An Announcement!

After a lot of research and semi failed diet attempts, I have decided to have gastric bypass. I am writing this blog for two reasons. One to explain to all my friends and family en mass and two so that maybe it can serve as a resource for people contemplating bariatric surgery for themselves. I know I was unable to find any real persons point of view info out there. So maybe this will help someone in the future. First a little back story and stats. I am currently 31 years old and weigh 325 lbs. I have been obese since high school weighing in at over 220 lbs my freshman year. My weight continued to increase after as I grew older, and when I had my first child I weighed 306 lbs. I managed to lose most of that weight with a combination of Weight Watchers and when I could no longer afford that, malnutrition. Years went by and I never managed to get below 220 lbs despite my best efforts. With my second child I ballooned up to 360 lbs. Shortly after she was born I considered Lap Band surgery. I quickly changed my mind when at the consultation the surgeon bluntly stated that bariatric surgery had the highest death rate among elective surgery.  I decided to do Weight Watchers, which is an excellent program and one I had done before. I did lose weight however it was extremely slow and was not cheap. I lost 60 lbs. over 2 years paying program fees of $959.76. That breaks done to 2.5 lbs and 39.99 a month. With the amount of weight I need to lose, if I continued on this program, it would take over 3 years and be very expensive!! That is not even including plateaus or food costs. I also started exercising more when time permitted. However due to the fact that my husband and I both work, time doesn't always permit. So my working out is sporadic  but I do go at least twice a week. Due to these factors  I returned to the idea of the Lap Band and asked my doctor for a referral to a bariatric  surgeon.

The surgeon that I was referred to required attendance at a seminar out lining all bariatric surgeries  My husband and I attended the seminar and found it very informative. The information we received made me realize that gastric bypass was a better fit for me. We learned that the Lap Band only has a 50% success rate and can have complications. Gastric bypass has a 95% success rate and very few complications. We also learned about the gastric sleeve which I was interested in, but my insurance will not pay for it. So we decided  gastric bypass was the best option all things considered.

So that is the direction I am going in. In a couple of days I will post some of the pros and cons I have been thinking about. Thanks for reading!

Measurements:
Arms 15'
Waist 43'

Hips 60'
Thighs 33'
Current Weight 325 lbs