Wondering If I Should

Hi...I'm a newbie. I don't really have a date for my surgery. In fact, my initial consultation is on 1/8/11. I'm really just not sure what to do yet. I'm getting so depressed. My husband is very supportive and I love that. However, I recently told my close friend that I was considering it and she was very negative. She said things like people need to just diet and exercise instead of doing this "quick fix" surgery. It's not like that for me. I was a size 12 (which is the size that I really loved) and I'm now almost too big for a size 24. I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition and shortly after discovered I was pregnant. I gained over 100lbs in the past 2yrs (with thyroid and pregnancy) and I have tried every diet and exercise regimen...but they just don't work. My friend's comments made me feel bad as if I was a slacker for even considering the surgery. Did anyone else have a similar response from friends/family?

Yes, you read correctly. It's a long and convoluted story...I thought my weight gain was due to something else and then I found out about the hypothyroidism and then the pregnancy so I ignored it and assumed I could just lose it after the baby was born. However, I didn't lose the weight and just continued to gain more. Now I need to do something to stop this vicious cycle.

Marnetta - It certainly sounds like you know where I'm coming from. Your first appt is 2 days after mine. Maybe we should talk after yours and discuss our "take" on the information we received. I would love to have a friend that is going through the same process as me. Are you a self-pay or trying to get your insurance to pay?

Thank you so much, Dave!

Malexander - I think you are so right. The general perception is that once you have the surgery, the weight just falls off with little to no effort. From what I've read, there's still the need to manage your nutrition, exercise, etc. Thanks for the encouragement!