard I tried to work this weight off with no luck. I have heavy people in my family and seen the health issues that occur the older you get. I want to avoid those. So this is to prevent me from being unhealthy and waiting on the surgery for when those things occur make the surgery all the more dangerous. You can message me if you want to talk. I am a female if that matters. We can help eachother =]
Most Active
Recent Topics
