Getting sleeved with less than 100lbs to lose?? Why?

I know how you feel. I felt a little offended when I first read this post.

The choice to have WLS is so personal and such an agonizing decision - it kinda sucks to have it trivialized for those of us under the century mark with these kinds of questions.

I'll be getting sleeved with less than 100 to lose, however I am a revision from band. When I started the journey to get banded I was 309, now I'm 244. I wish I had gotten the sleeve 4 years ago instead of the band, or better yet 6 years ago at 245 instead of after I'd gained another 50, 60 lbs. I don't know if I will indeed lose 100, I hope I do.

Even if I had lost more with the band, say I was 200 I might consider getting sleeved. The odds are so stacked against us to keep the weight off. Frisco quoted a 5% chance I think it may be even less than that. There was a fascinating article in the NYT a couple weeks ago about this topic. If you search on the boards you will find it.

I am kind of envious of people who have less than me to lose too. I think if I had 150 or more to lose at this moment I would consider the DS. But that's just me.

Your questions are basically answers, but here is goes.

I have less than 100 lbs to lose.

My reasons are the same as the "heavy weights." Multiple co-morbitities (hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, pre-diabetic, joint and back pain, etc.)

I'm 41 and I've tried more diets and exercise programs than I care to remember over the last 20+ years.

I wasn't always fat. Actually, I was one of those people who had a hard time seeing the fat person in the mirror for a very long time. Now, I have a hard time seeing the skinny-er person in the mirror.

I was lucky and got to watch a friend who is 10 years older than me have the surgery and get to her goal weight in just over a year. She is now about 10 lbs below her initial goal weight (WOOT! WOOT! for her!). Watching her lose with relative ease while I struggled through yet another diet is what did it for me.

This is just a generalization, but I think most WLS people just want off the roller coaster.

This is just a generalization, but I think most WLS people just want off the roller coaster.

BINGO!!!!!!

My roller coasters were getting REAL BIG as I got older and BIGGER!  

I agree with Jenn- if you get to 80 pounds overweight, in a few years 12o pounds overweight isn't hard to get to.  I wish I had been able to get sleeved at just 80 pounds overweight.  B**** 5'1" 80 pounds overweight is enough to cause serious problems.  I admire the people who have been brave enough to do this as "lightweights".  I wish I could have.  I believe the OP meant no offense and was just curious.  We all have our I can't stand being obese moment and it comes at different times for all of us.

Boy, that's some question! I think you sort of answered it in your post already, but here goes:

I started out with 102 pounds to lose to get to my ultimate goal. I have dieted since I was 7 years old. I went to Weigh****chers the first time in 7th grade. I did the Cambridge Diet at 18, went back to WW at 26, and on and on.... get the picture? Until I hit 30 I never had more than 25 to 30 pounds to lose, but each time I lost weight I gained back more. Eventually, in my thirties I got huge. Six years ago I got down to 199 for a minute and then it all crept back on over a two year span.

Without surgery I have about a 4% to 5% chance of maintaining any weight loss. With high blood pressure, high cholesterol, mild sleep apnea, joint pain, and lessened mobility and nearing 50 at my PCP's suggestion, I investigated WLS. For close to 40 years I have tried and tried to lose and then keep it off. I needed to change how I was doing this. The up and down is far too hard on the body. I wanted my BEST CHANCE to lose it and keep it off. The VSG was the answer for me.

So here's my answer: I'm no different from you except for the fact that I have fewer pounds to lose.

I had the sleeve with just under 60 pounds to lose (at 5'2") after struggling with overweight and yo yo dieting for FORTY YEARS.  And my question is "Why WOULDN'T you seek a surgical cure for obesity if one is available?"  Believe me, the surgery and recovery were NOTHING compared to the psychological pain I suffered over the years due to my weight, and if it had been available 25 years ago I'd have jumped at the chance.

How to answer this question.... I too was a little put out when I first read it, but after thinking about it I realized you were really looking for answers.  I am the oldest (that I know of) on this board at 65 and so I come from a different perspective.  I have bounced between 175 and 232 for 30 years.  I've been on the yo-yo bandwagon all of those years and have lost and gained at least 1000 lbs via every diet and exercise plan known.  Slowly my arthritis was taking over my body and resulted in surgery on both thumbs and a knee replacement.  I have 2 herniated lumbar discs and I knew a wheelchair was in my future.  I pursued the lap band 5 years ago (sleeve was not offered then) and was turned away because of my age.  I recently became a cancer survivor and with the backing of both my PCP and my Oncologist I moved ahead with my WLS.  It's the best thing I've done for myself and even though I only have 70 or so more lbs to lose... it will literally save my life.  I wish you only the best on your journey and I'll be cheering you on all the way.

After my surgery was scheduled, I asked myself why I needed to take such drastic measures for "only" 80 or 90 pounds. But I've been overweight since I was a teenager and, like everyone else, have lost and gained enough weight that probably equals my current weight. I don't have any of the weight-related medical issues...yet. I have a 2-year old and a 5-year old that I want to be around for for a very long time. My parents have numerous health issues now in their senior years that probably could have been avoided had they lived healthier lifestyles when they were younger. With the trend I was following, I would end up at 150+ pounds overweight if I didn't do something now, so I chose not wait until I was at that point or until I had major health issues. I have lost 31 pounds and I already look and feel so much better! I truly never thought I would ever be successful at maintaining weight loss, but now I do! Good luck to you in your journey.

 Boy this post touched a nerve with me.  Even though I was considered obese, and not morbidly obese, I still had several comorbidities - blood pressure, torn ligaments in the knees, headaches, neck pain, triglycerides that were so high they couldn't be measured.  At 5'6" tall, 65 years old, and 196 pounds and climbing, I couldn't take it any longer.  Since I was 13, I've been on diets that were sold to me by doctors, Weigh****chers, Atkins, Bible-based diets, NutriSystem, Cambridge, etc etc etc etc ad nauseum.  And they worked.  I know how to lose weight - I've done it for 50+ years but every time I'd lose, I'd gain it back, plus some.  Years of being self conscious and uncomfortable.  Perhaps I wasn't 150 pounds or more overweight, I still had head issues and food issues and could see myself climbing the ladder to 200 pounds, then 300 pounds.  I wasn't willing to chance it.  That's why I did my homework for over a year and then found an exceptionally skilled doctor.  My insurance wouldn't cover it, but I was unwilling to gain another 30 pounds in order to qualify for payment.  With my husband's blessing, I took $18,000 of the money we were using for part of a down payment on a new house and did it.  I am absolutely thrilled with the results.  And my husband is absolutely thrilled with the results.  Initially I was self-conscious to be posting here since I was much 'thinner' than others.  But now I realize - nuts to that!  I deserve to be here because I made a decision to be healthy and to live longer and feel less pain.  God bless us all for making this decision.  And thank God that we have this option available to us.