LosingInStereo
I was an unusually thin child. That all changed around age 12. My mom became a single mom and my sister and I became friends with a contraption called the microwave.
I've been battling extremes with my weight since adolescence. The times in my life when I have been of average weight were times when I went to the gym daily for a few hours, and/or took phentermine diet pills. These things worked for me until the minute I stopped them. I loved working out and I was proud of myself for enduring the grueling sessions every day. When I became a health care worker, however, having a pager put an abrupt end to my gym sessions. The weight started piling on about the next day after I stopped working out.
I've tried diet pills. phentermine works like a charm to kill my appetite. You see, I have an insatiable appetite and it seems I'm always plagued with pangs of hunger. I can take phentermine and lose 25 pounds in a month. But guess what? As soon as I stop taking phentermine, I can gain back 30+ pounds in a month. The phentermine cycle has just gotten out of control and I refuse to take it anymore. With the onset of high blood pressure recently, no one would give it to me anyway.
At the age of 33, and with obesity on both sides of my family (and family who has had weight loss surgery), I realize this situation will not get any better and I need to grab it by the horns now.
I was disillusioned to learn that my insurance (and my employer, for that matter) specifically refuses to pay for obesity surgery unless you are on the brink of death and they can hear the reaper creeping up to you. For those of you who blame just your insurance carrier, you should check to see if your employer is "self-insured". I learned from an executive at my hospital of employment that the hospital is the culprit -- having made contracts with the insurance carrier to exclude things like weight loss surgery and breast reductions.
I just so happened to see some kind of show on TV that talked about the rising popularity of "Medical Tourism". A light bulb went off in my mind and I started researching it. Days and days of research and endless nights on the Internet reading everything possible has led me to the decision to have my laparoscopic Roux-en-Y with Dr. Armando Joya in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
I leave in two days. This is a document of my journey.
