Would you get WLS if you had only 50 lbs to lose???

 At 5'10, I was 228lbs which is a BMI of 32.7 and I had the surgery done two weeks ago.  I don't regret it AT ALL.  I knew I was not taking the weight off alone.

YES!!! I am 5'2" and my highest weight was 194. I had all the same issues as you except I didn't have a hole in my heart. I had rny with remnant stomach removed (due to polyps) on 2/2/12. I am 7 months out and have made goal 107 lbs!!! It is the best thing I ever did foruld myself. I am healthier & happier! I almost didn't go thru with the surgey because my kids were totally against it. They agree now that I made the right decision.

To answer that question I would want to know how old are you and what have you done in the past to lose weight. It is a hell of a choice to make. I had no choice at my age. Surgery or death, soon. I am going to get flamed for saying this but I would never never ever tell a young person to have WLS unless thier PCP and surgeon said without it, you will not be with us on this side of the grass much longer. Think of having your birthday party, Thanksgiving, Christmas and parties with your friends on a salad plate FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE????? Even now 5 months out I go with friends and family and watch them eat a regular plate of food on holidays. And I have to be honest. I still miss being able to eat like that, but could not even if I tried. So think about it real hard. I am glad I did it, but that is just me. I am not telling you what to do, you have to make up your mind. It is not an easy choice.

 as a young person, i agree with you larry. i had a virus attack my heart at 21 which caused me to gain from 174 (which was still very overweight for my 5' height, but i was happy being that size) to 252 the day of surgery at 24, despite eating what i was supposed to and working out 4-5 days a week. my cardiologist highly recommended surgery to me as a last resort since it appeared i would just continue to gain. who knows what weight i would be now if i hadn't had surgery. my echo last spring showed that my heart had completely healed itself after the weight loss, so to me it was 100% worth it.

 I tend to agree with Larry but if someone in your condition, with your heart condition needs help then I say go for it.  I'm glad you have realized your goal.

If you want to have the surgery and your pcp and surgeon are in agreement, I say go for it! I am a 45 yr old woman, I weighed 209 lbs on the day of my RNY on 4/25/2012 today I weighed in at 135 lbs.

As for waiting until a doctor tells you that "you won't be on this side of the grass much longer" arry I have to disagree completely!

When I look back at pictures taken during my life...I was always the "fat" chick or the "heavy girl with the pretty face" I do not look comfortable or happy in any photo from my life. You know why? Because I was freaking miserable! I would diet lose weight and then gain it all back. i felt like I would lost the same 50 lbs and find it again plus more.

Eating off of the small plates has not been a big deal for me at all. Do I miss the cake and cookies? No. You know why? Because I do NOT deny myself anything. I did take a very small bite of my husbands brownie at WF. I did not want anymore even though he asked me if I would like another bite...I do not miss it.

Today when I was driving home I was feeling hungry...I passed every place with the neon signs and the value meals and I came home. I walked in the door and grabbed a fage 2% greek yogurt and put a tablespoon of raw honey on top. HEAVEN and I do not feel guilty and I am looking damn good in my size 6 low rise jeans...no more MOM jeans for this lady!

Enjoy your life while you are living it. Don't wait for somebody to tell you that there is not many more years in your life. Believe me, if I would have known then (20 yrs ago) what I know now...I would have moved heaven and earth to have had this surgery years ago! 

With all your issues, yes. Without those issues and if I hadn't tried every diet out there already, no. I'd keep trying.

I had a BMI of 63 at age 25 and had sleep apnea, acid reflux, asthma, arthritic knees and probably other things I didn't know about because I couldn't ever get beyond the "you're just obese, go get on a treadmill, tubby" mentality from doctors. So I did not want to see what a BMI of 63+ at age 35 would look like. If I made it.

 
Your question was posed, would I have the surgery if I had 50lbs to loose ... for me ... no.  I wouldn't.  I wouldn't have had the surgery if I'd had 100 lbs to loose.  I had 192lbs to loose and had been dieting most of my life.  I'd gotten to a point where exercise wasn't even possible due to the pain it caused.

This is was an extreme decision for desperate situation and not something I took lightly.  But that's me.  I don't have the health problems that you do or the same complications due to my obesity.  You have said that you have high blood pressure at 50lbs over - At 192lbs over I had regular to low blood pressure.  I didn't have diabetes or any of the other co-morbidities (and I count myself VERY lucky)  I was just becoming more and more immobile and that scared some sense into me.

It's an interesting question to field responses but the simple fact is that you can't base this decision on anything anyone else says.  This has to be your journey and your choice.  There have been some unexpected complications that have arisen for my since having the surgery that I wish I'd been more clear on before hand.  The speed at which the weight is coming off is amazing and I've already become 100 times more mobile than I was at the start of this journey.

It might be something to discuss with your cardiologist as well as your surgeon.

 

 

Well

swoozieq67 I have to disagree with you. You are not in your 20s or 30s. You have only lived in the WLS for a short time. I have dieted for 50+ years and was successful for years and could live a normal life eating what I wanted and maintaining my weight over many years, but slowly like most people it came back and I had to lose it again.

 

 

In my opinion a young person especially one who has young friends and going to have children with birthday parties and many social events where food is the main attraction has a harder time. Many young people jump off the weight loss bridge because they think WLS is somehow magic and they will never need to diet again and that the call to indulge in foods they should stay away from will not overwhelming.

 

 

I am not talking about anyone 45 or older, I am talking about someone who is real young. I do not know how old this person is, I don’t know what her health history is, or what she has done to lose weight in the past. That is why I said I had to know something about her before I could give advise. My comments were just my opinion on what I would recommend to any of my daughters or granddaughters. Thankfully most do not need it.

 

I am trying not to be condescending or pompous, but she was asking for opinions and like it or not this is mine, yours may very and that is just fine.

 I am 35 years old Larry.  I have done typical Weigh****chers, the Atkins diet, all the pills, all the various systems and programs, i've had trainers, my husband is active duty air force and he was a trainer himself and I even went to all of his classes and lost a significant amount of weight just to have it all come back later and then some.  

As far as health history, I have struggled with severe asthma from a very young age and from 2001 to 2009 had been on and off prednisone inhalers, prednisone shots and prednisone pills- steroids!  That has added to my issues with weight severely!  Couple all of this with a total hysterectomy that I had 2 years ago and ive hit a brick wall with depression and weight loss...

I started seeing the weight loss docs and making the WLS appointments and I've been able to lose 20lbs which has gotten me down to 190lbs, but my fear is that I just won't be able to maintain weight loss... I really need to be at a healthy 140lbs.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question! I truly appreciate your input!