gina1107
I have never really been a heavy person until the last 9 years. My whole life I have been active and pretty fit actually. I was raised by a fatphobic who was on my sister and I constantly to "dont eat that" and OMG you are going to get fat like your grandmother if you keep it up! So most of my life was spent trying to eat on the sly and to make my mother happy. As I got older I was very active in sports and the like in high school and college, and really could eat and not gain weight. SOOOOO...... When I met my husband I was a size 7 and active. I am married to a man who can eat like a horse and not gain a pound ( can you say resentment?) I was in nursing school at the time and was under a ton of stress and gained a few pounds. I went on Jenny Craig for my wedding and lost it all and felt great. After we got married I started to gain weight. Not a ton but enough. We started trying to have a baby and I went off the pill. In 1 month I gained 30 pounds! I went to the dr and they said I had hypothyroid. I figured that would solve the problem and just went on my merry way...... Well to make a long story short we had a problem getting pregnant (2 years and a surgery later that happened) and I continued to eat and not exercise, and eat some more and before I knew it I was 220 pounds. My husband was not complaining so I just thought I could start to exercise and diet and it would go away. After my twins were born I slowly ballooned up to 250 pounds. Then I just could not lose it! The more depressed I got about it the worse it got. By the time I discovered the lap band I was almost 300 pounds and sick about it. I could not walk well, I had high blood pressure and was taking diabetic meds daily. I was depressed and upset and would not look at myself in the mirror. I hated myself ! And then there was my mother. The woman was relentless. The comments were horrible! My favorite was the time she asked me how my ankles were holding up my body! And how she was afraid they were going to snap with the weight! Nice huh? I had been secretly online researching all the different bariatic procedures and found the Lap band. I decided that is what I wanted to b/c I felt it was the best procedure for me. I went to my dr to talk about it and she was 100% for it. It must have been gods will b/c that day I got the referral for my surgeon the next week. I saw him and that day had ALL my tests scheduled for the next week! My husband was not a fan at first but he met my surgeon and liked him so he felt better. Everything was in place. The drs office put the paperwork to insurance and we waited, and waited and waited. Finally my husband started calling the insurance to see what the problem was....... MY SURGEON QUIT!!!!! No letter, not a phone call and I find out from my insurance company. I was approved for the surgery with NO SURGEON! They told me I had to have the surgery where I started and would have to see the other surgeon in the practice. I did not know her, had never seen her and was not exactly happy......I had to wait almost 2 months to get in to see her. Finally I saw her and she was going on vacation. OMG I thought this was never going to happen...... She did get me in for surgery 2 weeks later and on 3/15/07 I finally was banded. I can honestly say this has not been a horrible ride. My band is fickle, my hair fell out , but we made it through. After numerous pb sessions I can say my band and I are friends. Every day is different - yet the same. I now am excersizing on a regular basis and feel great. I am almost 15 months out and down almost 70 pounds. I feel great and people are so supportive. My kids are so funny - they tell people.... My mommy cant eat that - she has a lap band! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Even my mother is making POSITIVE comments instead of negative. I feel like me again and have my life back. That is all I wanted. I thank God for leading me to where I needed to be. He guides me daily. My goal is to be at goal by my second anniversary. I know I can get there and when I do It is going to be one hell of a party!
Gina
