SBL commented:My SIL had bariatric surgery because she started getting the fatty liver disease that was majorly affecting her health. She exercised religiously after the surgery (starting with swimming) and the weight has been dropping off. She attributes the exercise to helping her not get the droopy skin. Also, her type 2 diabetes went away. She was very good about sticking to the amount and types of food that she was supposed to eat and I think you would be able to do that too.

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Yeah, I think so, too. I'm actually pretty good about food -- low cholesterol, barely abnormal triglycerides (usually a diabetic's nightmare) and my HBa1c is almost normal. Not being very mobile is my biggest issue, an issue which I think will be resolved by weight loss. My knee has never stopped being swollen. My orthopedist was commenting on that last time he saw me. I am sure it's from the arthritis and my hope is that if I lose weight, I can make that joint replacement last a very long time and avoid needing to replace the other part of the joint for a good many years more. It'll also make it so I can realistically teach, which means I could finish up finally and be done with my credential and get to do what I like to do.

I have concerns about the vitamin deficiencies that many bariatric patients experience. I have two friends who had it with really awful issues. One had intestinal blockages and is now on lifelong blood infusions. The other has her insides held together by a net. That doesn't seem like a step up, you know?

They both had the Rue en Y surgery, which is where they cut into the stomach and reconnect stuff. It's very invasive, requires a bit of a hospital stay, and seems to me to be a good reason to get the lap band because if things go terribly wrong, it can be removed pretty easily and the lap band is an outpatient procedure. With any luck at all, if things were to go wrong, I will have already dropped a significant amount of weight and be mobile again enough to be able to keep it off.

Right now, I know I am wavering on the cusp of permanent disability and being able to have a say in how my future plays out. I think if I wait too much longer, I won't have any say and will be unsaying it from a wheelchair.