KimP
I do not have health insurance currently. I am trying to come up with a plan in order to self-pay.
1-2-05
I am 5' 4" tall and weigh 277lbs. I had a consultation with Dr. Clifton Thomas two weeks ago. He suggested the LapBand surgery. I am not sure if that is because he feels it will be the best choice for me, or if it is because I do not have insurance and the LB surgery could be financed. I plan to go to a seminar presented by Dr. Adam Naaman next week for more information and another opinion.
I have been overweight all of my life except for my senior year in high school. I successfully starved myself down to about 114lbs. for about 2 seconds. I then got mono and the doctor said I had to eat in order to get better. I did...and at the rate I am going(13 years later) I should never even have a cold agin.
I have starved myself, counted calories, counted fat grams, taken prescription diet pills, gotten shots, taken OTC diet pills, gone to Weight Watchers...you name it, I have tried it. I am a professional dieter. I have dieted myself to almost 300lbs! One of my earliest memories is of going to Overeaters Anonymous with my cousin. I remember the lady in charge of the group saying that you eventually get to where you prefer that cup of steamed brocolli to a slice of chocolate cake. I haven't gotten there yet!
I am married and I have one daughter who is five. My husband met me when I was "chunky," dated me during the skinny year of starvation, married me when I was creeping back to "chunky," and loves me twelve years later when I am FAT! I am very lucky to be loved so well. My daughter has decided that I can be fat or skinny and she will still love me, but five-year-olds can be brutally honest.
I am anxious to meet with Dr. Naaman and get a second opinion on the LapBand vs. Gastric Bypass decision. I am optomistic about finally finding something that works for me!
7-24-06
Long time, no update! Well, seven months later and I have not had surgery yet. 2006 has been an eventful year. We are in the process of "possibly" selling our home. It is a very stressful situation. We went on vacation to an amusement park and I could not ride one of the rides with my daughter because I was too fat. My husband could not ride with her because he was too tall (6'5"), but, just like in "Goldilocks" my nephew could ride with her because he was just right!
I will begin a new job teaching HS English in a couple of weeks, which means that I will have insurance starting September 1!!! I have decided to have the Lap-Band procedure with Dr. Clifton Thomas. My insurance requires a monthly diet which I can do through Dr. Thomas's office. The office staff feel that they can send my information to the insurance company in October and hope for surgery around Christmas!
I had an enraged fat lady moment today. Since I am starting back to work for the first time in four years, I am having to buy some new clothes. That is lots of fun at 286 pounds. Since I will be in front of teenagers, I require clothes in size 22-26 that make me appear to be a size 6!!! However, I purchased some size 24 pants Saturday without trying them on. Of course, when I got home they were too small. I took them back to the store today to exchange them. When I found those glorious size 26 pants, I went to the register to make my exchange. A lady (who appeared to be about a size 12) was there also exchanging pants. The sales clerk picked up my pants by mistake as they were the same color as the ones she was trying to exchange. Well this lady fell to pieces! She said LOUDLY, "Well I have certainly gained some weight, but I am not and will not ever be that huge!" She went on to say other stuff...you get the idea. Well, I was next in line, and while she was still getting her stuff together to leave, I announced that I was the walrus to whom the circus tent sized pants belonged to. She stuttered and left quickly. I actually felt good about it. I am so tired of feeling like I have to be ashamed of myself because of my size. It was really quite liberating!
1-20-07
A little over a year and 10 pounds after first meeting with Dr. Thomas, I have a date! February 8 will be my Re-Birthday.
Life is HECTIC right now. We sold our house and moved out the day after Christmas. We purchased a double-wide mobile home and put it on my parent's property with plans to build a new house a few years down the road. The only problem is that the elctricity is not yet hooked up and the carpet is not down; therefore, we are living with my parents! I have been too busy until the past couple of days to be excited are nervous, but I am starting to get excited! I will let you know how it goes!
2-13-07 5 days Post-op
I had surgery last Thursday, and today is Tuesday. Everything went great. I arrived at Renaissance Hospital in Houston at 6:30. By 7:00 I was taken to be prepared for surgery. About 8:00 I was moved to a hallway just outside the operating room. Dr. Thomas came out and said that he had finished the first surgery of the day and was ready for me. We had a nice visit and shortly I was given the medicine to help me "relax." Next thing I know, the people in the operating room were congratulating themselves and each other on a beautiful job...definately not the worst thing that you can hear when waking up from surgery!
I was taken to Recovery where all I really remember is the oxygen mask made me feel like I had snot running down my face, and the Recovery nurse was agitated because for some reason ALL calls to the hospital were being sent to the Recovery room. A little morphine later and I was off to the ICU.
The first couple of hours in ICU were spent napping. I vaguely remember Dr. Thomas coming in and telling me to try to wake up. I finally woke up and did not feel that bad. The only real pain that I had was in my shoulder and head...neither of which was involved in the actual surgery. About the time I was ready to get up and start walking around the news broke that Anna Nicole Smith had been found unresponsive in her hotel room. We (Scott and I along with several members of the ICU staff) watched the story unfold as I took my first walk and had my first liqid meal.
By 4:30, we were heading home. I felt fine, and the two hour ride was not bad at all. My sweet husband had taken my car and had it washed while I was in surgery and he also got me flowers.
Thursday night was not bad, but Friday was not great. Friday night was actually pretty bad. I had severe gas pains that were causing my head to hurt horribly. GasX was a lifesaver.
Saturday morning we took the bandages off and Scott removed the Painbuster catherter from my stomach. I felt so much better after a shower. I got dressed and we drove an hour to my cousins wedding. After the wedding we drove thirty minutes to the reception where they served a fabulous buffet. I had my liquids and was not even hungry!
Sunday, I was very tired, and there were more food trials to get through. Some relatives were visiting from Georgia and we had a huge shrimp lunch followed by a baby shower for my neice which included strawberry cake. Again, I had just my liquids and I was fine.
Monday, my mother and I prepared dinner for the Georgia relatives and again I had my liquids.
I do not feel that I have even had any type of surgery except that my shoulder is KILLING me! I have had two other laporoscopic surgeries and this has happened both times. I am looking forward to my one week check-up on Thursday!
2-14-07 6 days Post-op
Happy Valentines Day! I am six dayspost-op and have started with my first real hunger pains. I do not like broth, so I have been living on popcicles, jello, and tea since surgery. I have my one week appointment with Dr. Thomas tomorrow, so I hope to start mushies after that.
Again all is well except for the shoulder pain...and even that seems a good bit better today.
2-8-2008 1 Year Post-op
Today is my 1 year bandiversary! Time flies when you are having fun, and the past year has been fun. My highest weight was 290lbs. at Christmas 2006. I currently weigh 219....(drumroll please!) down 71lbs. from my highest. The first 50lbs. were pretty effortless. The most recent 21lbs. have been more of a struggle to lose. I expected this so I am not freaking out. Wearing smaller clothes is fun. I have been able to pull out clothes that I have not worn in years. I am almost to the end of the clothes that I have stored though. On the one hand, I look forward to buying smaller clothes, but I am also very cheap and hate to buy clothes that I might not be able to wear for a long period of time.
My experience with the band has been great. I have only had on really bad incident of food getting stuck. I had a bite of broccoli and cheese soup and a bite of dry chicken at Golden Corral and then I had a problem. It took about thirty minutes of some pretty nasty sliming and gagging until all was well again. I try to be very conscious of the size of my bites and to chew really well, but occasionally I get in a hurry. This also helps me to be conscious of how much I am eating. For me, success with the band has been all about portion control.
We bought a house, sold our mobile home, and moved yet again. I still hate to move, but this time I had the energy to do it. That would not be the case had I not had the surgery. I have no regrets other than not having it done sooner.
2-9-10 3 Years and 1 Day Post-op
The ride continues...
During the past two years, my aunt and uncle (my second parents) both became very sick and passed away within 10 months of one another. During this, I let my weight creep back up to 245 lbs. This could not be tolerated! I had the band tightened in July 2009 and started working out regularly. I now weigh 210 lbs.! Down 80 lbs. from my highest weight of 290. I feel spectacular! Not only have I lost more weight...I have muscles!
I hope to have a consultation with a plastic surgeon within the next couple of months. I have a lot of extra skin covering up my new, glorious muscles.
NO REGRETS!!!