Lorijp

I was visiting family and one of my nieces had lost alot of weight, I asked her how she did it and she sat down and told me she has a gastric sleeve procedure, it was the first time she had told anyone in the family and we were all shocked that nobody knew she went through surgery, but she looked wonderful.  She told me some experiences that did not sound great, and I wasn't sure this was anything I would be interested in, however was jealous of how great she looked.  When I got home, I started researching a gastric balloon procedure, thinking it was temporary and what did I have to loose (besides $6,000!).  So I made an appointment with a surgeon at the Nicholson Clinic.  I told him that being 60 I was so discouraged with how difficult it was for me to loose weight, I felt like I was eating right and doing exercise, but it was just not coming off.  I hated getting dressed up and never enjoyed shopping or going anywhere special because I felt awful about how I looked and had been fighting to loose 50+ pounds since menopause.  He then asked me if I had the balloon procedure and only lost 10-20 lbs, how would I feel.  I pretty much said I would be pissed after spending that much money and not being further along.  So he said he wanted to discuss the sleeve procedure.  I told him about the bad experiences that my niece had and he walked through everything with me, making it sound like something I may want to consider.  My husband and I left that appointment and spent the next couple days discussing it.  I would blurt out at random times of the day different things I was thinking about regarding the procedure, both pros and cons.  About three days later I called and made the appointment for the surgery.  I had the surgery in October, I am down 35lb, still would like to loose 15-20 more, but I feel sooooo much better, if I don't get down anymore I would be ok with that.  I can wear clothes that I feel good in again and I feel like myself again.  I guess to sum it up, I'm not sure I could/would have done this when I first started gaining weight, running my kids around and constantly running with their activities, I admire people who can.  But at my age to feel the way I did and to think about spending the rest of my lift discouraged and unhappy with the way I looked and felt, was just not appealing.  I did not have any health problems, so I guess I could basically say I did this just for me, and I am happy I did!!