Catherine46

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I started this journey almost 8 years ago, when my best friend went for her DS about the same time as I got pregnant (at 40) with twins. We were both morbidly obese, and joked that she was starting down as I started up. I watched her lose about 150 pounds, while I gained 20, lost 50, gained 20, and finally settled at about 265, 12 pounds below my highest pre-pregnancy weight. I exercised, I jointed Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Diet Center, bought the South Beach Diet book, pulled out my Atkins Diet paperbacks, and stayed at 265. Two years ago I decided WLS was the real answer for me, but I was still hoping to get my insurance to pay. Well, they would have paid for the RNY or LapBand, and maybe even the DS (although I considered myself a bit of a lightweight for that), but not the VSG, which I had already decided was the one for me. That wasn't a frivolous decision, but based on a couple of previous abdominal surgeries and the possibility of more in my future--I didn't want some future surgeon locked into the wrong decision based on my re-routed intestins or scar tissue from the LapBand. In January of 2008 I decided to self-pay, and started saving everything I could to that end, and raided the Disney vacation account to get to goal faster. By August I had saved about $7000 of the $10000 I needed, so only a minimal amount went on credit. I had surgery on August 15, 2008, in Dr Alvarez' clinic in Piedras Negras, Mx. It was a wonderful experience, as far as any surgery can be described as wonderful. Yes, I had some discomfort, but compared to my previous surgeries, it was nothing at all. My best friend flew down and back with me, and after her DS experience she was just astounded at how quickly I bounced back. She was ready for me to be sleeping the whole trip back, and needing a wheel chair in the airports, and I was ready to walk a mile and watch the scenery. I have to say that I'm not the model patient when it comes to diet. Having already tried the Atkins diet, I knew that an extreme high protein, low carb diet turns me into a screaming mimi. In other words, it makes me an emotional basket case. Since I already spent the money for our Disney trip, I couldn't also expose my kids to a mad woman, too. Yup, I planned from day one to add carbs to my diet to stay sane. And it seems to be working. I have been losing steadily, if a bit slower than some, and I've only had a couple of down days. And I'm already shopping from my closet and wearing 18-20s instead of 20-22s! Loving it! Catherine