Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

I was always a "chunky" kid. I was considered the "husky" one in the class. I remember my mother always having to shop for my clothes in the juniors section of the stores then going to get things hemmed as I was still so short. I was very shy and timid. I never spoke up or liked to draw any attention to myself. Once I hit high school, my weight became my enemy. I was so self-conscious. Although I had friends, I still kept to myself. I didn't go to after school parties or participate in any extra curricular activities. I got attention from boys but for all the wrong reasons. I was called "thick, ham hocks, Ms. Piggy, etc...". At 15 and 16 years old you don't know how to handle that kind of attention or criticism. My fix was music, chips and chocolate chip cookies. Being 5ft 175 lbs at 15 was not model for high school girls. After high school, I managed to drop some of the weight but still was considered over weight. I tried exercise, weight watchers, starvation, pills, shakes... basically everything out there short of surgery. Despite my weight, I managed to conceive my son when I was 21 years old. From the morning sickness (which I had 24/7 for half of my pregnancy) I dropped 30 lbs! Once that trial was over, I gained it all back. After having my son, I was diagnosed with gestational high blood pressure. I tried to monitor my food intake and exercise but being a single parent - that just wasn't going to happen, sleep was priority (of course AFTER all my sons needs were met). As my son got older, I got heavier. In 2009 I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. That was a smack in the face. It does run on my maternal side but I didn't think to try and prevent it from happening to me. I was in denial for some time and left it untreated. Then my health got worse from ignoring the diabetes. I met with an endocrinologist and worked with my primary to get things under control. At the time, I was also trying to conceive my next child. My son was 5 years old and wondered why it was taking so long for me to get pregnant. In meeting with my ob/gyn, I found out i have PCOS (Poly cystic Ovarian Syndrome). Talk about a punch to the face! I had the trifecta (so to speak): high blood pressure, diabetes and pcos. Three things keeping me from expanding my family. I had to loose over 100 lbs in order to get rid of all three in order to atleast TRY to conceive. No matter what I did on my own - this fact wouldn't change. I was at wits end and fell into a depression. My immediate family has always been there for support and I turned to them for advice on what to do. In doing so, I found out my sister had the same condition. She actually found out from her doctor that pcos is hereditary through siblings. I cried. She talked with her doctor about weight loss surgery, shared all of the information with me. I even attended her group meetings. I was her support. I talked with my doctor and was given the green light (i honestly didn't think we qualified) and that is when my ball started rolling on how to kick my diseases butt!

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

I think the worst thing about being over weight is the attention you get from it. You know how you feel and look in clothes but when other people point them out or make you the butt of their jokes. It is depressing. Shopping for clothes only happened out of necessity instead of enjoyment (like most women). Although my personality was outgoing and fun loving, I was an introvert, home-body, shy, reserved; all thanks to my weight. The other thing that people don't take into effect - medication! Because of my weight - I was on 2 pills for high blood pressure, 2 for pcos, 3 for diabetes, one pill for depression AND wear a mask for Sleep Apnea! It was expensive and disgusting to have to swallow all those pills and just wrong to have to wear a gas mask to bed every night.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

I had the gastric sleeve done on July 17,2012. My starting weight was 237 lbs, wearing a size 16-18 dress. After the first 2 months of pure un-comfortableness. I could breathe better at night which meant I got some peaceful sleep. I am more energetic and alert - no need for any depression treatment. I enjoy being with my significant other - I never realized how much my weight effected my love life. Spending true quality time with my son - instead of having him do the fun stuff as I sit and watch. I enjoy going out more - not worrying about my appearance. I enjoy compliments now - I know they are genuine and not forced or out of pity.