Wasnt really sure where to post ... Ive been wondering.

[piratess]

Ive been wondering over the past few days what makes somone decide that WLS is the only way to lose weight?

Im just over 15 stone im 5f2 and a size 20 ... This is to some people not alot overweight but for me it is a huge problem I suffer with non existent self esteem. low self worth. and am on antidepressents.
Ive tried diet after diet after diet and i always lose weight but then regain plus more ...

I would really seriously consider surgery if i could find a way to raise the money

So i was just wondering what was the final straw for you?
What clicked and told you that YES i must do this?

sorry if im being nosey ....

Kirsty xx

 

[Fashionably Late]

It was my daughter telling me that she was being picked on for having a fat mum. I had tried everything in the world prior to WLS and finally decided enough was enough.

 

[ditzeeblonde]

Feeling like I didn't want to leave the house or see people & then getting diagnosed with diabetes!

 

[piratess]

Thanks so much for replying, I completly understand what you mean! .. My daughter comes home some days and will say. "oh so and so says your really fat" ..
it tears me apart that she is also carrying this on her shoulders!
it makes me feel useless ....

Just wish i could raise the money to go into this properly.

Thanks ditzy .. our posts crossed, The going outside is where im at everyday, If it wasnt for my son needing to be taken to school id sit in everyday ... if im in the safety of my home then it means i dont have to deal with anybody or keep my head down trying to avoid eye contact.x

 

[Neen]

I just became a hermit and knew that I had no chance of getting rid of 16stone of excess or even making a dent in it alone.
Also , it's keeping off what I lose as well that is different from not having surgery..I would lose a stone or two but become overwhelmed and put it back on.

 

[seawaves]

I think for me there was a number of reasons, but the main one being, in the middle of a nightclub 2 yrs ago (boxing day night) & a bunch of teenage boys yelling abuse at me, louder than the music was playing, there is a bit more to the story but that was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak, i was also starting to experience aches & pains & realised that if i didn't do something my 24st would turn into 34st & upwards!

 

[Nightwitch]

same issues....low self esteem, low self confidence (all carefully hidden behind a mask of the opposite when with my friends)
always hateed the way i looked and didn't allow myself to get that "close" to people, figured if i didn't like myself enough why would they like me....blah blah blah
anyways....someone i know had this op 2 years ago and just seeing what it did for her after a few months made that little connection click in my head that this WOULD work for me and off to my GP i went, 1 year later i was in surgery
.....plus i turned 30 this year and figured it was now or never really....time to claim my life back and actually have fun living it

8 months on i am now happier than i have been in a long time and my friends love the "new me"...or at least they like the fact that now everyone gets to really see the ME that they see...i am one of these people that if i know you really well i will open up, be more bubbly, noisy, etc but if i dont know people i would be super shy and be the listener rather than joining in.

 

[piratess]

Neen Em and Michelle thanks so much for replying .. i can relate to almost everything you say its scary ...

I think it will help to start a diary of sorts to explain things a little deeper as long as i dont bore people ...

I have to admit i do feel a little bit of a fraud .. like i say about my weight .. but to me it is a huge burden ..
Im shy around people i dont know i walk around with a mask on which says hey im bubbly and happy look at me ! ...
and behind my front door im a wreck ....

I really do appreciate all your replies, I know im new and i dont post often but im on this site daily and i read and read and read ...
Just feel to shy to post or reply ... feel i dont know enough ..

again guys thanks xx

 

[Deets]

same issues....low self esteem, low self confidence (all carefully hidden behind a mask of the opposite when with my friends)
always hateed the way i looked and didn't allow myself to get that "close" to people, figured if i didn't like myself enough why would they like me....blah blah blah
anyways....someone i know had this op 2 years ago and just seeing what it did for her after a few months made that little connection click in my head that this WOULD work for me and off to my GP i went, 1 year later i was in surgery
.....plus i turned 30 this year and figured it was now or never really....time to claim my life back and actually have fun living it

8 months on i am now happier than i have been in a long time and my friends love the "new me"...or at least they like the fact that now everyone gets to really see the ME that they see...i am one of these people that if i know you really well i will open up, be more bubbly, noisy, etc but if i dont know people i would be super shy and be the listener rather than joining in.

im very much like that too..freaky reading it written down

Its pretty much the above that has helped me to decided that surgery is needed. Im hoping to have the surgery in the new year...just saving the pennies. Im 5"2, 18 stones and 32 - has to stop now

 

[ernurseashley]

Hey, for me WLS is a last resort. I have been overweight pretty much my entire life. I have been on every diet that you could think of, and it seems like I have only gotten larger. I am at my largest that I have ever been now. I do feel depressed all the time now and I find me making excuses so that I don't have to go out of the house except for work. I have lost all my self esteem and sense of self worth. I guess all that put together, was my last straw.

 

[phatmomma]

I think it was when i thought about going to a slimming club (AGAIN) and being diabetic.... I think most of us just wake up one morning and realise we can't do it alone...

 

[angie790]

Same as everyone else I guess, being overweight & yo-yo dieting from an early teen...no self-worth & no confidence, gradually becoming more reclusive, the creeping-in co-morbidities due to being obese, and probably the biggest factor, family history...both my Nan & Mum died at 52 & they both started rapidly going downhill health-wise at 40....so with 40 looming I sort of panicked & decided I really didn't want to go the same way....clearly I had to accept I couldn't maintain my weight sensibly or indeed lose weight for any significant amount of time on my own so I bit the bullet, ignored the embarrassment & waddled along to my Dr's!!!!

 

[dottychic]

Pretty much the same for a lot of us I reckon. My main one became health issues, diabetes type 11, very high blood pressure, 2 strokes, knackered joints and lower back to the point Im in a wheelchair blah blah blah.....If I didnt get surgery I wouldnt still be here in a couple of years! Im only 6 weeks out and already I have stopped having any treatment for my diabetes and blood pressure so theres the proof in the pudding so to speak Im a happy bunny! XX

 

[biggy123]

For years I'd never look in a mirror apart from a small face one and I now realise I would deliberately try not to catch sight of myself in a shop window.
What brought about my decision to have surgery was being on holiday in a cottage that had about six full length mirrors and I really SAW myself for the first time in years.
I just couldn't deny how big I was any more and a few weeks later I went to Manchester for my op. Best thing I've done.

 

[Zionaka]

Our stories all seem so similar. This thread touches a very deep nerve.

For me, at 23+ stones I felt like I had reached a point where I could not pull myself back from alone. I could not mentally face another slimming class to lose and regain. The thought of losing 5 stones I could almost face, but to lose in excess of 11 stones seemed like a mountain I did not have the strength to climb, had no more uumph left to fight my weight.

My weight was also affecting my children, nasty comments from other children and I just did not want my babies to be embarassed by me, even if I was embarassed by myself.

I saw my daughter begin to fight the demons of weight... painful to watch he life mirroring mine, I so want to show her that this fat can be beaten and overcome, not that I would want her to reach the point ewhere she needs surgery to overcome obesity, but I'm hoping my new healthier lifestyle choices impact positively on her.

We are a long time dead, one life to live... I want to live mine to the fullest, the health issues were starting to affect me, I really felt like I was drowning under the sheer volume of my weight, I felt stiffled and like I was a fraction of the person I am meant to be.

It all sounds so cliched when I say it to myself and type it, but it is what it is.

 

[kurvykaren]

Hi hun
I'm sure a lot of us are the big bubbly people when we're in public but totally different when we're at home.
I myself feel like Ive been dieting for 20 years but steadily getting bigger. I know way back in 1995 I transferred to a new office with my job and I distinctly remember wearing a size 12 skirt, so I must have been around 11stone then (I'm 5ft 8). Now I'm up to 28stone! So the diets didn't work!

For ages I didn't think that surgery was an option for me, it was only for really big people (hello! - when was I going to wake up to myself!!), then in January this year, after a few months of visits to my GP and blood tests for my constant tiredness, I was referred to the hospital and had a sleep study, where they told me I had sleep apnoea (I now sleep with a CPAP machine). I also saw an Endocrinologist who did more tests to see if there was a medical reason for my obesity, which there wasn't, and he recommended to my GP that I be referred for surgery. So in April he sent off my referral, and my surgery is planned for 21 February.

It is a big decision, but this forum is so helpful and informative you can ask all the questions you want - there will always be advice from others for you.

Visit your GP and have a chat to him/her. Tell them how you're feeling, and ask for a referral. It doesn't hurt to talk to the experts who can advise you on your options.

 

[Dell]

My health and happiness. I turned 40 last year and with it my health started to deteriorate. I was around 22stone and 5'4". I know we're all different but I'd not have condidered it at your size tbh. xxx

 

[thinkbethin]

I knew it was the only way for me as every time I tried slimming clubs I would gain double what I lost. Plus the fact that I had 3 strokes chronic brittle asthma and then diebetes. I too would avoid seeing people and stay in the house for weeks on end which was a lot of strain and stress for my poor hubby. I wanted so much to be slimmer and fitter for when I started getting grandkids. I got one sooner than I thought too so was real glad I had started my weight loss journey.

 

[blueeyes]

I got to a point where it just was such a mental struggle to even start a new diet, join yet another slimming club. When you've got THAT much weight to lose it seems near impossible to achieve all on your own. I kept saying 'what makes me think I can do it this time, when I've failed countless other times and gained back more and more'. It just seemed so daunting and such a huge undertaking. I couldn't do it.
Then I looked into surgery and something quite magical happened.. HOPE. I now have hope that I can actually do this. No, meanwhile I have somewhat firm belief I can lose weight with the help of a bypass. It's quite mindblowing.

I have a list of reasons as long as my arm as to why I want to lose weight. But this is the reason I considered surgery as a tool to assist me.

 

[Lola K]

For me it is the lack of mobility.... I am fine with my self image, never had any self esteem issues, and always been confident - but when you have problems reaching areas of the body in the shower... asking someone to buckle your shoes..... going out in the snow with no socks on your feet, as you can't bend down to put them on...... something had to be done...... and after 30 years of 'standard' diets.... it was obvious they wasn't going to work! - then came the dreadded Diabetes......

hopefully I will have a bypass in a couple of weeks..... but, I am still nervous about it, and wondering if I am doing the right thing....... this is no easy way out, and its a huge decision to make xxxxxxxxxx

Good luck with your journey xxxxxxxxx