[Hi NYU
My name is Brandy and I have had mixed reviews just like you. I barely made the BMI of 40 and I have no current medial conditions that I know of. I am scheduled for November and I have come to the ultimate decision that this would be my own personal plight. I told 2 people and based on their feed back I decided that I would not seek out anymore friends or families advice. That ultimately it was my decision and my life so I am going with whats in my heart. I am 5ft 9 and 272lbs because I am built very solid and wear it well (if there is such a thing as wearing 272lbs well). To look at me most people would be shocked to learn my weight because most people say I pegged you to be 220 or 230 maximum. So of course when I told a close friend of mine she called me an extremest "oh come on develop more discipline and lose about 50 pounds you don't need a major operation such as this" she even said "this kind of operation is for people with hundreds of pounds to lose you are taking the easy way out and in the process making a very risky decision" Ok I have been researching for almost 6 months and have spoken to a few people who have had LB, easy way out, I dont think so. I tried to shake off her comments and look deeper within and ask if there was some truth to what she had said but ultimately my answer was no. I still felt I was making the right choice.
Then the 2nd person I told was my boyfriend who had the same comments as she had. You are beautiful the way you are, it's to risky, alter your eating habits a bit I think you can do something about those few extra pounds on your own. (few extra pounds was his exact words, that funny a few is 5-10) Ok so at this point I am feeling like no one is behind me whole heartedly. The 2 people I have told are in the nay pile and in the yay pile there is only me. So I made the decision not to convince my friends and love ones that this is a good decision but instead to just go with what feels right in my heart. I have decided that this will be my private journey.
PS I did tell my supervisor at work becuase I will be needing to use a lot of my personal days for pre-surgery screening, and a few days off after surgery. I told him for that reason and that reason only. In other words I was not looking for his approval or disapproval. Guess what he instanly became my own little cheering squad. That shocked me but made me feel really good at the same time. We sat down in his office and talked for almost an hour he congradulated me, wished me well and offered an ear if I needed to talk as I get closer to my surgery day and even after. So you see Others opinions may feel very relavent but in the end it is your opinion that counts the most. It is at this time that you should do some soul searching and make the decision that is right for you.