Sharzi
My story is much like most others.
I was a normal little girl with no hangups except for being very shy. I'm the oldest of 6 children and learnt to be very responsible from a young age. My weight problems started when my parents divorced. I was 13 years old and all of us children were sent to boarding school. I wasn't unhappy there but there was a lot of heartache and i suppose i soothed myself by overeating. My real problems started when one day i was walking with my group of tiny, petite friends, and a nun came up behind us and said to me : "my goodness - but you're so wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide".
I was mortified and it was the first time i became so self conscious of myself. From that day on my size has haunted me.
When i look back on photos now - i wasn't even fat - just a little 'cuddly'. I weighed about 130 lbs when i left school and became determined to thin down. I started a series of diets and then just resorted to appetite suppressants. I then got my weight down to 110lbs - although i remember a friend saying to me that i was 'still quite hippy'. Isn't it amazing how these things can still hurt half a lifetime away??
I still thought i was fat most of the time. I would never wear shorts or a bathing costume and was always complaining about my weight! I must have been a real pain in the bottom!!!
After my daughter Kerry was born in 1977 i managed to reduce my weight quite quickly and settled at about 116 - 120 lbs and i managed to keep it there for many years, but i was not on a healthy diet and as a result i feel i have messed up my metabolism quite badly. At the end of 1978 my beloved husband was killed in a car accident when i was 8 months pregnant with my son Kyle. Kyle was born on 1st January 1979 and my children saved my life. I was so devastated after Chris died that i couldn't eat and as a result became pretty thin. But that couldnt last - and as soon as i started to eat normally again the weight issues crept up again.
I have never been anorexic or bulimic (i must admit i have sometimes wish i was!) but the only way i could keep my weight down was popping appetite suppressants. Until very recently they were freely available over the counter in South Africa where i live. I eventually realised how bad they were for me and stopped taking them - but of course my weight just climbed and climbed - no matter how hard i tried to control my eating habits.
It wasn't until about 1986 that i sort of gave up and my weight went to 154 and then up and down through continual dieting until this year i ended up at 209. Some say i dieted myself fat - but perhaps if i hadn't dieted i may have been much bigger.
So now the time has come to do something permanent about it. I am determined to go ahead. I have chosen the sleeve gastrectomy as i believe it is the best operation for me. I am a vegetarian and feel that if i had any sort of bypass i would struggle to get in the protein that i need to remain healthy. Having read through all the forums i am convinced that i am making the right decision in this regard.
I have been to the dietitians, the endocrinologist, the biokineticist (i hate exercise), the psychologist, the physician and the Surgeon. All have recommended me as a suitable candidate and i am now gathering all the necessary documentation to get approval from my medical aid (health insurance). I am hoping they will pay as they do have a policy in place for WLS. It's now just to find a date. There is a lot happening in the next few months. My son and his wife are having their first baby in December (sooooooo excited to meet my first grandchild) and my daughter and various members of family are going to be visiting from overseas so time is a little hectic.
I will keep you posted!!!
