BrownLC
I didn't get heavy until my 20's. I was always thin in high school and as a child. Actually come to think of it , so were my sisters. I've got three sisters that all have weight issues that came on in their 20's. My mom has our high school grad pictures on her wall and you would hardly recognize any of us because of the weight. In my 20's I worked at a resort with a 5 star restaurant attached. For staff, the kitchen was open 24-7. Needless to say that was the begining of a life long weight battle. I don't know when I went over 200lbs, but it was before I got married at 31.
Basically, at 32, I had my first son, Cullen Jeffery, he died the day after he was born from Potter's Syndrome, which means he didn't have kidneys. My husband and I were devestated. it took us a few more years, a miscarriage, and a lot of heartache before we had our second son, Landen. I had thought about the surgery before, but GPS doesn't go well with trying to get pregnant. And I was already high risk enough.
So when Landen was about a year & a half old, and the new year, '07, came, I made a resolution to lose weight. I joined WW thinking I had to lose before being accepted for GPS. It did help convince my Primary Care doctor that I was serious and to refer me to a surgeon, but it wasn't needed for my insurance co to approve the surgery. At 295, even with no co-morbidities, I was an appropriate candidate for surgery.
I enlisted my mom for moral support. My husband was already very supportive, he's in the medical field, as an x-ray tech/dept. manager. My mom and I went to the info seminar given at Stanford University in San Jose, CA. It was a good 2 hours from my home in Merced. Going into the seminar, I had my mind turned toward the Lap Band surgery. It seemed most appropriate for me. I wanted something low risk, less invasive, adjustable, and reversable. I discovered that it would allow me less weight loss, possible slipage, would need to be adjusted with possibly frequent trips to the doctor for injections into my abdomen to adjust the band, and that the Band could be cheated, by flushing the small pouch out with water and eating more. It sounded like a hassle and not as effective as the Roux En Y bypass. So my mom and I both came away from that agreeing that the RNY was the surgery for me. I liked the doctor at Stanford, but the distance and the fact that I could get a student performing part of the surgery were a turn off. Then I discovered that Clovis Comminuntiy Hospital was the 5th leading hospital in the nation for GBS and it was in my backyard, about 50 minutes from home. I also found Dr. Higa. So a month later, my husband & I went to his intro seminar. We were sold on Dr. Higa. My first appointment was scheduled for a month later. My only complaint, was that the pre-op time was lengthy, I really wanted to move forward, but my surgery was scheduled for June 5th, and in hind sight that wasn't too long.
I had my surgery at Clovis Community Hospital and I would highly recommend it & Dr. Higa to anyone. The hospital staff was great
