Thank you guys.

jcavanna2: That is very helpful. I am quite a bit larger than you were so that's why my surgeon suggests the bypass. The 2 main reasons I do not want to have bypass is because in my mind, it is too drastic. I do not like the rerouting and all that is involved for a weight loss that is not much more than the sleeve. My second reason is that I have chronic migraines. They are genetic so weight loss will help but not eliminate them. I take NRCOs quite often to manage them without being dependent on my heavy medications. The ulcer risk associated with NRCOs and bypass is too much of a risk for me to be comfortable with.

Question- Did you guys have to deal with people in your life who were critical of your decision to have surgery?

@NicoleL874 I meant NSAIDs. I literally always have Advil Migraine on me and can take them up to a few times a week. My surgeon said that I would be ok with the sleeve and still taking Advil. And even after looking at my history of migraines and telling him how often I take Advil, he still wants me to do the bypass. I know I will need to find a way to cut down the amount of Advil I take without being miserable but I will also realistically not be able to cut the Advil out completely.

@jcavanna2 I take Fioricet. It's a pretty heavy narcotic, is really addicting and can cause rebound migraines. They are pretty hard to get a prescription for anymore due to their side effect so my primary and I have been trying other medications with no success. I avoid taking them unless it's an emergency but I have had migraines for 19 years and have not found anything else that even remotely helps with the more severe migraines. The migraines that I can tell are not going to get bad, I just deal with. The ones that are starting to get bad, I try to catch early enough with Advil Migraine (Excedrin and Tylenol don't work for me) and if a migraine gets severe, I take the Fioricet.

I dont really have too many people I need to tell about me getting surgery. I don't plan on telling my friends. I dont want to tell people at work but they have team lunches about once a month that we have to go to and I am not sure how to really hide the fact that I had surgery.

My biggest worry though is telling my mom. She is the only family I have around here and she is a very envious and cynical person. I have heard her talk *kitten* about other people who have had surgery before. She lost almost 100lbs herself but did it in a very unhealthy way and developed an eating disorder in the process. I see her relatively often and may need her help during the process so I dont think I can keep it from her, but I know it's probably not going to be fun with her knowing.

I go for a lot of walks and we go hiking about once a month right now. I am trying to get the courage to start going to the gym again and get back to hiking every weekend. I actually like to work out so I don't think that will hurt me too much. I just need to control my eating. Emotional eating is a struggle and I am looking into starting therapy to help me deal with my emotions better.