My story begins when I was in 3rd grade and my parents decided to move.  I'm not 100% sure this is why I started gaining weight, but I think it helped.  Being uprooted at that age really had an impact on me.  I started a new school and had no friends.  I started eating more.  Before this I can remember friends and family members asking my mother if I was sick because I was so skinny.  By the time I was a freshman in high school I weighed a 176lbs.  In my senior year I joined weight watchers and dropped 34lbs.  After graduating I became pregnant and gained a whopping 72lbs. and went up to 218.  At 23 I was at 204lbs, met my husband and we got pregnant and I gained an additional 18lbs.  Married life agreed with me and by 1998 I weighed 298lbs.  I can remember being rushed to the emergency room with chest pains.  My cariologist said that I was just having anxiety attacks but that I was a walking time bomb.  I started a diet using Metabolife and doing everything low fat.  It took a year, but I lost 72lbs and dropped down to 224lbs. by October 1999.  On January 11th, 2001 my five year old neice, Charity, drowned in a bath tub and the emotions from that started my down hill slide and rapid weight gain.  Then in 2001 I lost my mother who was my best friend.  It was a rollercoaster ride.  Along my way I tried many diets such as Atkins, Slim Fast, Optifast, and even called Jenny, but Weight Watcher's was the most successful for me.  Of course the minute I stop counting points I start gaining again.  In mid 2001 I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, Asthma, and a severe case of Sleep Apnea.  In January of 2006 I was in the ER again but this time with Cellulitus in both legs, the right being more severe.  I had another flare up in July of 2006.  It has been a constant worry with my legs.  So afraid of losing them like my Grandfather lost his.  I was told that the blood that pumps down my legs doesn't all come back up.  Some of it is pooling to the top of the skin causing the cellulitus.  I had a bunch of tests for blood clots and heart issues.  In July 2007 my husband was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertention and a week later I was diagnosed with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy.  Talking about a double whammy.  Both my husband's doctor and my doctor recommended blood  pressure medicine to bring the blood pressure down.  I've always had low blood pressure so it shocks me to know that I am now on a 100mg of Cozar.  Blood pressure medicine wasn't the only prescription...for me it included weight loss.  My doctor said that the only thing that would reduce my left ventrical would be to lose weight.  My success rate hasn't been a success so I revisted the thoughts of having the RNY bypass.  Of course my insurance will not cover anything related to obesity which is such a joke.  So I had to come up with the cash for the surgery.  I called Dr. Fallang's office to schedule an appointment.  He was the Dr. who had done a friend's surgery.  It took forever for his scheduler to call me back and I am a very inpatient person so I started looking for someone else.  Apparently Dr. Fallang is downsizing and retiring from doing surgeries.  From what I understand there was a big who ha with him and a patient and malpractice insurance.  Made me a little concerned.  I sent out a few emails to the different places in Cincinnati, Ohio that done the gastric surgeries and I promptly received an email from Dr. Trace Curry's office manager.  The self pay price was $500 cheaper and included a years worth of preop care.  Even better his office was only 3 minutes from my office in Blue Ash, Ohio.  Things have been moving fast....as of today (August 17th) I am 12 days away from going liquid for preop and I have 25 days till my laproscopic RNY bypass.  I am so excited, but scared all the same.