My name is Linda and im going to start my story here. I am 37 years old and i have been overweight my entire life except a few short teenage years. I am the mother of two terrific kids and the wife of a wonderful man for 19 years now.

18 years ago my son was born and with him came an additional 90 pounds..i struggled for years to lose the weight and then when i was 29 years old i quit smoking and there came another 30 pounds.

Just recently i was reflecting on my son's 18th birthday when i came to realize that i have been dieting and trying to lose this extra 120 pounds for EIGHTEEN years now......and so that is what brought me here.

In the past i have tried Weight Watchers, Atkins, low fat, low calorie, diet pills, you name it i've tried it and now i know that i can't do this alone.

I have made a dr.'s appointment for this thursday Dec. 13th 2007 to discuss the possibility of a lap band.

I have to admit the ideal of this both excites me and scares me to death at the same time...but without it i don't think i will live a very happy and healthy life. I want to be thin and have my health back, i want to be around for my husband ,children, and future grandchildren....my whole life i feel i have been taking care of others and now its time to take care of me.....and so my journey begins.

Congratulations on your decision, and welcome the club!

Congrats and welcome to my life and why I decided to have the band. I am 36 with 2 kids and some 20 years later I was still battling my weight. My "aha" moment came when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. I knew where I was headed and knew the time was right for me. Keep focused but ultimately you'll know when the time is right.

I have not been banded yet. My info has been submitted to the insurance company. I'm waiting. It was submitted last week Wednesday - That was six reg. days and four business days ago. They it normally takes about two weeks to get an answer. I hope I can survive the wait. I used to be 36. I'm not anymore. I have a five year old. I want to be alive while she grows up. I want to enjoy my life with her. I want her to be proud to say to her friends, "That's my mommy." she is now, but she's five. I wonder if she would feel the same if she wer're sixteen. Good luck to you.