Mommyto3

Hello All: My name is Ali and I am 37 years old. I live in Gahanna, Ohio which is a Suburb of Columbus, Ohio (Go Buckeyes!) I am new to the boards and am sure will have tons of questions. The reason why I started looking for weight loss procedures is due to a recent visit to my PCP. I had brought a list of "ailments" that I have been complaining of for years in the attempts to start getting these issues addressed. After speaking to him about various pains and problems I was continually having, he suggested Gastric Bypass Surgery. I am overweight, 254 LBS to be exact and am having a very hard time getting the weight off. I have been attempting to lose the weight by doing the Slim Fast Diet, along with taking Adipex and also joining Jazzercise in my area. After a few weeks, nothing is happening still. Also at Jazzercise, I was given a BMI of 45....WOW was I shocked and boy was I woken up the fact of how overweight I must really be. Anyways to make a long story short, my doctor suggested this surgery, as he believes that my GERD, Barretts Esphogaus, my Joint Pain and sleep Apnea my be all related to me being overweight and if I take care of "this" problem that I may see improvements in other areas? After doing some individual research, I have come to the conclusion by 100% that I will NOT be getting Gastric Bypass. The mortality rate as far as I am concerned is way to high. Whether this be surgery related or not, a 1 in 50 to a 1 in 200 chance of death is crazy as I have a wonderful family that needs their wife/mother around much longer:rolleyes2: My question for you all is did any of you have similar conditions to me that eventually went away after the surgery. What about reversal techniques, is this quite common after desired weight loss? What is more of the common side effects after surgery? How long did it take for you to heal? (I have a very bad problem of not healing quickly- Doctor cannot figuare it out?) Are you overall happy with your decision? Where did you find the most support when you first decided to look into Weight Loss? After doing some more research, I have noticed that individuals that need to be qualified for the surgery must meet specific criteria including, being over 100lbs or more, 40 BMI or greater, no health problems that are related to being overweight, no alcholic problems and also that you have attempted to lose weight or been overwieght for at least 5 years. My problem is I have only been overweight for about 4 years now but not always have I been this large. I have gradually gotten to this point, so I am nervous they could reject me. I understand every insurance is different when it comes to guidelines, I just wanted to receive a census of how long you may have had your weight problems. Lastly, does anyone know of a qualified surgeon in the Columbus area? Alright, I am sorry for all the questions, I am just very nervous about this whole idea and would love to hear some of your expert advice. Thank you so much for listening and I hope to become a very active member of this forum. Take care, Ali

Thank you you all for your replies and welcomes. I quite honestly am very nervous about all this and need alot of support to understand what is going on with me. I guess since my last pregnancy I have become very laxed about my eating habits. I used to own my own retail store and 4 internet companies. There was TONS and TONS of stress in my life and I was always on the go, which lead to eating out alot. In previous years before I became overweight, I never seemed to have these problems, so I suppose it makes sense that the extra weight could be contributing to alot of my ailments. Definately the sleep apnea is a major contribution, but I am now learning the GERD is as well. My joint pain may or may not be related as the my doctor feels it is a more connective nerve disorder than arthritis and also fibromyalgia. Relatively I am a very happy person, with a beatiful family and a healthy outlook to life, but the main area I keep struggling in is my weight. I believe I am finally ready to "take charge" and do something about it. I honestly do not feel I am ready for surgery, I would like it to be my last resort. Has anyone here had success stories of losing weight without surgery, even if they were contemplating surgery at one point? I suppose the idea of having the band on for life really scares me. Mindy you suggested that I don't think of it as having it temporarily and with this being said I agree. If I was too consider the surgery, I would really need to go into it thinking I would have it forever, and honestly that thought is frightening to me. Anytime my body is "adjusted" or organs taken out or surgeons cutting into me, I get quite scared.... (long stories for feeling this way) In my heart I feel I CAN conqore this disease if I focus and realize it is truly a disease and I better get my S*** together. The main reasons why I have had so much trouble in the last few years to lose the weight is due to getting hurt everytime I try and exercise. Almost 4 years ago when I had my son, I went to exercise doing a low impact program. A few minutes after I started, I heard a pop in my left knee and I ended up tearing my tendons and ligaments in my knee in which I needed physical therapy for months. After that, I noticed I started having different kinds of joint pains, sometimes that would not be so bad, but more often than not, they were so bad I could not do much exercising. Then in December of 2005, I was pregnant with my last baby (born Jan 6) and it was Christmas Eve, I coughed and again, a huge pop was heard. This time I broke my rib from coughing...:tongue2: It was horrible. Since all this happened I have gone through a bone scan and found out that I do have osteopenia, which is a step down from osteoporosis. My bones are very weak and it is quite nerve racking when I want to exercise and fear something else may break. After saying all this, I still feel in my heart that I can do this, I really want to stay positive and focused on my weight loss. I truly hope that I continue to stay strong and know that I have continued support from family and friends. Thank you again for letting me share. Ali