Well, after 3 months of being at a stand still, I asked my doctor about it...she's actuall giving me a referral...My mom is upset and says I don't need it that I don't weigh enough, DH doesn't agree but is wiling to back my decision...

Doc says that with the elevated BP, I do qualify even though my weight on it's own doesn't...also my lipids were a tad high 3 months ago so that was another qualifier...

I'm seriously considering it.  I know it seems like the "easy" way out, but I just don't have the willpower to diet...

Anyone else had this surgery?

Brianne, first off, let me just say that you are beautiful and gorgeous JUST they way you are.

I don't have any first hand experience with this - but a friend of ours did it with the LAP band and lost a TON of weight - weight that would have killed him.

It's not the 'easy' way out, because it forces you to change your eating habits: you have to seriously restrict the size of your bites, the amount of salt, the types of foods you eat.  It's something to 'weigh' the pros and cons. . .

I'd list out a pro/con sheet if I were you.

PROS:

-You will lose weight

-That in turn will boost your confidence!

-You will be healthier

-You won't have to struggle with traditional dieting and weight loss

CONS:

-Support from family will be tough: you're on your own

-Risk of negative side effects, infections, etc.

-You may never again be able to enjoy some of your favorite foods

-It's expensive

-Depending on the type you get, it may be irreversible

-If it is reversible (LAP band, for example) what will keep you from reverting to old habits and gaining the weight back?

etc. . . .

Only you can decide if it's right for you.  Before you make any decisions. . .please tell us/me more about where your willpower is going :)  Maybe we can help!

I watched True Life on MTV and a guy had a band on his stomach- he lost TONS of weight--he decided to be brave and have the doctor loosen the band to see if he could continue on his own, well he gained like 15 lbs in a week because he was "never full" so its a LIFE LONG commitment, you cant just turn it off when you lose the weight you want.

If your doctor is okay with it though then I think thats okay since he would be monitering you. How much weight would you want to lose? You dont look heavy at all- I thought gastric was for people needing to lose like 100+ lbs

It really is a waste if you say you don't have the willpower to diet.  If you think you are unhealthy enough for this surgery than it was your unhealthy habits that contributed.  If you don't learn to diet and deal with the problem (which is not the weight, it's the habits) then you are going to waste your time and money and eventually end up in the same place.  I've seen really big people do this and it was good for them because they were incapable of working it off on their own, but if you say your weight didn't qualify you, I beg of you to reconsider and spend your money and time on something that will help you learn to change your lifestyle.  If you have other circumstances than bad habits, then maybe it's something to consider, but I don't think not having willpower is a good reason. 

Have you considered the lap band surgery vs. the gastric bypass? I've had a few friends who have had the lap band surgery and had no problems. I've heard horror stories about the gastric bypass and its a much more severe surgery and could potentially be dangerous if your not severely severely overweight. Be sure to check out all your options!

Weight loss surgery can help you get back on track where you need to be for a base point. Just realize that it isn't easy and it takes hard work and commitment for the rest of your life in order to keep your weight from going back up.

What I meant was on my own...Programs like WW and JC are too...public...I'm not a 'go weigh yourself in front of people' kind of person, and on my own there's no motivation...I took phentermine about 4 years ago and over the course of 1.5 years lost 100 lbs, but it's just not working for me this time...and I want something more permanent.  You are heavily monitored the first few months after surgery so that in itself is a good motivator, lol.  Having to answer for your lack of progress is a huge motivator for me.  On your own you only have yourself to answer to and, frankly, I can be pretty lenient, lol.  Also, shelling out the $ for the surgery is a huge motivator too...

Basically my downfall was 3rd shift...(I know...excuses, excuses)  One of those snack to stay awake things.  3rd shift as a nurse in a LTC facility has some major slow spots...even if you take your time doing everything, you still end up actually working 4 out of 8 hrs so you find things to do to stay awake.  Granted, I wasn't skinny when I started, I weighed 176, but I gain 30 pounds over a year...currently I'm back up to 210, which frankly, bugs the crap out of me.  I DO NOT want to ever be 276 again.  I was miserable.

I'm sure when I go for the first appointment, the MD will discuss all options with me, but I'm pretty sure the bands arent covered at all by my insurance.  I know some of the bypass is though.

Just make sure you research :\ I'm 187 lbs and there is NO way I would do a surgery, if I weighed like 400 lbs then yes I would consider it

Have you thought about going to a diet doctor and personal trainer? They put you on an eating schedule, its 1 on 1 and they MAKE you work out..just like The Biggest Loser- if they can do it at 500 lbs, I think anyone can do it

Bypass or lapband all have negitives...My mom had the lap band done, she was over weight but the Dr. did it because she had acid refelx really bad and the discovered the the flap going to her stomach didnt close all the way and the surgery would help.  She was on a very restricted diet, she lost weight but even now a couple years later she has to watch what she eats, if she has bread its very small amounts.  I know some times when she eats it will feel like food is stuck and she has to wait awhile or drink, drink, drink to get it moving it hurts. She cant vomit,(gross i know but true) I talked to her today and she is sick H1n1 they have her on medicine, and gave her and anti nausea medicine she told the Dr. she cant vomit so she didnt need it.  He told her if it wants to come out it will come and it will hurts so she opted for the medicine.

The bypass, well a guy I work with had the surgery he lost weight but looking at him you would never know he had it done.  Even when he started he was still a larger guy but he had lost over 100lbs.  We talked about it he is now 4sizes bigger than he was when he started working here.  I asked him about the surgery and he said it worked but he found ways to cheat. When he figure out he could cheat he cheated and stretched his stomach back out. 

definalty go over the pros/cons

I'm not a fan of this idea for you. It would be different if you were morbidly obese, but you're not, and opening yourself up to all that risk for a 40-50 pound weight loss is... well... risky! Even with lap band, you still could live every day miserable (I have a friend who had it, and is nauseous every waking moment, vomits violently every morning :(, and has plateaued at about 270 pounds after an 85 pound loss because she's too miserable to get her band tightened), and for what? Because you lack motivation?

Ladyhannah makes a good point - if you don't change your habits to begin with, you won't have the lasting results you're looking for. And gastric bypass has a fairly high failure rate. Most reputable physicians won't even do the surgery if you don't agree to counseling and diet education beforehand to fix what's at the root of your issues. And many of them won't do it until you've participated in several attempts at non-surgical weight loss and failed. If it was my body, I wouldn't go to a surgeon who doesn't require this, because that would indicate to me that he's more interested in the money than the long-term success of his patients.

You say you need the accountability of having to go for monitoring visits... Do you think that the millions of people who've tried weight watchers, et al, were "go weigh yourself in front of people" types? Probably not... It's that they needed that accountability too, but didn't want to risk their lives/health/longterm comfort by having surgical intervention, so they sucked it up and went to a meeting.

I hope what I'm saying doesn't come off negative, because I don't mean it to be - I'm saying this to challenge your idea of what you can and cannot do... YOU CAN lose the weight with diet and exercise - I felt like you do, but I bit the bullet and lost 50 lbs, "on my own." So have several other girls on here, mountain and Kassi-o come to mind. Was it hard - hell yes, but SO SO SO SO worth it.

Try WW. You can do it online. Meetings are not required. I pay about $16 a month. I also recommend counseling.