chimeraboo
My name is Sonya. I am 28 years old, and I have been overweight since for about 20 years. In retrospect I believe the reason why I became overweight in the first place is lack of activity. I also used to hide food and eat a lot of junk when I was a kid, so combined with the lack of activity, the weight just piled on, and on, and on. I have a few weight-related health issues...two of which I have had since I was 14 years old. Weight has also severely affected my self esteem and my personality. To some degree, I am scared to be me, because of my size.
I have tried and tried to lose my weight through diet and exercise but the truth is I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A HEALTHY WEIGHT-LOSS DIET CONSISTS OF! Do I eat a salad and fruit all day? Or should I just do low carb? Maybe I should eat 5 small meals a day, or wait, should I just eat only when I'm really hungry? Maybe I really can eat whatever I want, as long as I exercise, but then how much exercise should I be doing? Then again, maybe counting calories is the key to exercise, but how many calories do I need to eat to lose weight? Maybe it would better to just starve myself and exercise instead. I have tried all of these things with minor, short-term results. So now I am turning to WLS to help me achieve, God-willing, permanent weight loss.
I have never sincerely considered WLS until very recently. My weight seems to be going up for reasons I can't fully wrap my mind around. I am really unhappy and discouraged with my current weight situation, as well as the toll it is taking on my body and self esteem. I honestly feel I will not be able to achieve a healthy weight without surgical intervention.
Right now I am in the process of comparing the Lap Band to the RnY and deciding which surgery is best for me. Its so hard to make the right decision regarding this. I think Lap Band is good because the weightloss is slower, and the slower weightloss might keep my skin from being saggy. Plus the risks associated with surgery seem a lot lower than with RnY. My concern with Lap Band is that something might end up being wrong with my device, and then I will have to pay for more surgery (which my insurance may not cover). Also all the vomiting and eating issues I have read about people with the band, is scary. I think the RnY is good because it helps people lose weight faster. The cons are the risks from surgery are higher, and so is the overall cost of the surgery. My ideal choice would be the VGS (vertical gastric sleeve) but I hear most insurance companies don't approve of this surgery, so its not even an option at this point.
While I am very excited about seeing myself healthier and feeling better about myself I have some fears regarding WLS. I don't want to end up with saggy breasts, or a saggy butt. I don't want to pay all this money for my part of the surgery, and find out later that I will have to pay more for repairs, revisions, or any other complication. I don't want to lose my life trying to improve it. I have a lot of faith in God, but these things concern me.
With a lot of research and prayer, I hope to be able to have my surgery in early March.
