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My Story I am 42 years old, 5’5” and weigh 243 lbs. I wear size 20/22 pants and 2X tops. I never really thought about my weight one way or another until I wanted to join the military (18 years old). When I went to check out all the branches I actually choose the Navy because I had to lose the least amount of weight – 30 lbs (I was 180 at the time). I put myself on a crazy crash diet and exercise program to lose the weight as fast as possible. I could only get to 25 lbs down and the day before I had to weigh in I took a bunch of laxatives (NEVER AGAIN!). I was over my weigh in by 2 lbs but they gave me a waiver and I joined the Navy for 5 years. The good thing about the military is that they give you a PT test and weigh in every six months so I kept myself within my weight range (not easily but I did it for five years). The moment I left the military and restrictions of weighing in and exercising came off I started a progression of gaining weight. Getting married, moving, new job, college, graduate school, and an uncertain future helped add more weight on. I work very hard to not let my weight interfere with my life. We live in a coastal region so summer clothes and swimsuits are a staple. My husband (not overweight) loves the water and I love my husband so I am good about not letting my weight become an issue in our marriage (which means even if I feel uncomfortable in my 22 size bathing suit I fake my enthusiasm for spending the day on the water). I never thought about WLS until my sister had lapband surgery a few years in Mexico. She actually had a bad situation with her band slipping and had to go into emergency surgery and now she is battling the insurance company to cover the emergency surgery. Up until then I hadn’t know about medical tourism or about the many WLS options. This past fall I started to research different WLS surgeries. I have to lose 100 lbs and that is beyond overwhelming to me. The most I lost was 30 lbs on WW but gained that back and more. I liked the sleeve option better then gastic bypass. My insurance does not cover it so I knew I was going to be self pay. My husband isn’t very chatty and I he said if that is something I wanted to do then fine but he is fine either way (I married an easy going guy). He won’t be going with me….no sense in both of us going if he’ll be bored. I am not telling anyone about the surgery. I don’t want to be talked out of it (it is enough to keep myself from talking myself out of it!). I think I am a good candidate for surgery. My health is very good (minus the 100 excess pounds). My weight related ailments include – lack of energy, knees that bother me, and snoring. Our only son is married and serving in the military (so no small children). I am on temporary assignment outside of the classroom this year so I don’t have the crazy and stressful teacher schedule (which will make recovery easier for me). I am mentally preparing for a rough few months after surgery (I am not a complainer and can tough out a lot). I am worried about the normal things – complications, insurance not covering complications, dying, long term ramifications, dealing with my eat out friends. However I am looking forward to buying clothes in normal sizes, fitting into airplane seats, crossing my legs, having more energy, enjoying being outdoors. My surgery is on March 28th.

I had my LB 11/10/2009 and got laid off from my job 11/16/2009 on the day i returned from surgery.... So I lost my insurance. Thanks God my surgery was covered and one years fellow ups... up to 7 fills. Skip ahead to seven months after and now i'm self pay..... my surgeon charges $235 per fill. So i paid for a fill in July 2010 and then waited till Nov. to get another. Went one year with out going back. Last appointment 12/2011. total weight loss .... 80lbs. 14cc band and with all the my visits and my calculations i should have 10.9cc in my band. My doctor has acquired a new doctor in his office and i saw him that day for the first time. Not a good experiences. Never Never had pain while getting a fill.... but this time... hurt like hell. He stick the needle in and because i had not been in in over a year he pulls every thing out to see what i have.....pulls up .... 10cc. I'm like what the hell happened to my .9cc. he said it sometime evaporates. OH OK. didn't know that. So he puts in .5cc at a charge of $235. Wen home and i knew something was not right... i was STARVING... and could eat solids. so i called him back and went back in the next day. he pulls up 10CC.... WHERE IS MY .5CC that you put in yesterday? He said... I don't know.... but that will be $85..... WAIT.... WHAT...you are charging me again? so after multiply rants and Bi@ch fests..... and me telling him he was wrong and that he is raping people that are self pay for fill.... I WON...... He has now changed his fill price too...... $150. To all of my Dr.'s self pay patients...... your welcome.

This morning I got up and I stood in front of the scale, as I always do....looking down as I stepped onto it, (I believe I stop breathing each time as I wait for the numbers to appear) it said 219!!! I have waited to hit the point where I was in the "teens"!!! I thought there would be a happy dance, but instead I was in awe! I don't think I have come to yet! This is a big step in my journey for my mental part of this. I realize I can do this! What a great feeling! One number less and in overdrive with confidence! Hip Hip Hooray!

I clean when I get nervous or frustrated and right now my house is spotless, my plants have been replanted, and if it wasn't so cold out, the cars would be washed. I have ONE more day and a wake up before my surgery. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited, but I'm really nervous because even though I lost on the pre-op diet, I'm still dangerously close to my cut-off. My body is just rebellious! As soon as she figures out I'm on some kind of diet, she shuts down all weight loss. Story of my life! Meanwhile, going to find something else to clean.

So today was my two week post op with my doctor. I went in feeling a little nervous that they wouldn't be happy with my progress........ I found out that I've lost a total of 23 lbs since my last visit and that he's happy with the progress so far!! My lab work came back good, again I had concerns about dehydrations since I'm struggling with drinking enough water...... As for meeting with the dietician, she gave me my new diet to follow which consists of a little more variety but still no solids and everything has to be pureed ( hope I spelled that right).......... And finally, tomorrow is my first day back to work........... So we'll see how that goes!! All in all, not a bad day!! :0)

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Ya know, I really hate it when I give someone explicit instructions - even WRITE THEM DOWN about what I can eat and they don't follow them and then get pissy at ME because they don't follow instructions. Don't volunteer yourself to go get lunch if you're not going to pay attention. Knowing I have specific food requirements, you should probably pay attention. I didn't write it down because I'm trying to annoy you, I'm trying to do things right. If you don't want to do them right, don't volunteer to do them. I get that mistakes are made - no big deal, but then to get pissy and lash out at ME because you can't seem to handle it - that ain't gonna fly.

Since my surgery is paid for by Tricare (military insurance) I have worked with a bariatric team until I finished all of my pre-requisits for surgery. Today I met my actual surgeon. He seemed very nice and informative. He completely agrees that the sleeve is the best option for me. I got lots more information on the things I will doing before and immediately following my surgery. I will meet with my anethesiologist on March 27 and have the surgery on March 28. I'm getting anxious now but I am so ready for this change. Cynthia

This leads me to family goals. I’m inadvertently very close to my immediate family, (mom and 2 brothers), mainly because we all still live together under the same roof. We often drive each other crazy, but have come to an agreement to change our bad eating habits and start being active. As a family, we’d like to take part in a race (walk or run) for a cause. It’s an idea that will not only help us meet our physical goals but also raise money and awareness for an organization. We’re thinking the Avon Walk for breast cancer in October for my grandma and aunt who are survivors. I’d like to do one for heart disease, which has affected my family greatly. Another family goal is to celebrate big occasions, holidays, and birthdays in other ways than just a sit down dinner with a tremendous amount of food. This Easter I would like for my entire family to help out a local soup kitchen. We are so blessed in our lives and should share our good fortune with others. Another idea is do some sort of activity, like walk over the Brooklyn Bridge or visit the Natural History Museum. Yes, we have to eat, but we don’t need to be stationary the whole day. Also, healthier choices can be put on the menu during family meals when dinner is inevitable. Sugar plum fairies will no longer be invited to our Christmas festivities. Change is a process, and family traditions will probably be the hardest to evolve into healthier forms of celebration. I know it’ll be worth the effort!