What event prompted you to seek WLS? - Page 2 - ThinnerTimes

Zenomia · 11-18-2007, 04:59 PM

For me, it was when I had failed at yet another diet...re-gained all the weight back and needed to buy the next size up pants. I had depression spirialing so far out of control that I contemplated suicide....all because of my weight and my attitude towards it. I stayed in bed for a week and could barely function, my husband was distraught and I was beside myself in misery. It was THIS brick wall that I slammed up against, that finally decided me. I NEEDED surgery, I wasn't going to survive without it.

I won't ever fall that low again....it was a very frightning time in my life!

Vim&Vigour · 11-18-2007, 05:09 PM

Yes Claire and Zenomia, pain and/or depression. A question of breaking the circle. I have no "symptoms" apart from being breathless to the top floor but am starting to feel my back... Have just watched a RNY op on YouTube! Fascinating and I cannot wait to get my surgery done! I need to set an example to my daughter and her friends - low self image 19 year olds! Thanks for sharing with me! Keep up those amazing figures! (body and numbers!).
Cheers!

always_precious · 11-18-2007, 05:25 PM

I also have back pain but I can say alot of mines contribute from being over weight and also having large hips and buttocks that runs in my family. I can't sleep on my back due to my buttocks being very plump and I can't sleep comfortably on my stomach due to my double d breast. Along with lower back pains I also have shoulder, knee and calf muscle pains. If I sleep on my sides for a long period of time they will start to burn. So mostly when I'm sleep Im in pain and when I wake up I was still in pain. I've decided it was time to do something to make my pain go away.

I also looked forward to this surgery because my oldest son thinks it fine to be a big person. By him only being 5 there's no way you really can explain to him to make him understand that it's not ok to be a big person. The hard way for him to find out is if someone in school jokes or tease him. He is the tallest and biggest pupil in his kindergarden class. And we all know how children express themselves. Doing this will not only help me but I believe this will help my son. I can do better with teaching him how to eat right. My youngest son is on the thinner side so for right now he is ok, but when he get older and if he have these same problems or concerns I would know then how to deal with the situation out of first hand experience.

I wish you much success in your research and with any decision you decide to make. Let no one make the decision for you as you have to deal with the life changes afterwards yourself. Always keep your faith and think positive things.

fisher1000 · 11-18-2007, 05:57 PM

My story is similar to some that others have posted. I too heard about in the early 90's but didn't think I would ever have it. I thought it was something for the really wealthy and I knew I could never afford it. That was when, being younger, I didn't know a whole lot about insurance and as I got older, it was nice surprise to find out that they would cover it. It took me four years from making the decision to actually having it done. I was scared, and I backed out the first time. Like Beth, my comorbidities were getting worse and I was on the verge of being insulin dependent. The best reasoning I did about it was that I would be guaranteed complications later if I did nothing, or take the risk of a possible complication now. (Someone else has said this same thing more succinctly than me on the forum recently...) I took the risk, and every day since the surgery I've been glad I did it. It's the bravest thing I've ever done, but we have a nine month old, and I want to be here to enjoy her life. I don't want her to be embarrassed by me as she gets older, and I don't want to be inactive with her. I want her to have as normal a childhood as I can offer, and I couldn't do that at 400 pounds. Even almost 70 pounds so far have made a huge difference...I can get down on the floor and play and get up without crying. I can walk around the block (several times...) I can run after her as she gets into everything. Don't get me wrong...I'm still exhausted after a day with her, but because we played and had a good time, not because I'm fat and can't handle it.

I would do it again in a second...and if I had it to do over, I would have done it YEARS ago.

-Mike

cuppycup · 11-18-2007, 06:04 PM

My brother told me he was worried about my health when he came to visit, and asked if I'd researched gastric bypass. I enrolled in a pre-surgical program the following week.

Godsblessedme · 11-18-2007, 07:39 PM

for me it was my childrens beautiful faces. I cant even enjoy taking them to the park or even giving them a bath i'm out of breathe. I'm tired all the time, just learned i have sleep apnea, rising glucose, high bloodpressure. I'm only 36. I want to be around for my children who are 2, 5, 14.
I've tried all kinds of diets and as usual they work for a few weeks and the weight comes flying back on me. I've had several friends who have had successful bypasses and one that was a casuality he passed away from an blood clot but he was over 700 pounds
I'm so ready for this surgery and me to be healthy

Hoping and praying · 11-18-2007, 08:18 PM

I have been struggling with this for my entire life. My weight effects every part of my body. My parents, grandparents, brother, and sisters have all been over weight. At just under 200lbs I am the smallest person in my family. My father died of diabetes, heart disease, and liver failure among other factors. My mother has diabetic tendencies and every has heart disease or cancer. After losing more then 100lbs on my own, I felt better and was healthier then ever. I knew I needed to keep going. I now have nerve dameage, diabetes, and durring a recient staff infection my heart was strained and stopped on my. I remember seeing he flat line on the monitor right before I blacked out. That was enough for me but I had a long way to come. I researched a lot over the years and I could not get accepted since I do not have a high enough BMI and my weight is not over by more hten 100lbs. Finally I had to have another surgery to remover part of my intestine so I asked if the insurance would do both at the same time. Sine the proceedure already works with simular properties it was actually less then 24 hours till I got aproved. I am excited. Our surgeries are on the same day.

Alleusion · 11-18-2007, 08:39 PM

When I was 8 my mother had her stomach stapled. It caused so many problems that 2 years later, doctors went in and discovered that 3/4 of her stomach was scar tissue. She had a procedure called a bilio-pancreatic diversion....one of the early forms of RNY. Her surgeon was one of the leading pioneers of the lap RNY procedure, Dr. Wittgrove here in San Diego.

At her heaviest, she was almost (or over, she never said) 400 pounds. She got down to 180. I've been "thick" since high school, but really started gaining while I was pregnant with my first (which coincidentally was right out of high school). Her father left me during the pregnancy and to cope, I ate. I got pregnant again 9 months after her birth and with a toddler, a new marriage, a baby on the way, and life spiraling out of control...I ate.

Years passed and depression set in but I refused to recognize it. My marriage was falling apart and I refused to acknowledge that as well. I hid within myself and inside the fridge. I tried diets, I tried Jenny Craig, I tried going to gyms, everything.....literally everything. My mom suggested the surgery to me but I wasn't ready.

One day, I just decided that something had to be done. I had no co-morbidities, but I was miserable, and fat. I checked into my doctor's appointment and the scales said 300.0 on the dot. Once inside the room with the doctor, he asked why I was there. I said I wanted to talk about WLS, then with a shaky voice and trying not to cry, I told him my history.

He asked me to hop up on the paper covered torture device and asked me if I thought I was depressed. I said no, I didn't think so. Then he asked me how I was sleeping at night. I immediately started crying. He handed me a tissue, waited for me to finish then said "Now, tell me you're not depressed".

He was so kind, and really helped get me on my way with my new life. I saw him in May of 2005 and by the end of October, I'd had my surgery. It would have been early September, but there were scheduling issues, then the surgeon's wife decided to have a baby on my surgery date. So, through the years and struggles and finally coming to terms that this wasn't something I could do on my own....here I am.

Toony · 11-18-2007, 09:26 PM

.... like everyone else, I've tried it all... I've lost and regained hundreds of pounds... then this past summer:

Pain: I had sciatic nerve pain -- and excruciating pain down my right leg...
and
Fear: Visiting my mom in a care center... I walked past 2 ladies in the physical therapy room... they weren't that much older than me, as heavy or heavier than me in extra large wheel chairs, dependant on others to help them recover from hip or knee replacements... scared me silly!

I was gung-ho for Lap Band, but after some support group meetings and reading everything I could get my hands on, I doubted my own self-discipline needed to make it work right... then my PCP said, "Why aren't you looking at Roux-en-Y? My dad had it 35 years ago and he's still going strong..." (Back then they used it as an ulcer treatment)... So I got looking at RNY, reading... and found this site. I've since found excellent books on WLS, been to several MORE support group meetings, have met living/breathing RNY patients, including our very own Squishy....

I still get "cold feet" and hope I'll be strong enough to go through with it when my time comes... I admire those of you who have been through it and are living the life of RNY!!!! You're brave and pure inspiration to me... And for those who have had their struggles (Paige, Janie etc)... I admire you for sharing your journey too... You have made this REAL and feel like a serious, serious decision ... I'm not taking it lightly!

VanessaSFL · 11-18-2007, 09:38 PM

My Mom had the surgery and about a year later I went to my surgeon and asked him if he thought I would be a good candidate.Took my time doing all the tests(little over a year) and then I had surgery March 21, 2005.

The main medical issue was becoming insulin resistant and just tired of lugging 280 Lbs around...I look at my frame now and have no clue how I ever held myself up.