WLS ...Yes or No

Though everyone has their own decisions to make in Life and needs to find their own path. At this time in my life I find myself wondering if WLS is the tool I need to be successful in my goal to lose weight. I know some people are totally against WLS and think people should work harder/eat less.

At 5'1 I currently weigh in at 233.4 lbs.. This is the HEAVIEST I have been in my entire life. Never in my life have I had to work to be thin, but I have worked at it.. I have utilized online tools and weight loss books, and programs and I have never accomplished losing more than 10lbs.. My life was super hectic in Japan and left no time for exercise.. I looked in the mirror one day and decided I needed to change. I hired a personal trainer, I ran with a friend and still the scale never budged more than 10lbs..

Now I live in Florida, I have struggled with my weight for at least 7 years and according to the chart my target "healthy" weight for a person my height should be 122lbs.. Whoa that is 111 1lbs.. So the struggle begins again, but being back stateside I have more options available to me.

I had a medical appointment and spoke with this Doctor about WLS and he gave me a referral to General Surgery.
2 weeks later I walk into general Surgery with my husband and we sit in the waiting room. I have been researching WLS for at least 3 years. I have filled out paperwork, I have tried to qualify when I lived in Japan to be able to come back stateside and have the surgery but it never worked out because I did not live stateside.

So I read the pamphlets and the flip chart while waiting in the room for the Doctor to arrive. He comes in chats briefly then invites us to his office, he says I am a candidate and explains the 3 different types of surgery. Lap Band, RNY Gastric and the Vertical Sleeve Gastric. I have never been a fan of the information and complications I have found with the Lap Band so I knew that one was off the table for me. However I had never heard of the Vertical Sleeve.. After discussing with the Doctor and my Husband this would be the route I would choose, the Vertical sleeve. The Doctor lets me know that based on my current weight and BMI I qualify as a candidate for WLS. He gives me his card and the Nurses card and tells me I need to call the Nurse to get set up..

3 Days later I am still waiting to hear back from the Nurse.. So I feel a bit in limbo because I have no clue what the next step is or what this means..

I know that there are pre-requisits you need to do for your insurance company for WLS. I know there are Group meetings to attend, nutritionists to see and a psych eval to pass before you can actually have the surgery. Can this lady give me a call back already! I mean come on....

So for me I guess I have made my decision and I am opting for WLS. If however in the process I lose the weight and become ineligible well then boulie for me, right? I am in the beginning steps of preparing my life for the change and with those preparations come my husband and children.. We have to look at what we eat as a family and adjust so that they do not have to go through this at my age.. I look forward to when the changes begin and to a time when I do not tire easily and can enjoy bike rides/long walks/paddling/playing games with them and being as full of energy as they are instead of always having to sit on the side lines..

My BMI:

You have a BMI of 44.
This indicates that you are Extremely Obese.
Your BMI is high enough to qualify you for bariatric surgery.

The table below shows value ranges and what they mean.

Range	Meaning
less than 18.5	Underweight
18.5 - 24.9	Normal
25.0 - 29.9	Overweight
30.0 - 39.9	Obese
40.0 - 50	Extremely Obese
over 50	Super Obese