Terri_T
Hi All...
First of all..this is a wonderful site for people considering WLS. I have been heavy what seems to be all of my life. I started at 8 years of age....gaining and being the "fat one" in my little group of friends. I remember even then that my friends all had cute clothes and wondered why I couldn't wear them. The thing was...they didn't make the same clothes in a women's size 8. By the age of 12, I was wearing women's 12 clothes and was somewhere around 150lbs.
In high school....again...I was the chubby one in my group. I never ate lunch, I walked to school and STILL I couldn't lose enough weight to be comparable to my friends. I hovered around 135 to 145 ( which I would KILL to be at now) and wore a size 11. My friends were all in size 5 and under. It was useless. So, I became the "funny one" to try to overide the label the " Fat one" in the group. it worked......for awhile.
After high school, I no longer was labeled. I walked alot ( because I didn't have a driver's license) and somehow managed to get to where I was the happiest weight, which was 122. Now I know how I got there, wasn't the best way....but at 18...I was out drinking and dancing and well lets say the hangovers kept me from eating. But, this was the only time in my life when i "fit in"
OK so a few years later, I met my 1st husband. We dated for 3 years...and then got married. BINGO pregnant and guess what...IT's" TWINS!!! What wonderful news. When I got pregnant, I was about 195 ( yea over 3 years I gained ALL of that!) I gained about 30lbs when pregnant, which wasn't too bad....it was the year after the boys were born ( E.J. and Evan) that I gained about 60 pounds and went to 275. The hardest thing I think was that I had no support. I took care of the boys by myself and the house myself. I forgot that I needed to be taken care of too.
Fast forward 3 years....weight 273...guess what?? PREGNANT again!!! This time I lost weight while i was pregnant...I walked in 9 months pregnant at 263 and had another wonderful son!!! Aaron was beautifull!!! Oh I forgot..when I was 8 months pregnant....I did lose 200lbs...( My HUBBY!!!) LoL....it was a good loss....he was drinking and cheating..and me and my boys were better off without him!!! Best 200 lbs I ever lost!!! ANYWAYS.......fast forward again...
I move in with my parents when Aaron is about 10 months old. I am better then I was before in that I weigh about 220. Not too bad when you weighed 273 when you got preggars :) BUT still...wayyy too heavy for my 5'2" frame.
OK so over the years living with my parents, I jumped to 265 and I meet my current husband. It's funny, when we met...I didn't think he would be interested in me. We met online and I told him I had a BIG BUTT. His words to me were " It doesn't matter to me, you seem like a great girl and I'd like to meet you" Sooooo, we met on Christmas Eve 2002 and he says to me" You're beautiful!" I was kind of shocked. We had dated for about a year and a half and Mark had told me many times during our time together that he would love to have a child some day. I was looking at my watch and thinking "Ummm I am almost 40...and i'm not sure about another baby!" Well one day i woke up and had a terrible pain in my leg...what do you know...A BLOOD CLOT! I went to the emergency room and after a day of testing confirmed the clot... and they advised me I would probably take coumadin for the rest of my life ( I had one in 1995 that resulted in a Pulmonary Embolism). I called Mark and said " Yep, it's a blood clot...probably can't have kids because I will be taking coumadin for the rest of my life." He was devestated.
The next day I see the specialist I was reffered to and said " Before I go on coumadin, should I have a PG test?" He said..." Do you think you are pregnant?" I said " No...but just to be safe" he came back in 10 minutes later to tell me I was PREGNANT yet again...OH MY!!! My weight was 277 and same as with Aaron, I lost weight while pregnant....down to 258 and stayed steady for the 9 months. I had gestational diabetes and had to take Lovenox for blood clots but Amanda Nicole was born in April and she was PERFECT. She will be 3 next month and is absolutely a blessing. I think everyone should wait til they are 40 to have babies!!! Well except for the fact that now I am at 285lbs.
My reasons for wanting to lose weight vary from day to day. Last June I went to my PCP because I had a thought. My dad had a heart attack when he was 43, and he isnt even overweight. I was due to turn 43 in September and thought to my self that if I died....Amanda would not even remember me. All she would have is this picture of a fat lady and would say " This is my mom!" That broke my heart.
My PCP perscribed Phentermine which was GREAT while I was taking it. I lost 30 pounds in 2 months..and was doing GREAT until my Gall Bladder said HEY what gives????!!!! I had my gall bladder out on 8/24/2007. And during my recoup time I regained 20 of the 30 I had lost. This was a joke RIGHT??? I realized that the only time I would lose with Phentermine was when I was actually taking it!!! ( YES I am a genius to figure that out!!!)
In November, I won a cruise through my job. I went on the cruise and felt like the fattest person on the ship. The wife of a co-worker was on the trip and somehow mentioned WLS at dinner. She had had the surgery and had lost 130lbs. She looked awesome, not sickly like I had formally thought people looked after losing weight this way. So after the cruise, I started my research, went to the seminar and after hearing DR. Spencer explain the procedure, risks and benefits and decided right then and there that I was going to do this.
It has been a long road and cannot even imagine how I am going to feel when I'm a healthier me. It has been so long since I have felt "normal".
I have read a lot of posts on this site and have seen amazing strength ans courage. It really gives me encouragement that one day soon, that will be me!
PS... I will keep the next posts shorter. Thank you for reading!!! 
About Me
Before & After
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