whitniccole

Hi Everyone!!

My name is Whitney and I am 24 yrs old. My weight has been a battle my entire life. I was always referred to as the heavyset pretty girl. Many people always stated I didn't look as big as I actually was ( I guess my boobs < 38j> played a part in hiding my gut.) I had my daughter a few months before my 19th bday, and I only gained about 5 lbs during my pregnancy, because I was really sick. One thing my pregnancy did was allowed me to retain weight more. After I had my daughter the pounds started creeping up. Next thing you know its 5 yrs later and I am 240 lbs. I dieted and exercised in the past and seen great results; however, it wasn't a consistence lifestlye change for me and became expensive. Once I stopped I being to gain all the weight back....double.

I researched WLS for over a year before I made my 1st appt. to see my doc which was in Nov 2011. I was always interested in the Lap band because of the "reversible" angle it presented. Once I went to the appt. the staff started to talk more about the sleeve and it intrigued me. My weight at the initial appt. was 248 lbs and I am 5'6', so that put my BMI at 40.3 (i think??) I didn't have any health problems associated with my weight...I didn't have any health problems period. I was an overall healthy fat person, but based on my families history that wouldn't last long. My insurance BCBSIL stated my BMI needed to be over 40.5 b/c it rounds up to 41. Needless to say I would have went through a six mon. process to potentially be denied due to 5 lbs. I made up in my mind that I needed to just gain a few more lbs which shouldn't be hard since the holidays were around the corner. I made my next appt. Jan 26 and when I weighted in i was 259.2 lbs.

The process begun. I made appt. with the dietitians, got a physical,l and yearly check up. I was holding off on the blood work and evaluation until it was closer to the end of the process. I called my doc office the end of April just to check the progress and by that time I had already attended 3 nut appt. The staff advised me as of Mar 1st my insurance changed to a 30 day appv vs. 6 mon, and the only thing needed was my blood work and eval. Mentally I wasn't prepared for such great news, and I started to get some anxiety around it. However within 2 wks of the call to my doc I had everything completed. They submitted the info to my insurance company and within 5 days I called and it was approved. My surgery was scheduled a week and a half later for 5/30.

When I went for my pre-op visit on 5/17 I was 259.8. My doctor didn't put me on any type of pre-op diet but he did tell me he wanted to see me at 259.2 on the day of surgery or I would not be able to have it. immediately I started watching what I was eating. The the day before surgery I had to do a bowl prep and meet with the anesthesiologist. On that day I was weighted in at 256 lbs! so it was confirmed I would be able to have my surgery. The next day which was the day of surgery I weighted in at 253 lbs and my doc informed me if I would have loss anymore weight then I could have potentially been disqualified from having the surgery...thank god that didn't happen!

The ended up getting a hernia repair in addition to the sleeve. I had to stay an extra day in the hospital because I had much swollen and I couldn't keep the protein shakes or water down. The whole process so far has been great and I can't wait for my full transformation. I am most excited about breaking the "curse" for my daughter. I already have her more active then I was as a child. The fact that I will have to eat clean for the rest of my life enforces the fact that she will also as long as she is under my roof Food was an addition and coping outlet for me and I don't want that for her. Soooo cheers to the future .