Hello to all: i have been overweight nearly all my life. during highschool i kept an average wt of about 190-200lbs (i'm about 5'4"). i graduated in 1999 and took a year off to relax, work some and save a little money. in aug 2000 i started my long journey through nursing school and moved in with my boyfriend. over the next 2 years i didn't really gain alot of wt, maybe about 10lbs or so, but the next 2years, which was my last 2 years of nursing school i gained about 55lbs. when i graduated nursing school in june 2004 i weighed about 245-250lbs. since then i have gained about another 15lbs and i just can't get it off. nursing school was very, very stressful and i blamed the weight gain on all the stress and inactivity of school, as well as the 6 hours a night studying and preparing for clinicals.  i hoped when school was done i would be able to lose the wt., WRONG! i've been out of school for almost 3years and haven't lost a lb., in fact i have gained a couple more lbs.. my current wt is 263, my heaviest=267lbs. the reason i have decided to have weight loss surgery(GBS) at this time is because i feel soo bad all the time and i haven't been able to loose the wt on my own. i stay sick, it seems like every virus that passes me attacks me, and being a nurse it means i meet a lot of bugs. i have NO energy for anything, including sex, and being a newlywed (OCT.14,2006), no sex is not good!  daily activities are getting harder and harder to do and getting myself motivated to do them is a job in itself.  my blood pressure is borderline high, my lower back bothers me all the time, i have recently been dignosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which interferes with metabolism, hormones, insulin levels and causes you not be able to loose wt.), i have GERD, suffer from chronic neck and shoulder pain/muscle tension, along with tension and migraine headaches. oh yeah.... did i forget to mention that i am only 26 years old!! a couple years ago i knew of people that were planning to have WLS and i always said "that is too dramatic, you shouldn't do that, have you tried other diets and wt. loss plans through a dietician or doctor?", BUT now that i am considered morbidly obese and feel like sh*t all the time, i see where others were and are coming from. i have researched the surgery ALOT, have 3 coworkers that have recently(within the last 2 years) had GBS, and have thought about it long and hard for a long time, not to mention prayed about it, and i have made the decision to do it. i honestly do believe that i can do what i need to do, post-op, to have good results and i know it can only make me feel better. currently, i have gotten my referral from my PCP, went for my consultation with the surgeon (Dr. Schirmer @ UVA), and have my psych. evaluation scheduled for this friday. I will need to have an EGD and a gallbladder ultrasound then wait for the insurance approval. I am excited as well as a little nervous. my mom is scared and hopeful, my husband is weary and they are my 2 main support people. Everyone is very supportive, yet a little nervous about the "surgery " aspect, which is 100% normal. I know that it's very hard for anyone that has not been overweight to understand what it's like, and it must be hard to support someone through such a serious surgery knowing they have overeaten all their life and made wrong food choices all their life. I'm sure they are all thinking:"Is she gonna be able to stick to the diet and portions she is supposed to? She eats too much now and eats whatever she wants, so how can she change overnight?" I know my family loves me and they will always support me, which is very important, but this is a decision i have made and ONLY i can control how well or poorly i do after surgery. i will keep this updated and ask everyone to send out an extra prayer for me during my WLS journey.  Holly                                         MARCH 28, 2007 update:  well, i was hoping to have my surgery done this month, but ran into an insurance road block. i had my psych. eval done and passed, had my gallbladder US done, as well as my EGD. when it was time for all my stuff to be submitted to the insurance company (PCHP) the insurance man at UVA called and said "well, i see you have completed your preop procedures, but where is your 6 mo. of documented wt. loss plans from your primary care physician?" i explained to him that before i ever started this process i called PCHP and asked them if they required the 6mo of documented wt loss or would a letter of medical necessisty from my doctor be enough and they told me the letter would be fine. (see, i have 4 friends that have had GBS, all through PCHP, and 3 of them did not need the wt loss documentation for 6mo, but the last one that had surgery did, so that is why i specifically asked them if i needed it).  he said "well the problem is they told you that, but when i submit this info. they are gonna ask me where the documentation is and they will not approve the surgery until it is in your records."  so, i was upset and called PCHP and to make a long story short, i gave them a piece of my mind.  anyway, i went ahead and started my 6mo of wt loss with my primary care doctor in feb. so my 6 mo will be up in july. hoping to have my surgery in aug or sept. it has been alot to deal with, but it will all be worth it once i loose the weight and feel soo much better.  i will keep this updated.   HOLLY        , ......................Another update:, May 5, 2007- I have been going to my doctor once a month since feb, and as of my visit on april 23, 07 i have lost a total of 8 lbs. not much, but i guess it's better than nothing and every little bit will help make the surgery easier on the surgeon- oh yeah, did i forget to mention, now i have high cholesterol and fatty spots on my liver! just a few more things for me to deal with at the age of 26! thank god the surgery is getting closer. i'm getting a little more anxious, but plenty to keep me busy....  until next time,,,HOLLY.....................      May 23,2007- well, as of my doctor visit today: i have lost 2 lbs this month, which is a total of 10 lbs. he just told be to keep up the good work. he also rechecked my cholesterol to see if it has come down since feb.. only 2 more checkups (weigh-ins) to go!!!  HOLLY ...........................    JUNE 20,2007-  5th doctor visit- lost 1 lb this month, which is a total of 11 lbs since Feb. next month is my last visit and i am sooo excited to be getting closer to my surgery. my doctor said he is very pleased with my progress over the last couple months and he is certain that i will do great with the surgery. he also told me that the benefits of the surgery far outweigh the risks as far as my health is concerned. (my mom doesn't agree with him, she is soo scared that something bad might happen to me during surgery.) he put me on fish oil twice a day for my cholesterol. well, that's my update for this month, hopefully i will be posting a surgery date soon!!!  until next time... HOLLY.                         JULY 18,2007- 6th and last doctor visit..     gained 3 lbs this month, so my total wt loss in the last 6 months is 8 lbs. my doctor asked me if i knew why i gained this month and i told him that i had been on a weekend vacation to the beach and splurged a little (captain george's seafood). i also haven't been drinking my water like i was and i can't figure out why, i just haven't been thirsty. he explained to me that it is normal to splurdge a little, after all we are all human!! he gave me another referral to UVA for my surgery and i asked the receptionist at his office to fax all my records ASAP to get the ball rolling. my doctor's office has a real problem with doing things in a timely manner and it gets on my nerves!!!   SOOO..... now i just have to sit and wait on the insurance approval and a date for my pre-op appointment. this waiting game is not for me.....  i absolutely hate it!!  i just want to get it all over with.   Until next time...  HOLLY      
JULY 23rd, 2007-   today my doctor's office sent all my records to the surgeon's office and the insurance man there got it all together and sent it to my insurance company.  NOW the wait continues........  i hope things go fast because i'm getting more and more anxious the longer i have to wait and the closer it gets.   keep praying...   HOLLY                                                                                                                                    JULY 27th, 2007:  Today I got the great news that my surgery has been approved by my insurance company!!!!!!!!!! I had to call them reguarding a previous claim and while i had them on the phone I decided to ask if my surgery had been approved and to my surprise the lady said "Well, as a matter of fact the approval went through yesterday." The insurance coordinator at UVA, Mike Miller had told me to call him when and if i heard from PCHP before receiving a letter from them, so i called him and it's a good thing i did, because he had not heard from them yet. he called PCHP and they had faxed the pre-authorization letter to the wrong place. i am soo tired of dealing with all of their s*it!! It makes me just want to cancel my coverage and say forget it all!!! BUT i have dealt with it this long and have come this far so i may as well hang in there and besides where am i gonna get health insurance if i do cancel it? it just p*sses me off, because i have to double check everything they should be doing.   ANYWAY>>>>>>>MY SURGERY HAS BEEN APPROVED AND I AM HAPPY !!!!  now i just have to wait on my pre-op appointment to come in the mail.  until next time....  HOLLY 
AUGUST 8th, 2007- Today i received my pre-op appt. in the mail from UVA and my appt. is Sept. 27th @ 10:15am. I was really hoping it would be sooner, because i want to go ahead and get it all over with. My 1st year wedding anniversary is Oct.14th and i wanted to have had my surgery and be well by then, but it doesn't seem like that is gonna happen. I am just getting really anxious, because nothing is going my way and everything seems to take forever. i hate all of this waiting and it has been over a year now since i started the process for this surgery. i know it's getting closer and for that i am grateful, but i am just tired of all the waiting and i am getting very, very, very anxious!!! My husband and i have not been on a vacation this summer (other than a weekend trip to the beach with my parents and niece and nephew), because i kept thinking that at any time they would sent me my appt for surgery and i wanted to save my time at work for medical leave.  i am going to plan a romantic getaway for our anniversary and the surgery will just have to wait. Hell, i have waited this long so what is one or two more weeks? I am going to keep my pre-op appt., because if i cancel-who knows when the next available one will be, and on that day when i discuss with my surgeon the surgery date i will just tell him that i need it to be after my anniversary weekend!!!! I really hope everything works out....  until next time..Holly          August 28th, 2007---- i called UVA Dr. Schirmer's office today to see if they have had any cancellations and could move my pre-op date up and the secretary told me that the reason my appt. isn't until the end of Sept. is because Dr.Schirmer is gonna be out of town off and on through the end of Sept.   My mom said "you need to stop trying to rush things! At least he will be well rested and ready for your surgery when he comes off of vacation!" i guess she is right and i am out of luck for getting it sooner so i will just have to wait! until next time.  Holly             9-14-07  I HAVE A DATE- MY SURGERY DATE IS OCT.1st,2007... see ya'll soon!!!   10-8-07-surgery on 10-1 was very successful! The only problem i really had was nausea, which was bad enough, but i'm at home now and recovering well.  getting used to my pouch and new lifestyle. still pretty sore and moody at times, thank God my mom and husband are very understanding. my checkup is scheduled for 10-18.. will update then. Holly      10-23-07 my checkup on the 18th went well! I had lost 17 pounds and Dr.Schirmer said that i am right on track and looking good. I have lost 3lbs. since then, so as of today my total wt. loss is 20lbs and i feel really good. I still am not able to eat more than 2-3oz at a time and only eat 2-3 times per day, because i just ain't hungry. I am also having a hard time getting in my 48-60oz of fluid a day, but i am working hard at it. I'm working really hard on making sure i have enough protein each day,because GOD knows i don't wanna loose any more hair! I have not had one headache since surgery and my energy level is already getting better!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! well, until next time.. Holly  
    11-13-07 it has been 6 weeks-i have lost 30 pounds and feel great!! still no headaches since surgery and just focusing on protein and fluid intake. i have a lot more energy, which my husband is really enjoying (if you know what i mean:)HAHA!). i plan on joining an exercise program very soon, until next time.... Holly        
12-4-07: I have lost 38 lbs and am feeling sooo much better. it is amazing at how loosing a little bit of weight can make you feel. i have gone from feeling like i needed to be on disability to a normal 26 year old and i wouldn't trade it for the world! i told my mom last night that if i didn't loose another pound it would all be worth it. No more headaches, acid reflux or high blood pressure! my period returned after over 2 years, i don't sleep 16 hrs a day like i used to, i'm not as moody..... Let's just put it this way- i never thought i would ever feel this good again, but i do and it is wonderful!! until next time... Holly     
1-10-08: my 3mo checkup at Dr.Schirmer's office-i have lost 48lbs and am right on track!!! i just need to keep working on getting in more fluids. my lab work looked good. Holly  
2-12-08
BEFORE SURGERY: wt=262, shirts 2x-3x, pants 22, bra 46-48C, underwear 9-10, shoes 8.5-9.
NOW: wt=201 (-61 lbs!!!), shirts xl-1x, pants 16-18, bra 40-42B, underwear 8, shoes 8.5-9
2-22-08 FINALLY UNDER 200LBS...TODAY MY WEIGHT IS 199LBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
4-17-08 had my 6mo check up with Dr.Schirmer today..he said i look great and everything is right on track. i have lost 75lbs, wt=187lbs and he said he wouldn't doubt that by my next checkup i will be 150lbs! he even told me that he is gonna have to keep a close eye on me because i may actually loose too much wt.(that's hard to imagine!)  i still need to increase my fluid intake and he started me on iron because i am having my periods again and they are like twice a month now. my labs looked good execpt for my cholesterol is still a little high. i think it might be because i am a little dehydrated and the numbers look a little higher than they really are, so, i'm just gonna keep taking my fish oil and keep a check on it for now. i feel great and am even going full time at work soon!! the wt loss has really started to slow down now, which is normal, but at the same time a little discouraging when you are used to loosing it so fast....until next time...Holly