girlfriday

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]I have struggled with my weight my entire life. Obesity on both sides of my family. My highest weight after high school reached 150 lbs. So, I was somewhat overweight at 5'3. When I graduated from college in 1995, I weighed 125 pounds. Thinnest I have ever been. I felt good, I looked good, it was all good. I still watched what I ate and ate healthy and exercised almost daily. I am a pharmacist, so my job requires standing for long hours without a scheduled lunch break. In a busy pharmacy, you eat whenever you can. You pee whenever you can.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]I had my first child in 1997 and gained 50 lbs with that pregnancy. I lost some with little effort (maybe 10 lbs) but the other 40 was very, very stubborn. I never got below 165. I continued to eat healthy, walked frequently with my new baby in the stroller, yada yada yada. My weight hit an all time in 2001. I decided I had to take drastic measures and joined Weight Watchers. Boy, I was on my way. I lost 30 pounds in 4 months. I was feeling great. Really gung ho and never missed a weigh in or meeting if I could help it. In Feb 2002, we found out we were expecting our 2nd child. I was fearful of gaining all of my weight back plus some so I was very careful. I gained 30 pounds. That was all of my WW weight loss. As soon as I could, I was back at WW but it was very different that time around (and the other 10-15 times I would rejoin, I never reached lifetime). I had a new baby, hadn't done the baby thing in a while because by 2002 my first child was 5&1/2. I had more stress, working 12 hour shifts wasn't easy and I had severe post partum depression.[/font]

[font=comic sans ms,cursive]I will spare all the yo yo dieting details and fast forward to 2011. I had developed chronic bursitis over the years. I guess because of all the standing I did. I cannot really pinpoint what caused me to have this condition. About a year ago, my hip worsened and worsened. I was becoming very immobile/sedentary and my depression worsened. I didn't eat when I was in a really bad funk, I didn't eat at all until my blood sugar would drop and I would have to. So, I was at a point, I just didn't care. I ate whatever. Didn't cook much, skipped meals and ate unhealthy snacks to curb the hunger. I realized in March of this year that I just couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't work an 8 hour shift without being in extreme pain. I was trying to diet some times, but I knew I needed to exercise and until I could get something resolved with my hip, I was going no where. I elected to have surgery and the doctor just removed the bursa from my hip. I thought, well great. No bursa, no bursitis. Correct I was (at least so far). But, I still have pain in my hip and thigh area. I did PT but I had to get back to work and PT had to go to the wayside. Back at work now for about 8 weeks and at 3 weeks back at work I noticed the pain getting worse. I was soooooo discouraged. The doctor put me on Mobic (which has helped, but I will have to soon say good bye because it is an NSAID, like ibuprofen, only better). [/font]

[font="'comic sans ms"]A friend of mine told me she was having gastric bypass. She wanted me to consider it. I really didn't want by pass, but my sister had the sleeve done 2 years ago and has done very well. I wasn't even considering the band. So, I convinced myself and my husband that I would get a sleeve and just pay for it out of pocket. I had to restore my quality of life. My insurance would not cover WLS under any circumstances. So, I was going to do whatever it took and get scheduled for surgery and just pay for it. $20,000 in the US. Someone on here suggested going to Mexico and I was like, ha ha very funny, no way!!!! My friend was trying to convince me to use her doctor who was only charging her $14,500 for by pass. I don't particularly care for the hospital she will be having surgery at. I was adamant about using the doctor I had chosen. One reason was because my sister had used him. I went to the seminar and their statistics were phenomenal. Being in the healthcare field, and having worked in a hospital, I have seen some unpleasant things happen. I was doing some research and just came across the Mexico WLS website. I dug even deeper. Now, I knew my husband and family would object, 100%. But, if I can go there and have surgery for $5000 (sleeve) and it is all state of the art and it is safe, maybe I should consider it. So, I did and I am going to Mexico. I would agree that this decision may seem extreme to some and CrAzY to even go to another country for surgery, but I have done my homework. I am very happy with my decision. I am at peace with it. I am looking forward to losing many many lbs and getting healthy. At the age of 40, nearly 41, I feel like I am 80 physically. I look awful. I feel awful. I do not go anywhere. I do not do anything. So, this surgery is going to save my life and that makes me happy. Happier than I have been in a very long time.[/font]