I've always been chunky except as a freshman in high school when I ran cross country.  I was never really out of control until I got married.  My weight in 1980 was about 140 lbs.  One year after the wedding, I had gained 20 lbs.  I guess that is not unusual.  I remained at 160 for several years and then slowly started creeping up.  A few pounds around the holidays never went away.  Then I sprained my ankle really bad and had to stop running.  Another few pounds collected around my middle.  Pretty soon, I was approaching 175 and feeling out of control.  I couldn't even take off 5 pounds and I knew I was in trouble.  

I know that this doesn't sound like a lot of weight, but at only 5'5" those extra pounds reeked havoc on my health.  I needed a statin to control my triglycerides, and a year after that I was on blood pressure medication now weighing 185 lbs.  And then Phen-Fen came along.  My wife and I drove to a clinic in Kentucky and did the Phen-Fen thing each losing a substantial amount of weight.  I lost 50 lbs. and got down to 135.  I hadn't been there since high school and I felt great.  But then the medication side effects started bothering me.  I had terrible headaches and was freezing cold all the time.  Finally after almost a year on those drugs, we stopped crossing the Ohio River to the Kentucky clinic, and we were back on our own.

Of course, by now you can guess how the story goes.  A few pounds here, a few there...the holidays, a special party, vacation, and before I knew it.  I was 195 lbs.  My doctor had to add a second medication for cholesterol, another to control my reflux, and then the diabetes came along.  I started on Actos which was very effective, got scared and watched my diet losing almost 20 lbs.  After a year of being a diligent diabetic, I relaxed and the weight came back on.  Doc added a second sugar medication, which made me gain more weight and now I'm at 217 lbs.  My BMI is 37 and I can't seem to lose even 10 pounds.  I still exercise regularly, and that is probably the only thing that is keeping me from having a heart attack.

So I'm at the point of being 51 years old.  My kids are away at college, and I should be kicking back and having fun.  So I have made the decision that I'll never lose enough weight on my own to significantly reduce my co-morbidities, so the VSG seems to be my last hope.  Humana approved me for WLS, but they only cover the bypass or band.  "The VSG is experimental."  So I'm currently appealing this decision and hoping and praying for the best.

I'm really terrified to be gutted like a fish, and I'm pissed at myself for letting things get to this point.  But here I am, so I'm making my best effort to get the sleeve and we'll go from here.