blondesires
I have been battling the scale since I had my 2nd child 20 years ago. I'm 5'9" and weighed 140 lbs when I married in 1979. I am no longer married but have managed to gain & lose & gain back a lot of weight over the past 20 years. Last August 2006 I was diagnosed with high blood pressure & put on medication for it. My pressure went down but my weight soared another 20 lbs to 276 which is where I am now. I'm single....not dating anyone & afraid to meet anyone new because I am so heavy. I feel very unattractive & unhealthy. I've also developed arthritis in my shoulders, back & legs. I tried dieting & seem to get nowhere. I swear these pills have slowed up my metabolism. I'm 53 & feel like 83. I want to feel good again. My kids are getting older & going out on their own so I find myself spending many hours home alone. I decided it's time to do something to change my life for the better.
I had my first appointment with the bariatric surgeon, Dr. Geiss, 12/26/06. I'm a good candidate for lap band surgery & he thinks I can shed 100 lbs within a year.....if only....I haven't been under 200 lbs in 10 years. As soon as I got home from that appointment I started calling & scheduling appointments for all the necessary consults....psych, dietition, pulmonologist, cardiologist, Gi series etc. I was done by 1/15/07 & my info was submitted to the insurance company 1/22/07. They wanted to schedule me for surgery in March but I wanted it done while I was off from work the 3rd week of February. My insurance company, NYSHIP takes a minimum of 30 to pre- certify. i can't tell you how depressed I felt when I heard this. I can't take off in March so I'd have to wait till spring break in April if they take 30 days to approve of the surgery. Liz & Joann in Dr. Geiss's office were very helpful. They had a letter sent requesting a rapid review because my surgery is scheduled for 2/22/07. I received approval from my insurance company, yesterday, 1/29/07. Thank you Liz & Joann! I can't wait to start losing this weight!