Shannon42774
Hello! My name is Shannon and I'm overweight. Hhhhm, yeah....like you didn't know that already...ha, ha! Well, like most of you here on this website, I've too lived through the ridicule and embarassment of my weight for most of my life. After not being successful on most diets and through the advice of my physician and cardiologist I'm trying bariatric surgery. I never thought I would, but I need some help if I plan to be on this planet any longer. I have two beautiful teenage sons, a wonderful fiance, and supportive family to help me win this 'battle of the bulge' so to speak.
My entire life I've been the fat girl with a pretty face. Friends, relatives, and even complete strangers have come up to me and said, "You have such a pretty face!" And I would think and answer them in my head, "But.....you're fat! If you only could lose some weight, right?" In grade school my nickname was 'whale'. but thankfully around my sophomore year in high school the name calling stopped. A little over two years ago I was talking to a guy I met and he said to me, "You know, Shannon, you're like the volumptuous Pamela Anderson." I was like WTF???? To this day all the name calling and rude remarks remain kinda hurtful. Despite being teased and harassed I had plenty of friends, and my family and close friends never judged me for my weight. I was taught to love and respect myself no matter what I looked like on the outside. Besides, most of my family was overweight--so, home was a comfort zone.
My senior year of high school was scary because my father at age 40 had his first heart attack. I couldn't believe it, because my dad is this super skinny thing who you'd never think would've been at risk for cardiac problems like my grandpa. Thank you, genetics!!! So, money was tight and I opted to join the military.
So, after high school I joined the U.S. Navy. I went to sign up and was told they Navy would love to have me, but I had to lose 25lbs first. So, I got serious and did. I went to WW back in the early 90s and all I remember is being so hungry. That's back in the day when you were allowed 1000-1200 calories a day with 4 servings of meat, 2 fats, 4 veggies/fruits, and 2 milks. It was torturous, and the military kept tabs on me too. Every six months you had to do a weigh in and get measured. I always fell into the 'fat girl' category and had to do mandatory physical training five days a week (rather than the 3 days a week like the rest of the fleet). So, that was highly embarrassing. Because they made you do everything all while the skinny folks watched on their lunch breaks. I remember hearing them laugh and snicker. It was highly embarrassing :(
In 1993 I got married in Hawaii to my ex-husband. We had our two sons by 1995 and then I decided to get out of the Navy. After having my sons I gained more weight and it continued to creep up on me. Even my ex-husband treated me differently because of my weight and sometimes he got very mean. "You're so fat no one would want you, so you're stuck with me." I used to get that a lot, but that is why he's my ex-husband, right? LOL!
At age 25 I kept on getting really bad headaches daily, and I could hear my blood pressure in my ears. I knew something wasn't right and went to the Navy hospital to get checked out. Well, my BP was super high at 190/95. The doctor then put me on a diet with low-salt and told me he wanted to monitor me on a diet for a few months. Well, I was terrified and did what he told me. I started to feel a bit better, but could no longer stand the headaches or the feeling like I was going to 'pop'. So, the Navy doctor put me on blood pressure pills at the age of 26. I'm now taking 2 hypertensive medications in an attempt to control my hypertension.
In the past five years I've definitely seen a dramatic change in my health due to my weight. It's rapidly deteriorating and my weight is literally killing me. Foot pain, back pain, stress incontinence, abnormal blood chemistries, metabolic syndromes, GERD, and the list goes on and on. My insurance company doesn't find all my health problems a medical necessity and I am on my third attempt in three years to gain approval from my insurance carrier for the Lap-Band procedure. I'm frustrated, disappointed, depressed, and in utter disgust that insurance companies get to dictate our lives and what we can and cannot do to our bodies.
I will keep on trying for approval and will not just go away. I also plan on helping others with their approval process if needed. I have a strong desire to do something about the insurance approval processes. I want to make sure that no one has to go through anymore disappointment or frustration due to the insincerity and lack of compassion from these brutal money hungry insurance companies. We work hard and put money into our policies and by God if we need medical intervention it shouldn't even be an issue of payment or authorization from the insurance company. The bologna will stop here!!!! LOL!
I'm really a good person, and I love to make friends. So, if you'd like to drop a line please do so. If I can help anyone with the knowledge I've gained thus far about the appeal/authorization process I definitely will!
