DMcB
My name is Dana and I am 37 years old. I have been married for 16 years to my Jr. High sweetheart...we have been together since we were 13 years old... and we have a 14 year old daughter. We also had a son but he passed away in 1999...he was diagnosed with Leukemia at 6 weeks old and died when he was 2.
I am just beginning my journey to lapband surgery. I have found out that our insurance (Humana PPO) does not cover the cost so we are in the process of getting our funds together. I have also been to a seminar with Dr. Wilkenfeld...he is affiliated with AIGB. I welcome any and all suggestions and advice...bring it on!!!!
I have read many of profiles and my story is very similar to many that I have come across. I was always thin until I had my daughter...its amazing...all that 70 lbs. that I gained was NOT all baby...LOL! Imagine that??? I take full credit for my weight problems.....I like to eat....but my mother did take things to the extreme because of her own fear of ....FAT. I remember taking half of a slender bar to elementary school for the dessert to go with my lunch. Then in 6th grade when everyone else was taking dance class, gymnastics etc.. I was going to a Pat Walkers studio for weight loss....I think I had gone from the kids department to the junior department and my mom was just freaked totally out. Again, in High School when I finally started to get a figure...ya know...I went from a size 0 to a 1...she put me on a very strict diet and made me get back to a 0. I stayed that small till I married....I have a wedding dress hanging in my closet that is a 0.
So, I guess all of you know what happened when I finally got married and was the one buying the groceries. I began to gain weight...after about 5 months I was up to a size 5....then by our first anniversary I found out that I was pregnant. Our daughter was born in 1992. Well, I was dillusional I guess....because I really thought that I would leave the hospital wearing my old jeans. I was....WRONG!!! I left the hospital wearing the same maternity clothes I arrived there wearing. I did manage to get into a 14-16 but that was as small as I got. Then in 1997 I was pregnant with our son. I was much smarter then and only craved ice from the ice maker...not the mashed potatoes, chocolate milk, and steak finger baskets from DQ that I craved with our daughter. I gained about 30 lbs. with him. I came home from the hosital and instead of maternity clothes I did get to wear some of my size 14-16 things and was really on my way to losing the weight. In January of 1998 our son was diagnosed with Leukemia and our lives just spiraled out of control. He battled his disease fro 2 years. That meant 2 years of mostly being in the hospital becasue he was so tiny and had a hard time with his chemo....we usually just had to stay from treatment to treatment because he had a fever etc... When you are mostly in a very small hospital room holding a sick baby in your lap you really do not get much excercise. And at that time, we had a choice of The Bertner Cafeteria or McDonalds...sit on your butt a lot and eat McDonalds and see what happens. Needless to say I did not lose any more weight.....and I began a very sedentary, lonely, and depressed way of life. Our son passed away in 1999...on New Years Eve. It has been 8 years and I can honestly say that it feels as though I have been in a fog for all of those years...existing....not living. and all the while gaining weight. I am now at 236 lbs. which would not be bad if I were a 6'6" football player but looks pretty bad on a 5' tall 37 year old woman.
It was also at this time that our daughter began to gain weight. She was sometimes with us but many times with other family members or people from our church. And you know how we are....all of us think that comfort food really does comfort you. She handled our situation so well....never a jealous moment or any crying when we had to leave her but I know that her little life was really messed up for the 2 years that her brother was sick. She never knew who was picking her up from school or who would be home at night and she began to put on the lbs. When my husband and I were at home we "treated" her to lots of McDonalds and anything else she wanted because we were feeling so guilty for being away. I am telling you about her because she too will be having lapband...probably this summer. She is 14 years old....5'4" and weighs 257 lbs. We have to do something or I really fear that she will just continue to gain and she deserves a much better life. We are going to get healthy together!!
I am so thankful to have found this site and this forum and I look so forwar to learning more about everyone on here...what an awesome support group all of you are for one another!
