scoon001
Hi! My name is Sara. I am a 31 year old, almost 32 year old, living in Saint Augustine, FL. I am originally from Philadelphia, PA..the land of cheesesteaks and soft pretzels! I have been overweight my entire life. My mom says she had to put my on skim milk at 6 months old. I was a chubby kid but very athletic, playing soccer, softball and basketball. My athletic nature continued in high school. I was an All City Field Hockey and Softball player. I was probably about 225-250 a that point but I was a hard worker and could always keep up and actually surpass what others thought I couldn't do. When I was 17, I was diagnosed with PCOS. This made sense for a good amount of my weight struggles but then there were the other reasons. I, like most people who are different, was teased constantly from grade school to just recently. That was hard. That tended to make me pretty depressed and like a lot of people, I turned to food to make me feel better. It would make me feel better for a short time but then it would make me feel horrible. I have tried most diets...I have an early memory of going to Nutri System, I think I was 10 or 11years old. I tried diet after diet but they all eventually failed. I became a nurse in May 2002. I am a Labor and Delivery Nurse and I love what I do! Between 2004 and 2007, I moved 3 times to 3 different states. Moving, starting over so frequently and also working night shift helped me balloon to 310 lbs. I settled in FL in 2007 and started to see a MD regularly in 2009-2010. It was then I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, high BP, high cholesterol, and was urged to finally get serious to lose some weight. That is when I investigated WLS. I did the research and deciided to have Lap Band surgery with Dr. Craig Morgenthal at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, FL. Before I could have the surgery, per my insurance, I had to go through a 6 month program with a dietician. That was amazing. I learned how to eat for the right things for before the surgery and after and lost 25 lbs before my surgery! I finally had my Lap Band placed on January 17th, 2011. Best decision I ever made. I will be honest, I was embarassed at first to be so "out of control" that I needed to have WLS. What I have realized over these past few months is that WLS is not the be all and end all of your weight loss problems. WLS is a tool to help aid you in your weight loss journey. If you don't follow the rules, it won't work. I realize this won't be easy but I am committed to changing my life....only I can do it and I will!
