brendaw24
Hi...my name is Brenda Williams. I am 42 (hard for me to believe!) and had Lap Band surgery on 7/9/07. I researched this for quite a while, looking for all of the pros and cons. I have several good friends who have been through RNY surgery, and I was just too chicken to do that one.
I chose Lap Band because it was the least invasive of all the choices, had the fewest side effects, and most importantly, was completely reversible if I encounter problems. I have been fighting my weight since age 13. I had a large goiter that was removed at that age, and at the time was hyperthyroid. Couldn't take gym class because all of my organs accelerated, including my heart, and they were afraid I would have a heart attack.
I am from Dayton Ohio, and at that time, there were no Pediatric surgeons who would do the surgery to remove the goiter, so we were off th the Mayo Clinic. Prior to surgery I was thin, probably around 124 lbs or so, but by the end of high school in 1983, I was gaining weight. I had risen to approximately 180 when I met my husband in 1988 at age 23.
Of course I wanted to look good for my wedding, so I approached my family doctor about weight loss. He tried me on several pills, as well as accupuncture (small staples in the ears that were supposed to decrease appetite.) By the time my wedding day rolled around, I had made it to around 158-160. I just celebrated my 19th anniversary this year, and was tierd of being heavy and not being able to do much about it. When they removed my goiter, my thyroid went with it, and I could not lose weight and keep it off for the life of me. I was totally disgusted to admit to myself that I had hit 260 pounds in January 2007, and by the time I did my research on my Surgeon and was in his office for my first consult, I weighed 267 on his scale. That was truly one of the most humbling moments of my life. I felt like a total failure and knew I HAD to do this or I was going to just go downhill from there.
My last fasting blood sugars had placed me in the 'impaired' or pre-diabetic range, and I do not want to have Diabetes. So, off I went to the Psych consult, and the dietician, then my family doctor...which was probably the most humiliating appointment of all...I worked in the office doing insurance precerts and test scheduling for 11 years and was friends with most of these folks. There are some very judgmental people there (all thin, I might add...) who look down their nose at people with weight issues. I sucked it up and got through that, and the rest was easy. Once my Surgeon's office submitted my information to Anthem, they approved my surgery in 3 days. I was totally shocked at that, after all the horror stories I have heard about denials and having to jump through hoops before gaining approval, it all seemed too easy. So, here I am, ready to start being a 'Loser'...a term which I will never think of the same way again...for me, being a loser means having better health and a better self-image. Good Luck to all considering this surgery or one of the others!!
