ggiraffe
Hello, my name is Ginger. I'm a 40 year old mother of two, who has been on a diet since I was 9! As I look back in the pictures I was a size 16 in High School and 18 in College. My weight never bothered me. I was very outgoing, popular, had boyfriends and had no problems being the center of attention. I met the man of my dreams and we got married in 1994. He never commented about my weight. You know what they say...you gain weight when you are happy. I DID!!! Later, we tried to have children and even with fertility treatments, my weight was complicating things. I was diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and tried many a crash diet to lose weight. I did and in 1999 we had our first son, who is now 9. I gained the weight back and more. We tried to conceive again, but due to my Rheumatoid Arthritis medicine we weren't allowed to get pregnant. We did the work (classes, interviews etc) to adopt. In 2005 I found out that I had Endometrial Cancer and had a total Hysterectomy. God does have a sense of humor, because immediately after that in 8/05 we adopted our second son, who is now 3. Continued arthritis, hernia's, sleep apnea and being a stay at home mom has not improved my weight. I'm only getting bigger and more dissatisfied with myself. I tried Weight Watchers several times, every other month or so...but couldn't stay with it. My cousin and brother had the Lap-Band over a year ago with some success - hmmmm I thought? I never wanted to alter my body again after three abdominal surgeries, but this past summer, it was harder to walk, move, breath, play with my kids, get in and out of the car etc and I'd had enough. I will be seeing Dr. Terry Simpson about the Lap-Band procedure and discussing my options. I've prayed about this and believe this is the path for me. I watched this board for a while before I set up my account and found a couple of friends. They have been inspiring, supportive, knowledable and very friendly. I encourage everyone to read the boards, they are full of wonderful, awesome and helpful people. I hope to talk with you someday and get to know you also. Good Luck in your weight loss journey. I'm ready to begin mine! Ginger :-)
