MrsMac14fan
All my life, I have been overweight. In high school, I thought I was overweight but some of my friends are now telling me that they always thought I was thin back then. I was certainly a lot thinner than I am as an adult but I know I was definitely overweight for my age then. Back then I had energy to do things like play street basketball, casual volleyball, swim, bike, etc.
Even after high school, I would walk to wherever I needed to go all over town. Now, I am lucky to make it to the mailbox! I look back and can't believe I actually used to walk for MILES!
I got down to about 160 pounds when I was married the first time. I think that was due to not being able to eat at all and still being active. I certainly don't want to do that again! When I got pregnant, I gained weight. About the same time, I got a divorce after finding out during my pregnancy that my husband was not only cheating on me, but his girlfriend was also pregnant! Needless to say, after my son was born, the weight did not come back off and I just started gaining.
When my son was younger, I did consult my doctor about gastric bypass surgery. It was still relatively new then, at least the RNY procedure was. At that time, I would have been on a two year waiting list and I didn't want that.
So the years went by and I kept gaining weight. My son was embarrassed by me and that led to the deepest depression I have ever known. Fortunately, I met a man who didn't care what I looked like on the outside but loved what he saw on the inside. We married and a year later, we tried again to get the bypass surgery for me. I managed to lose about 60 pounds just eating healthier over three months. I attribute that success to the support I received from my husband and my mother-in-law. My husband lost his insurance so I was not able to follow through with that surgery. Of course, the weight came right back with a vengence.
Mom-in-law passed away but I still wanted that surgery. I was tired of trying the SlimFast, Metabolife, etc. I needed help. We had to wait for our insurance circumstances to change. I got approved for disability and thanks to that and my husband's new insurance company, I was finally able to apply for the surgery. I sent in my paperwork on January 9th. I had my pre-approval appointments one after the other. Then, I got the call that my insurance company approvals had come through in record time. We scheduled my surgery for two weeks later, February 10th. So from start to surgery was only one month!
The surgery has been a success so far. I have lost 80 pounds in three months and could lose more if I could just become more active! I am working on it! It sometimes feels as if I am working on this alone because my husband is gone working so much. That is part of the reason I joined this website. I hoped to find a buddy to help me through this tough part. I have a buddy from the surgery center but I feel I need someone who has already had the surgery and is post-op a few years.
