Thank you judijo for this wonderful response. I too need to participate in a 6 month program and need to find a primary asap. My therapist will attest that wls is what I need as will my endocrinologist perhaps with some coaxing. Im not sure what to ask them to say, if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your journey.. I know I must make a move one way or another. The life I am living now is not a life. I merely exist.. Peace to you and yours...

I will tell you how I decided. (Thanks for the complement on the pic. That is actually a "before". I am MUCH wrinklier now, 75 pounds later. LOL)

I, too, dieted for years. I reached a "goal" weight twice in my life...once on weight watchers when I was about 20 (weight from 185 to about 150), and once when I was about 23 (about the same weight loss). After I met my now husband, I continued to gain weight, bit by bit. I was about 220 on my wedding day. About 240 when my first child was born. About 270 when the 2nd child was born, and I ran around 260-300, trying different eating plans, like WW and nutrisystem, etc. About 2.5 years ago, I joined Jenny Craig and after about 3 months I could not STAND their food anymore and just gave up, after "only" losing about 25 lbs.

I knew a couple people who had weight loss surgery (WLS), including my best friend from high school, who had a gastric stapling >20 years ago, which ended up failing her. Another cyber-friend died from a bad surgeon (she was too sick to begin with...she should have never had the surgery). A couple co-workers were very successful, and they had it via "our" insurance plan. I called the person who was in charge of the "bariatric" program in that medical group, who clued me in to what I needed to get started. I changed to a primary care physcian whose wife I knew had WLS, and he got me started. 1.5 years later I had it done. My medical group requires a 6 month nutrition and lifestyle classwork for WLS patients. My insurance required I had proof of trying to lose weight without success for at least 6 months. My records had at least 6 YEARS! LOL

Anyway...my final decision was based on the following...at some point, when I would seek a weight loss option, I knew it would be fruitless. There was no light at the end of the tunnel to a manageable goal weight. The tunnel was totally dark. In my late 40s by this time, although I had become comfortable in my skin, my health was beginning to show the effects of holding all that extra weight...blood pressure was up...blood sugar was rising...I was beginning to not feel good by the end of the day, as my energy level was waning. I knew I would be dead in 5-10 years if I did nothing. If I died from the effects of the surgery, at least I would have died trying to make myself a healthier person.

WLS is a major decision. Each of us must make it for our individual reasons. Good Luck to you!