Debbie M.
I am the oldest of 3 children. Many of my mother's side of the family have obesity problems. Many or most of them developed diabetes. When I was a young child I told my mother I wanted to grow up to be just like my "BigMama". She was my cherished grandmother. She weighted about 350 pounds. I loved her and wanted to be just like her. At about age 13 I developed what I now know was polycystic ovary syndrome. My periods were far and few between and I began gaining large amounts of weight quickly. I was not diagnosed with PCOS until about 1985 when I saw a new gynecologist. He showed me a medical book that showed all the symptoms of PCOS and I had them all. He didn't treat me for it though. Just told me to lose weight.
My weight grew to about 355 in 2000 and I was diagnosed with diabetes. I had looked into weight loss surgery in 1997 but the insurance I had did not cover the procedure. In Januray, 2006 I came to work at UT Southwestern in Dallas because I found out their insurance covered the procedure. I met with the surgeon in February. My weight then was 340 pounds. I was approved for surgery in March, but had to wait until July to have surgery when I'd have vacation time to take 2 weeks off work per the surgeon's recommendations.
I had surgery on July 10, 2006. My post op weight was 321.4 pounds. I've made slow progress losing weight, but it's coming off. My first goal was to try to lose 50 pounds by November 2, 2006.
