dalehi
09/01/07
Well, this is the beginning of my story, the beginning of my WLS journey. First, let me tell you a little bit about myself so you can understand who I am, where I have been and where it has brought me to here.
I am 33 and have probably been struggling the most with my weight for the past 13 years. Well, probably since I had my first of four children and after I had my gallblatter removed. Before then, I had always been really active walking, hiking, swimming, etc. I am sure that some probably think of this as an excuse but with each child, I found my energy diminished and had a hard time trying to figure out how to have four kids in tow and be active enough to keep the weight off. I also went to school off and on and had marital issues off and on which also had its impact. My family also has a history of obesity and my sister actually had WLS about 5 years ago. I was bound and determined at that time that I was going to find a way to work off the weight and show her that it could be done without going to such drastic measures. I actually was prescribed phentramine and taking that along with reducing my calories to almost nothing and working out every day worked really well for a couple of months. I actually lost a little over 40 lbs! I had more energy and more optimism. But then my body started getting used to phentramine and stopped being as effective. The doctor even increased the dosage but it just didn't work anymore. While I was watching what I ate and did choose healthier foods, I was constantly hungry. I could eat until I was beyond feeling full and then an hour later, be hungry again. It was horrible. I tried all sorts of things from Herbalife to TrimSpa to Hydroxycut to Isogenix to many other different over-the-counter diet pills. They would help a little bit but I just had a hard time committing to them. Some of them made me feel icky and so I was advised not to take them anymore. I have even tried SlimFast. For some reason, I am sure it is psychological...I would drink those shakes but I would still be hungry, sort of like my brain said, "You need to EAT something."I have tried numerous fad diets and lost a little but would gain it back. In a period of less than 4 years, I had gained back all of the weight I had lost plus some. Sound familiar???? And in the situation I am in now, I feel badly for being so hard on my sister for her decision for WLS. I am in her shoes now.
So that brings me to now....I am sitting at 259 lbs., 43 BMI and scared. I have chest pains which may be caused from a hiatal hernia. I have swelling in my feet and ankles. I have joint pain, back pain, headaches. And it also sounds like I have a femoral hernia that is going to need surgery (and I am hoping can be done at the same time as the lap band). My kids are old enough to be able to do more things with and give me a chance to be more active again, but now I fear that I won't be the one that will be able to keep up and will be holding everyone back if we go do anything. I don't want to be that way! I fear all of the future health problems that I will have if I don't do something NOW about my weight. Like I mentioned before, my family has a history of obesity and so I have seen the health problems associated to the disease (and yes, it IS a disease)....So now is the time to do something about it and not only do something for myself but also for my family. I don't want my children to grow up with weight issues. My daughter will tell me, "Mommy, you're so skinny!" as a way to be nice to me but I know that isn't true and I know she's just trying to be nice and she knows that my weight bothers me....I don't want her to be in my shoes when she is my age. And I see that if I don't make some changes for myself, I can see how it will negatively impact her. It already has. I need to find a way to change that! I want to be able to focus on my health than my weight. I have to start somewhere.....
Okay- so I have gone and seen my doctor. He made a referral to the surgeon and made an appt. for November 8th. And, I have gone in for bloodwork. I did manage to get the date of my consultation moved up to Sept. 12th, though. So that is a plus! I also requested to have my medical history from the last 3-4 years sent to the surgeon's office and also requested for the paperwork I would need to fill out for the surgeon sent to me so I can do that ahead of time. I also got ahold of the insurance company and was told that in order to get approved for WLS, all they would need would be clinical notes sent to them to review for approval. I am sure that there is more entailed but that is all that they told me I needed. So, we'll see. I am hoping that I can get surgery for the hernia done at the same time and so that might also help my situation. Hopefully! There is a seminar on Sept. 8th that I am planning on attending. My husband is going to be going with me and that makes me feel really good. I need him on board and so I have been relieved that he hasn't been difficult about it as he hasn't been too keen on WLS, either. But he also knows all of the struggles I have had with my weight, my self image and my worries. I think he's at a point where he's up for about anything if it will make a difference.
I will try to post again after I have had my consultation and then anything following. I really hope for smooth sailing. Cross your fingers!!!!
