Hi all,

my name is Carrielee and I am 31 years old.

I have battled being overweight / obesity since I was a young child and I've finally gotten the courage to taking the steps toward a healthier self.

At 31, I'm 5 feet tall and weigh 278 pounds, at a BMI of 54.29, it's time to do this.

I suffer from a myriad of weight related health conditions and fear an early death if I don't take control of my weight and health.

I suffer from acid reflux, hypertension, high cholesterol, Type II diabetes, arthritis, limited mobility, chest pain/angina, sleep apnea, liver disease...I'm slowly killing myself and I'm tired of it.

Any tips for a first consult with a WLS surgeon? My appointment is on April 25.

I had vsg and I'm not happy with my results. Most of it is my own fault for not sticking to the program. Be sure you have an aftercare plan, after surgery. There were no followup appointments after 3months and that's when I stopped losing. I've paid out of pocket for a dietician and see a therapist, but my weight stays around 240. I started at about 272 and by the time surgery day came I was about 265. Because of a blood clotting disorder I didn't have a major decision in which surgery to have. I felt blessed having vsg and I'm still using the tools I've learned to keep going in my journey. My lowest weight has been about 230. The surgery can only do so much, it's really up to you as an individual to keep the weight loss momentum going.

You are going on a long journey. You need to get from New York to San Francisco and you need to do it using your own body and no car, train, or plane.

Your choices are;

Walking shoes (sleeve)

Roller skates (RNY

Bicycle (modified DS)

Bicycle with motor (DS)

Think about your choices'. All are hard work that takes a long time.

Did anyone see that couple they featured in a segment on Access Hollywood yesterday? He had lost over 400 lbs. and his wife a lesser amount as well. After his weight loss, I thought he looked a little like a young Conan O'Brien. The article said they had millions of fans following their journey on TikTok. The article didn't really detail how they went about losing the weight, but apparently WLS was not involved. If not, I wish them the best at keeping it off, as we know the stats on doing that are not good .. btw, I tried Googling the article to link to it here, but couldn't find it, even on A.H./NBC's website.

Thank you for replying.