luckyguitar110401
I am 30 years old, weigh 325#, and I am a RN. I work in a Cardiovascular hospital in South Louisiana. Just last year I herniated L3-L4, L4-L5 and have several other buldging discs. I had to be off work for 4 months to rest and recooporate. I already have a bad knee from a tennis injury suffered in high school. My triglycerides and cholesterol are through the roof, my blood pressure is steadily increasing with each visit to the doctor, and for the past few weeks I have been having intermittent chest pain. As a nurse I know the risks of being overweight - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, back and joint problems. My neurosurgeon won't operate to fix my herniation due to me carrying all of my weight in my belly....where my injury is. The most likely result would be a re-injuy of the same disc. I have been the "big girl" all of my life. Although, in my childhood and teenage years, I was very active. I grew up on the softball field, basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts. Even into college I played tennis. I was the big girl with skills. :o) I have dieted all of my life. Richard Simmons, Jenny Craig, and Dr. Atkins are some of my best friends, not to mention South Beach being my favorite vacation spot. I have tried drugs such as Adipex and even speed in my younger years, but to no avail. I lose maybe 30-70 pounds, but then they can't stay away from home and move back in....only when they do, they bring all of their buddies. (i.e. 20 extra pounds or so).
I'm tired of going out to eat at a resturaunt and having everyone stare at me like I'm going to eat everything before they can order. I'm tired of walking down the street at local festivals and seeing the kids make fun of the way I walk. I'm tired of seeing myself in pictures as the years go by and I keep getting bigger. I'm tired of riding in a car and the seat belt not buckling around me. I'm tired of sitting on the couch and havning to get help to get up. I'm tired of not being able to go out and run with my dog, play tennis, or even walk into work without getting winded. I'm tired of not living my life the way I want to live it and living it the way I have to live it. I'm tired of everyone looking at me like I am an eyesore to the public just for leaving my house. I'm just tired.
Weight loss for me has been a losing battle, until a month ago when my insurance company put a revision into our policy. Providing you meet all of the requirements and pay your $250 deductible and $2,000 out of pocket, everything else is covered 100%. A $50,000 lifetime maximum, but any "complications" are also covered. Those include: abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, thighplasty, and a cholesystectomy....just to name a few. The problem is...although I have thought about doing this surgery for years, I am now under a time constraint. My hospital's parent company, the one that provides this particular insurance, is selling. Actually, they are in the process...so I'm hoping I can get my surgery scheduled for mid February. Please, if anyone has any advice on some things I can change now in my life to make the transition easier for both me and my partner of 5 years, please feel free to comment!
