torismom2

Let me just start by saying that I have fought a weight problem since I was about 18 years old. That being said, I wish I weighed now what I weighed then when I [b]thought[/b] I was fat! Like most dieters, I have tried, succeeded temporarily, and ultimately failed at many weight loss programs. Mine include NutriSystem, a total liquid diet, low fat diet, Weight Watchers, phen/fen, Atkins, and probably a few more along the way that I have forgotten. When I reached the age of 40, I pretty much said forget it, no more dieting, and let come what may. Well, it did. I reached my highest weight at (gasp!) 268... and I'm just shy of being 5'4". This picture is me at my worst! I hate even posting it here, but it is what it is... or rather, it was what it was!
[url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mk0wYqw2mK4/UNzDKOR6JNI/AAAAAAAAA2g/3C1SZYMu40U/s1600/Stacey+June+2011.jpg"][img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mk0wYqw2mK4/UNzDKOR6JNI/AAAAAAAAA2g/3C1SZYMu40U/s320/Stacey+June+2011.jpg[/img][/url]

After recovering from a divorce that hurt me deeply, I spent about a year contemplating weight loss surgery. The "lap band" was the latest technique and I thought it might just be the way for me to go. in the meantime, the husband of a good friend of mine did a LOT of research and decided to have laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, or "gastric sleeve" surgery. After his success (he lost 125 pounds in one year), my friend decided to have the same procedure and began the medical/insurance process. I soon took the plunge and began the process myself in July 2012.

So why did I choose the gastric sleeve over gastric bypass or gastric banding? Well, in my mind it was a simpler procedure. By that I mean that there is no "re-routing" of the digestive tract as is done in gastric bypass surgery. The amount of excess weight lost for each of the procedures is almost the same. I did not consider gastric banding at all after reading of poor results, complications, and the long-term likelihood of wear and tear on the stomach.

[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JSO5RCBpIcU/UNzDvvt3fmI/AAAAAAAAA2o/Hg-L7doSI2o/s320/Stacey+and+Tori.jpg[/img]

[font=Arial]So after a few months of medical tests, psychological evaluation, a sleep study that found I had obstructive sleep apnea, and classes at the bariatric center, I was finally scheduled for surgery on December 19, 2012. This picture was taken in July 2012, when I was at around 245 pounds, the same weight as when i went in for surgery.[/font]

My wonderful boyfriend volunteered to be the one to take me to Dallas for the surgery, and we drove from Amarillo to Dallas on December 18. We reported to the hospital at 7:00 a.m. on December 19 and the surgery was done that morning.