Hi Kimberly, Welcome to the site. There are a lot of great people on here with great advice. I'm 47 years old and have been heavy all my life. I was in the 6th grade when my doctor placed me on a diet. I too have been on every diet that you can imagine. I actually tried to get gastric bypass back in the 80's but the insurance company I had back then didn't think I qualified for the surgery. They thought I wasn't heavy enough. It took me many years to think about having weight loss surgery again as I didn't want to get my hopes up again and be denied by my insurance. Finally last year I started looking into WLS again. I did my research and I felt the lapband was for me. It's less invasive and they are not cutting or removing anything. I had my lapband surgery July 2, 2013. It's the best think that I could have done for myself. I have lost 42 pounds so far. I feel fantastic. I recently had my labs done and everything is in normal range. My doctor wants me to lose a few more pounds and then she is going to take me off of my cholesterol meds. My cholesterol is at 130 now. My triglycerides is at 72 when I use to be over 200. For years I had to take arthritis meds for my knees. I no longer need them!! It has to be your decision has to what kind of WLS is right for you. Good luck to you in whatever decision you make.