Catsi51
My story is probably like many others here. I was a thin child, a normal weight teen, but started gaining weight with my first pregnancy. I am 5'10" tall with a large frame; a good weight for me is 160 -165 lbs. After weight gains with 4 pregnancies I leveled out at about 250. No matter what I did I was not able to get below that - and I tried just about every diet and eating plan out there. Eventually menopause hit and I gained even more - by the time I was finished with that I was about 310 lbs. Again - unable to lose the excess weight. I maintained that 310 for several years until I took an administrative job (before that I was in the classroom) that meant I was sitting in front of a computer for most of my work day - very little movement. I also developed osteoarthritis about the same time and that curtailed my mobility even more. Finally in 2010 one of my children confronted me about my weight - not to pick on me but because he loved me and was concerned that I was killing myself. I did not have a scale at home and had not been on one for about 3 years at that time. I finally decided to look in to WLS, had my first appointment at the bariatric clinic I decided to attend and was shocked beyond belief to find I weighed 371 lbs!!! If there was any doubt in my mind about having surgery before that - once I saw those numbers, that did it! I was gung ho! Then began the problems. I wanted a bypass and my PCP and surgeon both felt that this was the best option for me. Turned out that the insurance I had at the time would only cover lap band surgery. I was really upset about that and spent about 3 months trying to make up my mind whether to go ahead with that, since it was not the surgery I wanted and the research I had done did not make it look like a very promising option. I finally decided to go ahead with it, figuring it was better than nothing, and hoping I would be one of the fortunate ones that had success with the band. Alas, that was not to be. I had the band put in in Feb 2011 and almost immediately the problems began. After a year of shear hell with the band and very little weight loss, it slipped and I had to have emergency surgery to have it removed. Frankly I was not disappointed, I was GLAD to get that darn thing out of me! And after that negative experience, I swore I would not consider any kind of WLS again. Fast forward to now, June 2015. I am now 3 years out since the band was removed. I have been able to maintain the 50 lbs I lost with the band, leaving me at 324 lbs. But in these past few years I've developed several health issues, all related to obesity. I now have osteoarthritis in all my lower body joints - have already had one knee replaced and currently need one of my hips replaced. The arthritis is also in my spine, causing a lot of pain in my back. I have also developed high blood pressure, pre-diabetes, and gout which flares on and off and causes horrible pain in my feet. All of these conditions are related to obesity and while they may not completely clear up after weight loss, I expect there will at least be improvement in all those areas! At my current age, what I am most interested in is regaining my health. If I end up looking better after surgery, that will be an added plus, but for me it really is about my health these days. I haven't always been heavy and I remember what life was like before I got so heavy and developed all these issues. So, I am currently in the pre-op phase for bypass surgery, having different insurance now that WILL pay for the surgery that I want. I am attending the same bariatric clinic that I went to for the lap band, and have the same surgeon. It looks like I'll have a surgery date of late Sept. - early Oct. and I am so ready!!!!
