What Is (or Was) Holding You Back from Weight Loss Surgery?

[Alex Brecher 10,515]

You need to consider a lot of factors before choosing to get weight loss surgery, and many of these factors can make you hesitate to get the surgery. If you have not had weight loss surgery, which of the following is preventing you from getting weight loss surgery? If you have already had the surgery, which of these delayed your procedure?

• Your insurance does not cover it and it costs too much.
• Your primary care doctor is not supportive.
• Your friends or family are against the idea of weight loss surgery.
• You are not sure which type of weight loss surgery is best for you.
• You are afraid of complications or side effects from weight loss surgery.
• You do not know if it will help you lose weight.
• Other - please tell us below!

Please mark your answer and then explain it in the discussion below!

[Comfy_Blue 285]

I choose "You are afraid of complications or side effects from weight loss surgery" because at the time, I didn't know anyone personally who had had the procedure. So, all I knew about WLS was what I saw on television and had heard second hand from others.

All I heard was negative stuff, like about losing your hair, dumping syndrome, people being lefts with 20+ lbs pounds of excess skin, people losing their teeth and getting brittle bones from malnutrition, slippage and eroding (lap band patients), people dying, people going through WLS and then gaining all their weight back.

I also saw a story about a woman who had WLS (can't remember which one anymore) but she kept losing and losing, and wasn't able to stop. She looked really sickly and I was afraid that might happen to me.

I also choose, "You do not know if it will help you lose weight" because I had tried EVERYTHING it seemed (phentermine, starving myself, Dexatrim, exercising 2 - 3 hours a day, Medifast, Slim Fast, Atkins Diet, Weightwatchers, Veganism, gluten-free diet, eating small meals/snacks every 1 - 2 hours, working with a nutritionist, getting a personal trainer, etc) and I would either lose weight and quickly put it back on, remain the same, or sometimes gain weight.

I feared that I would do something so extreme as WLS and alter my body and it wouldn't work leaving me forever "broken". I mean if WLS didn't work, I would have no other options outside of liposuction (which REALLY scares me)

Edited June 26, 2014 by Comfy_Blue

[Rainbow1958 8]

Thank you for your post. I have gone back and forth with the decision to have surgery. When i told my mother she didn't seem to approve of the idea. Heck, I think to myself, "Why can't I lose the weight on my own" I have tried all the diets you mention above and nothing works long term. I see that you are post surgery 6 months and it looks like it is working for you. Despite my mother's raised eyebrows I am proceeding. Every test is done, insurance approval complete, just waiting for approval from surgical board. I am excited and scared all at the same time. Thanks for the inspiration!!

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

Hey Alex my Mother is on board to get wls, However her pcp won't advise it because she has Afib, and a pacemaker and her Cardio Surgeon says he doesn't think her heart can take it , even though she is morbidly obese , have you ever heard of wls Surgeons operating on some one with a pacemaker or Afib , she really wants the surgery , but she also says she doesn't want to pay that much , but I told her so you would rather be at the Doctors and Hospital paying that much or more every year then to be healthy and not pay that much , so now she is considering it , just thought this applied to this topic.

[gowalking 10,790]

I chose 'other' because for me, it was fear of the unknown. I was so worried about losing the comfort of food. I was in such bad shape but at least I knew what each day would bring. This was so foreign to me....eating slow, eating small, getting stuck, walking away from the table without eating everything in sight....I couldn't imagine my future.

Of course, now I can't imagine my life without lapband. It's given me my health back, my mobility, my femininity....my everything.

Edited June 26, 2014 by gowalking

[mi75 1,239]

GREAT poll Alex! I chose 'other'. My big hold up was actually food. yes, the thing i wanted to get away from was the thing that held down the pause button for me for over a year.

It's hard enough to admit you have a food addiction, but like most other addictions, 'just quitting' is almost never possible. I simply was not ready to bid farewell to my friend, food.

Now I am 3 days post op. Only 3. But...well, besides the soreness and the drain I have to deal with, I already feel better!

Today I went outside to just stroll around the yard while my hubby mowed the lawn. My husband came up to me and wiped a few tears and said to me "it's just so good to see you outside again after so long"...you see, it had been at least 2 years, maybe 3 since I had gone outside to bask in the sun, sit in a lawn chair, just enjoy the fresh air. before surgery, my only priority was sitting inside and eating as much as I could. Now i KNOW that this surgery will change my life.

[PRINCESSM 210]

I would say all of the above had a small part in it. Also until very recently I didnt think I was that big, not big enough for something so drastic. Ha! If being double your ideal weight isnt big enough for surgery what is? So I guess for me the obstacle was denial.

[Kindle 8,667]

My first instinct was to select the first option. My insurance does not cover WLS and it is expensive, but that didn't really delay anything. I used my entire savings that I had earmarked for a new truck, and put the rest on a credit card. I decided to have WLS in the spring of 2013. I researched day and night and by July I had decided which surgery and which surgeon to use. I then had to wait until December when I could take the time off from work. So basically the biggest delay for my surgery was squeezing it into my busy work schedule. And I'm still happily driving my 15 year old Ford

Edited June 26, 2014 by Kindle

[cutlass6521 127]

I had a complete fear of total failure!

I am very grateful that I have been proven wrong.

like that famous sports ad says "Just Do It"

[Alex Brecher 10,515]

Hey Alex my Mother is on board to get wls, However her pcp won't advise it because she has Afib, and a pacemaker and her Cardio Surgeon says he doesn't think her heart can take it , even though she is morbidly obese , have you ever heard of wls Surgeons operating on some one with a pacemaker or Afib , she really wants the surgery , but she also says she doesn't want to pay that much , but I told her so you would rather be at the Doctors and Hospital paying that much or more every year then to be healthy and not pay that much , so now she is considering it , just thought this applied to this topic.

Your mom's situation is really a tough one. I understand why her cardio doc is so hesitant but on the other hand having WLS might actually allow her to overcome much of what she's dealing with today. I'd seek a second (and maybe even a 3rd) opinion and see what those docs recommend.

[SBell35 19]

My answer is "Other". My insurance at my old job used to cover it, then the coverage got carved out. I decided to make a change for myself in quite a few areas and found a new job! This job has spectacular insurance!!!

My surgery is going to be quite affordable after all is said and done. If I could have surgery tomorrow I would, I know the risks and am just ready to start the next chapter of my life!

[MrsVanderbilt 29]

I thought WLS was for only the super morbidly obese. I didn't know that you didn't have to be over 500 lbs to get WLS. When a family member suggested it I was really offended at first, but after some research I realized that it might be the right thing for me. Now I'm 30+ lbs lighter and off one of my blood pressure medications. Although I'm only 6 weeks out, I wish I would've gotten the sleeve sooner.

[Musicmom65 12]

I have jumped through all the hoops but the sleep study is holding me back. I am ready but the doctors have not given me a date. I only have a window of time this summer to give myself the full month and the surgery date is not set yet. So I may have to wait a whole year to have it. I am scared that I won't be successful if I wait. Sometimes I feel that the doctors support having the surgery but they don't take individuals into account.

[Travelmego 235]

1. I thought the surgery would not be covered by my insurance. Turns our the bypass is but not the sleeve. I want the sleeve. I figured it would be way too expensive to self pay. Then i saw the post about affordable surgery in Mexico, I had no idea that was even an option. Once I figured out it was and that I could afford that route, I wasted little time in researching, finding a surgeon and scheduling. I am still pre-op.

2. Things that concerned me most were quality of life post surgery. I want this surgery so I can get off medicine (diabetes etc.). I didn't want to be stuck taking meds for mal absorption -hence choosing the sleeve. I also didn't want to condemn myself to eating little meals and end up not being able to keep the weight off even with a reduced stomach.It just seemed stupid to me to end up fat again with a restricted stomach. If I were going to be fat again anyway - darn it I want to eat a full sized meal! I guess that was my last little mental hurdle - not being able to eat a full sized meal.. Realistically, I shouldn't be doing that anyway because of sugar issues. I guess in my dreams I could lose the weight on my own, beat diabetes, and then eat all the junk I want and still be skinny without diabetes. Absurd. I have reminded myself that I can actually occasionally eat my 'favorite meals' someday but spread it out over 3 or 4 meals instead of one. I learned to do it to control sugar issues and it was fine.

[Tisa 52]

I chose other. For me it wasn't about the fear. Well when I first heard about the surgery, but after doing research for a few weeks I wasn't afraid/ I was willing to accept the risks. It was more about my age at the time. I was 16 I'm now 18. I didn't have the resources or maturity. Now I have a job, I drive, I have money I can go out and buy my own groceries. I'm better at cooking (back then i could barely saute an onion). Now I can be responsible for my own health. I have also had time to reflect. I don't look at food the same, I'm now a vegetarian, soon to be vegan. I question everything I put into my body, and ruled out a lot of foods/ ingredients. I think im in a good place to do it now