OMGS Renee!  I read this and thought the same dam thing! When I had to fill out the papers for my insurance and I got to the diet history, I had a 12 year diet "resume". lol The sad thing is I'm only 24! I started dieting since I was in the eighth grade! It was time for me to make one of the most serious commitments you can to yourself. I feel I made the right choice.

To the OP, you have to feel it in yourself. I had the idea of RNY for three years. ( I didn't know about the DS until these boards lol.) I wanted it, but I had all these "thoughts" in my head. Things like: What if I don't lose weight, What are others going to think of me, etc. It really all comes down to you and what is best for you. My final straw was having chest pain. At 24 years old. WTH? That was my breaking point. I felt truly that without this surgery I wouldn't live a long and productive life. I wouldn't be able to do the things I wanted and accomplish my goals. And it is the right choice for me. The weight isn't coming off as fast as I hoped, but my daily headaches are gone. The chest pain is gone. For me, this is a god-send within itself. But I had reached the point that I actually feared for my life. My grandmother had heart problems and I didn't want to be taken to soon like she was.

This is just why I choose surgery. If you can lose it and keep it off without it, do it! That may be the best way. But like Renee, I had lost a significant amount of weight on my own, only to put it on years later. Gaining it back was worse then gaining it period. Hope this helps!