Too young for WLS?

I am 5'6. HW 272lbs, CW 240lbs. Was 253lbs but was recently in the hospital for acute pancreatitis and lost a little weight. I have PCOS, possibly hypertension, and VERY high triglycerides. I've scheduled a sleep study to determine if I have sleep apnea.

The women I spoke to, one was a NP at my doctor's office as my PCP was not available. She was absolutely horrid and we ended up arguing, and I left in tears, livid. From her tone and what she was saying, she insinuated I knew nothing of nutrition, exercise, and just sat on my butt all day. I corrected her, told her I didn't appreciate the manner in which she spoke to me, she finally apologized. It was a mess.

Another woman I mentioned WLS to was an endo I saw while in the hospital. She started off our conversation by saying my pancreatitis was "self-induced" and I just about lost it from there lol. I just need to work harder, I'm too young to consider weight loss surgery!

I've been yoyo dieting since I was a young teen, probably when I hit puberty. I've always been heavy. I enjoy being active, but it gets frustrating when you are toting around so much extra weight, and then the motivation declines. I've done zumba, belly dancing, pilates, yoga, jogging, walking, crossfit and many other things. I've also done calorie counting, low carb, high protein, ketogenic diets, silly fad diets (when I was younger). Damn weight doesn't want to leave!

My main focus is to live logner and healthier. Because of the PCOS, I am unsure about my fertility and one of my biggest dreams is to have a family. I am engaged and going to be married next fall.

Your height and weight are exactly where mine were when I had my VSG. I had mine at 40. My weight wasn't as high at 28 as it was at 40, but that is due in large part to fertility drugs. I, too, have/had PCOS and it makes weight loss difficult--if not impossible. It infuriates me when people downplay the role of PCOS in weight loss. If you don't have it, you don't understand.

If you want to have children, have the surgery now. PCOS and obesity are a vicious cycle that wreak havoc on female fertility.

You are absolutely old enough to have the surgery. VSG isn't a magic wand--there is still work to do after the surgery. But it makes weight loss "doable," particularly if you have yo-yoed for years.

Like so many others, I also wish I had done this years ago. The sooner you do it, the more you can live the rest of your life.

Three words.  Get the surgery.  It sure sounds like you're willing to do what it takes to lose the weight, but just haven't been able to get it off or keep it off on your own.  The VSG is a tool that can help you do that.

I'm 53 and just had the surgery a couple of months ago.  I wish I'd had it at 28.  I've wasted SO much of my life.

Jane

Get a new PCP, stat.  My PCP was a jerk and said some of the same things to me but I dumped his ass asap. 

I was 22 when I had my lapband placed.  I revised to VSG at the age of 26.  I am extremely happy (even though the lapband was a hard learned lesson) that I went through with WLS in my 20's.  I want to enjoy life, be healthy, live long, have healthy pregnancies, etc.  etc.  The list goes on and on.  Surgery gets harder as you get older and get more co-morbitities.  If your PCP or surgeon isn't supporting you, then move on until you find the medical professional that DOES support you.  My lapband surgeon was also a jerk and when my band was failing me, he told me to stop "eating pizza and hamburgers" everyday.  Meanwhile, I was on the strictest diet of my life!

Some of these doctors are such aholes and all they want is money money money.  Trust me, there ARE good medical professionals out there, I've found 'em and so can you.  I wish you luck and if you have any questions feel free to PM me!

I am 23 and will be having surgery in the next couple of months. Yes, I am young, but that does not mean that I need to wait until I gain even more weight and allow food to control my life any more than it already is. I have struggled with weight since my early teens and my thought process surrounding food has only gotten worse. Why wait to do something that I know I will have to get done in the long run anyways?

From what I have read on here and what my surgeon has told me, I've learned that younger patients tend to have fewer complications with surgery, are able to shed weight faster, and are more likely to keep it off long-term. For me, there's no reason to wait, and there's no reason to even bother worrying about people who say I'm too young. My entire family has said the same thing, and they are almost all morbidly obese. I guess they think I will defy the odds and be the only one out of 6 to lose weight and keep it off.

Also, the only complaints I've ever heard about the sleeve is that people wish they would have had it done a long time ago. So don't worry what they think. Just know that your decision has been made and YOUR opinion is the only one that matters.

I agree 100%.

There was a student at the high school where I teach who had WLS 2 years ago at 16...so you're plenty old enough!

Check out "brownblonde" she was 23 and her sister was 19 at the time..... surgery on the same day, same surgeon....

Look on the right side of her profile and read it all from the beginning....

http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/brownblonde/

frisco

 

You are old enough. It really isn't an age question. It is a readiness or maturity question. If you are ready to commit to the life of post WLS then you should be able to have it at any age. Best of luck! Go for it!

I had RNY surgery 12 days after I turned 25. I also have PCOS. You will be fine. :)