to all of you who had the surgery... please read....

Alpine huh? I'm from Crane. You and I are practically next door neighbors by west TX standards. Like Foobear said above, I'm only 5 months out, but in those 5 months there hasn't been a single solitary day, not an hour, not a minute, that I regretted having this done. My life is immeasurably better than it was prior to 5 months ago. I've undone 7-8 years worth of over-eating abuse to my body in 5 months. By this time next month, I'll have the same body I did in 1997. If you get this surgery, then within just a couple of months you'll be hiking up A mountain or riding your bike up to the Davis observatory. That's how much your life will change. Go for it. JF

Absolutely fantastic.  No regrets, would do it all over again, even with the complications/setbacks, both emotionally and physically I experienced.  Without saying alot here, take a look at my latest post on my profile, pretty much sums it up.  Take care, good luck and be well.  Probably the best decision you'll ever make, was for me (uh..just barely squeeked by the 3-some with the 2 lesbians in a hot tub in my early 20's, but won't go there here). John

I'm about 17 months out from surgery. 346 to 215. Been steady at 215 for months. Happiness is a not a measure of gravity. Unhappy fat people can become unhappy skinny people. Rapid weight loss is a real mind blender, so be as best prepared for that as possible. I am very happy now, but it was a wild ride there for a few months. I feel great now! Living the life I always wanted. Active and healthy. Not exactly what I expected. The results are better than I expected, and my eating habits are more normal than I expected. My only regret is not doing it 5 years earlier. I know it was the best for me. Your mileage may vary. JP

I am 20 months post-op and have went from 458 to 216.  Second best decision I have ever made.  I sometimes wish I had done it 5 or 10 years ago but then I realize I was not ready for it then.  I am one of those guys who has had a fairly easy recovery, even though I had an open procedure.  Just make sure that surgery is the best decision for you and not anyone else and then follow your doc's orders post-op.  Good luck.

I researched the surgery for about two years. I watched a close friend have his during thjis time fram and couldn't believe my eyes how his diabetes went away before he left the hospital.How his blood pressure problem went away within two weeks. How his Sleep Apnea was gone in a matter of months. It was a no brainer for me With few exceptions my life is great for a 59 year old football coach /teacher who can now work indefanatly now instead of looking for retirement. I was one year out yesterday!! One year from 346 to 202/205. I'm the size I was in my Seventh Grade year. My best man in my wedding would not have recognized me yesterday at a play-off baseball game if he wasn't seated with my wife. This will be a Roller Coaster ride for the first six to seven months. Strap it up,pay your admission, and as they say "Don't put on the uniform if you don't want to play!!" Good Luck

Yeah, big change. Yeah, saying goodbye -- forever -- to the "drug of choice" (i.e. food) used for decades. But six weeks out and down 52 pounds, wouldn't change anything. Nothing else worked for me.

This has to be the BEST decision I have made for my self EVER! I would do it again in a F'n minute! I look back and can kick myself for not doing it sooner! I have lost over 110lbs and I feel great! I can run up the stairs, play anything with my kids, I can even see my johnson again! I have confidence and I love it when women make comments on how good I am looking, and they give the the twice over! I catch myself missing the sugar sometimes but then I hit the s/f popsicles, etc. and the craving is gone. I have found new happiness that I didnt know was there and I will never go back to being a giant no-neck(thats what my ex-wife told my son, f'in B!tc#!) anyway, I never dreamed it would be like this, passed my expectation dramatically! GO FOR IT AND DONT LOOK BACK!

Felt pretty damn good this morning trying on my uniforms and having them slide off my hips!  I'm only three weeks post op and down 35 pounds from consult.  I had to adjust my nylon duty rig by an inch or more on either side! Not going to bull**** ya - when you have your post op doubts about having had the surgery you will ask yourself "what the f**k have I done to myself?" but that will pass quickly when you see the scales start diving down, the clothes get looser, you feel better, kick your meds if you are on any for HBP, Diabetes or Cholesterol, loose the CPAP etc. It is a wild ride that is well worth it!  There ain't a swinging Johnson on this board that will tell you otherwise. Don

I am 2+ years out now and it has been great for me. I had mutiple health problem before WLS and they got worse every year. High blood pressure, sleep apinea, GRD, shortness of breath, bad back and knees. At 460lbs I felt like crap all the time. I lost 240+ pounds and I now play softball & volleyball plus hike up mountains and feel like I'm 20 years younger. Most aspects of my like are 1000% better, others did not change at all. I wish I had done it sooner when I was still in my thirties. Only you can decide what is best for you. My relationship with food has changed completely and while some folks handle that well, others stuggle to maintain once their honeymoon period is over. WLS will not solve all you problems but it may save your life. Do your homework and make sure your in for the long haul before you leap. Check out the Duke WLS site links on my profile page, they have some very good videos on the good and bad of WLS along with a lot of good medical study info. Good Luck, Tim

One thing that might frustrate you is when you hit plateaus from time to time. I've hit one now at 7 weeks out. Stuck at 280, but I can't exercise either. I have a back issue that's trying to be worked out, so I've essentially lost 65 pounds by sitting on my ass. Eventually I hope to be able to exercise like I want to. The only regret I have, seriously, is not having done this 10 years ago when I was just a youngin'. I would've stopped the weight gain in its tracks and been able to enjoy my teens a lot more. But now, hopefully, in a few months I will be able to enjoy my 20's fully! So all in all I've had no negative things to say about the surgery. It was relatively easy going, very restrictive though. I mean at first you can't even drink most of a bottle of water without feeling it. Now I can drink more and more as time goes on without any troubles. Also, at 7 weeks out I can eat frozen dinners (the healthy, south beach diet kind though) and certain foods like that that have veggies and simple meats. Word of early advice though, do NOT try and "cheat" on your post-op diet progression. Follow the surgeon's orders correctly or you will hurt pretty badly. I know I had boiled shrimp a couple weeks out and it hurt like hell with just 3 tiny bites! But really you kinda just have to jump right into it. I mean if I would've given this TOO much thought prior to just doing it I might not have done it. It is a great commitment and change, but regular dieting was just doing nothing for me. Good luck though! You should do fine.