prissypoo13
Let me start with salutations and the hope that this day finds you well. I am a new OH member and wanted to share my story with others. I am a 6'0' 42 year old woman from South Carolina. My current weight is just under 350 and my BMI is 47. When I was young, I never really had any weight problems. I ate whatever I wanted and how much I wanted. My appetite was ravenous and I routinely gorged myself on the foods that I loved. My lowest adult weight was approximately 135 lbs. That may not seem like a really low number but when you're 6' tall, it makes you pretty lean. As stated before, I never experienced any signifcant weight gain until I became pregnant with my 1st child. After the birth I never lost the baby weight and just over 20 years later I find myself morbidly obese. I often ask myself, "how did I get to this point?". Of course, I don't ever come up with an answer that I like.
For the last 5 years or both my family doctor and my GYN doctor have both encouraged me to pursue WLS. I recoiled at the thought of having to undergo a surgical procedure just to lose weight. I knew even then that WLS was just a tool and that I would have to make the necessary lifestyle and dietary changes for the surgery to be successful. If one can have that kind of discipline after surgery, then why would one not be able to muster up the strength to lose weight without the surgery, right??? Well, that was my mentality 5 years ago. Since then, I have been on repeated diets, only to lose and regain more weight than I started with.
I guess my change of heart actually started last fall. I wanted to, once again, attempt weight loss by diet and excercise. I work in a lovely wooded business park jsut outside of Charlotte with great walking trails and had decided that I would benefit from taking at least one (hopefully two) walks each day. I thought this would be good for my mind, body and soul. When I got several minutes into the walk, I began to sweat profusely. I began panting for air as I could not seem to catch my breath. I did fail to previously mention that at that time had been a veteran pack-a-day smoker of 23 years. I'm sure that my history of smoking probably contributed to my shortness of breath but I must say that carrying the massive amount of weight definitely shared in the cause as well. I must also mention the hot burning pain stabbing me in the lower back during my stroll. So..... I suddenly came to the realization that I was too overweight to even get the minimal amount of excercise that I needed to shed even the first few pounds. I went on attempting to take at least one daily walk for the next few weeks despite the fact that I felt miserable the whole time. There was not even an ounce of pleasure or fulfillment in the activity. It was then that I realized my conumdrum.....I needed to walk to lose weight but I needed to lose weight to walk. It was in that moment that I had a change in heart and started to seriously consider and research WLS.
I took the first step in November 2008 by going to a WLS seminar offered to potential WLS candidates. I obtained the information that I needed to begin the legwork needed for insurance approval. I have been through a successful psychological evaluation, meetings with the dietitian, a physician-supervised weight loss program, and gathering all of my medical records from various doctors. I should also mention that I quit smoking last October in an effort to become an overall healthier person. Let me just say that quitting was the most God-awful thing that I've ever had to do. But the fact that I did it was proof to myself that I can be successful at weight loss, too. As of Feb 24th 2009, I supposedly have everything that my insurance company requires for surgery approval. I spoke with my surgeon's office and I believe that they submitted my documentation to the insurance company on March 11th (or at least they were supposed to). So now, here I sit, waiting on pins and needles for an answer from my insurance company. I am cautiously optomistic that I will be approved---optomistic because I feel that I have met every requirement of the insurance company and cautious because I've done enough research to know that despite the best efforts, sometimes the insurance companies can just be boogers when it comes to surgery approval.
I am very excited at the prospect of potentially having gone through surgery within the next month or so. I am also scared to death of the lifestyle changes that I know will be required to ensure my success in this endeavor. Regardless, I have come to the realization that I will greatly benefit from this surgery and, without it, may be doomed to a shorter life or at least one with much less quality than I want for myself.
I welcome any support, feedback, advice, or other pearls of wisdome that any of you would be willing to share. I look forward to hearing from you.
