Melissa V.

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I started thinking about the Lap-Band surgery a couple years ago. Every time I thought about it, I told myself there is no reason to do this, you can do it on your own, you just have to have willpower. Well 2 years later I finally figured out that I can't do it on my own. I need help, and all the dieticians in the world aren't going to be able to give me the help I need. 

I thought about my great grandmother who was close if not over 600 lbs when she died. I see people in the grocery store who have to use a motorized cart because they are so heavy that their legs just can't hold them anymore. I didn't want to be like that, and I knew that with my family history, I had the potential to be like that.

I thought about the past year when my doctor has been warning me to get the weight off because I was knocking on the door between insulin resistance and type II diabetes.

On April 24, 2007 I decided to go to a seminar at Washington University Weight Management Center in St. Louis, MO. They talked about the process for both RNY and Lap-Band. I took my best friend with me so that she would completely understand what I was going to go through. She is my #1 support system, so I wanted her completely educated.

I scheduled my consultation with the dietician, and psych eval for June 4 2007, and my physical therapy and Dr. consultation for June 5, 2007. In the mean time I had to get my physical and barium swallow testing done. My PCP was happy when I told him that I was going to have the surgery done. They did all the blood work, my A1C came back at 6.6,  I had crossed the line into type II diabetes. He wasn't worried about it because of the surgery, so didn't put me on any kind of meds. I was even more determined to have the surgery and get the weight off.

The insurance company took less than a week to approve the surgery, and all I had to do was wait for my surgery date. That took longer than any other part of my journey. I was calling at least twice a week, I just wanted somebody to talk to me and let me know why it was taking so long to get a date. Finally, 6 weeks later I got a phone call, and my surgery was scheduled for August 23, 2007. 

I thought that the process was forever, but then I look here and read people's stories and realize, wow, it really didn't take long for me to get my surgery at all! I feel so lucky that everything came together as quickly as it did for me.

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