I am 37 years old and have struggled with my weight my entire life. I have four children who range in age from 10, 11, 12, to 17 along with my husband whom I love dearly. I have missed out on so much of my life due to my weight; anywhere from not being able to run and play with my children to having to dress in clothing made from what I called (curtains) to being embarrassed of the way I look to myself and others. I never really realized how heavy I was until I finally noticed my full body reflection in the mirror one day and I was so disgusted. I couldn’t believe that I allowed myself to get so huge. My highest weight ever was 291 pounds on my 5’00” medium frame. I hadn’t been to the doctor in years and I feared that I had diabetes or may be on the verge of having a heart attack or worse. Why didn't I see what I was doing to myself before it got so out of control! The horrible thing about it is that I was always teased about my weight by my siblings and made to believe I was really fat, when in reality I was only about 15 pounds overweight. I noticed then what I looked like. It is as though the older I got the less I cared and it shows. I have struggled, succeeded and failed with diet after diet, Weight Watchers, Michael Thurmond, purchased gym memberships, exercise equipment, over the counter weight loss pills, and prescribed weight loss medications which all helped me lose weight but in turn I gained it all back and then some. I have been pondering whether or not to apply for bariatric surgery through my insurance since August 2006. I finally made the decision in January 2007 to submit my application. I was approved on January 17, 2007 and was so excited. I think what kept me from applying back in 2006 was fear of being denied. After my approval, I had the option to attend a two month class called Weight Management, which I did and then a required class called Surgery Connections and they both were very informative. Well it has been a long road and it is finally November and I have been patiently awaiting my surgery date which is November 27, 2007 @ 7:30am. I can’t wait, because all I want is to have my “LIFE” back! I want to be able to walk into a clothing store and shop in the Misses section and I don’t ever want to see another piece of plus size clothing in my closet again! I want to be able to walk and stand for long periods of time without the back and joint pain. I also want to look and feel good about myself and believe that it is what I deserve. I no longer want to endure the rude looks of disgust from strangers as if I am some lazy person whom has never dieted nor exercised in their life! If they only knew that back in early 2006 I use to spend 2 hours in the gym five days a week plus attended an intervals and abs class twice a week on top of that! NEVER judge a book by its cover!!! I was only able to do this for about 4 months and due to my joint, back pain and plantar fasciitis in both feet I had to stop. I was so disappointed and angry at the same time because I was actually losing weight/eating right and I enjoyed the way I was doing it. I was very frustrated with myself because it made me feel helpless and defeated. This is when I started to think seriously about bariatric surgery, I needed help with my weight because if I didn’t do something soon I was going to be using a cane for walking; have a heart attack; or lose my life and that was not going to happen. So here I am today and patiently waiting for the next chapter of my life to begin…
