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On June 2004 a dear friend approached me with her new idea to get a gastric bypass. At the time I was devoted to the gym which i have been on and off, more off than on. I told her she was brave and crazy and recomended she'd join the gym with me, she declined my invitation and continued her research on the surgery . It's now April 2007 and I'm scheduled for surgery 7/18/07 and she's also trying to schedule hers. Why did I have such a change of heart? Well lets just say that my last attempt at diet and excersize was a big flop! To make matters worst I was diagnosed with high blood pressure July 2005 and have been on meds since then. I've always been heavy and have learned to disguise my FAT but there is a long history of HBP in my family so my doctor (pcp) suggested the surgery as a last resort. He thinks my BP will lower if I lose the weight. So in July 2006 the journey began. My friend and I went to all our appointments, tests, check-ups, etc. I was fortunate because H.I.P approved and will pay for everything, not even co-payments! Aetna is still giving my friend gripe. I still wasn't convinced, it seemed to risky and the maintnence afterwards seemed impossible. I'm not a big food eater, but I'd fight to the end if denied my desserts! I can't imagine a world without sweets, the gooey goodness of a cinnabon. Coffee and pastries have been my weakness and have landed me where I'm now. I don't know when it happened but my pleasant "fullness" became my horrific "fatness"!!!! I must add that I am married and after three failed pregnancies finally had my son who is now 5yrs old. I went from 150lbs prior to the pregnancies, to 180lbs post and just ballooned to over 200 recently. My 4'8", yes 4'8", frame has never been below 150, except for the brief time I was anorexic at age 15 and went down to 120. I guess I wasn't very good at the anorexic thing! So according to the charts I should be like 97lbs because of my height, but honestly I don't want to look like a little girl and am frightened by such a huge change. I say 60lbs off sounds GOOD! I'm looking into having the gastric sleeve instead of the gastric bypass. I have a tendency to look past the soon surgery date and look at the near future, I see (literally in my mind) myself 20lbs lighter by Sept. I'm still concerned about all the dietery restrictions and discomforts but am relieved to know that with the VSG (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) it won't be as severe and might not depend on vitamins or deal with hair loss. I'll visit my surgeon on May 31st to confirm my VSG vs. a GBP, he gave me 'till then to decide which one I think will be better for me.