Melissa T.
Hey hey hey!!! I'm not one for talking about myself but here goes.
I'm an Army wife and mother of 4 boys...yes 4....boys!!! Their ages are 7, 2 year old twins (supposed to have been triplets) and a 6 month old. We are currently stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and have been here since July of 2010. We've gone through 3 deployments and countless field problems, training exercises, TDY assignments, etc.
My weight has been an issue off and on just about my whole life. I can remember as far back as about the age of 10 when I recall having issues. Around that time my parents were going through a pretty nasty divorce and I found comfort in food. Swiss cake rolls were my "best friend." I was/am an emotional eater. I remember being in the 6th grade and being a pretty athletic person, build and all, I was gaining weight and ultimately was wearing a size 6 misses at a very young age. I yo-yo'd back and forth for quite some time. High school came and I was pretty thin, at least I thought. I wasn't as active as I would have liked to have been but I was still wearing about a 6 or so. College came and I was about a size 8-10 and continued that up until I met and moved in with boyfriend, now husband. I remember getting up to about a size 12-14 weighing at about 150-160 around the time we got married in 2002 and was mortified...especially being only 5' 6". Looking back that wasn't so bad...nothing like now.
Our first deployment came in 2003 and a week to the day before my husband left we discovered we were pregnant with our first child. This was not a good combination as I had not been separated from my husband for more than about 2-3 weeks at a time and knowing I wasn't going to see him until God knows when was devastating. I did pretty good through out the first 3 months of my pregnancy not really gaining a tremendous amount of weight. After that point it was pretty steady. I started out about 160 and by the time I went to go deliver my son I was close to 300!!! I couldn't believe it. I fell into the saying "I'm eating for 2 so I can get away with it." Boy was I wrong!!! After having our child, I wasn't very active unless it was taking care of the baby. My life was consumed as it was all so new to me...especially not having my husband there until about 3 months after. I had eventually lost some of the weight but not even close to where I was pre-pregnancy.
During the second deployment our son was older and in day care so I had more time to concentrate on me. I started out about 245 and ended up getting down to about 180 which was fantastic!!! Some of that weight came off due to some news I had received that was devastating and as a result of the news I couldn't keep anything in or down. I kept that weight off for a while...about 2 years or so and then we got pregnant again......with TRIPLETS!!! We had talked about possibly trying again but never really made a decision. God made the decision for us...times 3. (We miscarried one when I was about 20 weeks along.) I did pretty well with weight again during this pregnancy and my husband was home which was good. A short 5 months after the birth of our babies, he deployed again!!! During this deployment I was pretty active...I had twins!!! About half way through I started Nutrisystem and was prescribed phentermine (miracle drug!!!). I lost 50 pounds and was on cloud nine!!!
Now brings us to the last and final pregnancy. The night my husband came home from deployment we conceived our 6 month old. I was on birth control and a higher power said this was how it was going to be. Again, didn't gain much weight during the pregnancy but didn't start out at a decent weight either. Since the birth of the baby the end of July, I lost about 20 pounds from breast feeding and trying to juggle taking care of the twins, the baby, carting our oldest to and from school and wrestling practice...blah blah blah. :D Well those 20 pounds were gained back along with about 15-20 more due to the Mirena.
So now that we're up to speed....I went in to see my PCP the beginning of October to see what the possibility for WLS was. He put in the referral and about 2-3 weeks later I got the insurance letter in the mail to call the surgeon. At that point I did the on line seminar and was scheduled for December 22nd for my first consult. Had my psych evaluation done on the 23rd and got the call December 28th from the insurance saying I was approved!!! The only thing I was left waiting on was the report from the psychologist being sent to the surgeon....and boy that seemed to take FOREVER!!! I got the call Wednesday from the surgeon's office and I now have a date!!!! February 28th will be the beginning of my new life and I couldn't be more excited, nervous, anxious, and everything in between.
So there's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'm sure I left a bit out but it's long enough as is. 
