AFwife

I'm a  30 year old female, proud wife of an Air Force pilot, and I just graduated from internal medicine residency and have struggled with my weight all my life.  I grew up in a loving home, but never had genetics or healthy habits on my side.  I've done weight watchers 7 times, Jenny Craig when I was 14 years old, HMR AND Optifast.  I've lost 50-100 pounds four times now and it all just came back.  I had the habit of relieving stress with comfort foods and sweets.  Many times, during a 30 hour call, I would retreat to the cafeteria just for some down time.  Unfortunately, I also consumed food during those "down-times".   Total, I gained about 90 pounds during my three years in residency.  I needed something more permanent that could keep me on track, AFTER I had lost weight, and to keep me motivated and reminded of my goals.  As a physician, I couldn't live with the idea of hypocrisy in my job; of telling people they needed to maintain a healthy weight, when I couldn't do it myself.  My mother has hypertension and diabetes, and I know it's only a matter of time for me if I continue at my current weight.  Seeing patients in the hospital with the complications of these conditions is a definite motivation.  More than that, my goal is to be healthy for me, my family and for future kids.  I first considered the idea in January 2009 when I went to talk to my doctor about my weight, my problems with stress eating and to discuss options for losing weight.  I was willing to do another medically supervised diet, however, Tricare (the military insurance) would only pay for weight loss surgery.  So, it was actually for financial reasons that I first considered bariatric surgery.  Lap-Band worked best for me because it didn't re-route my GI tract, it can be unfilled in case of future pregnancies,  there is little to no risk of vitamin deficiencies, and it was less recovery time.  I feel more in control of my weight loss when I am able to have fills/unfills as things change in my life. In February 2009 I first contacted my surgeon, a very busy man, but an expert in his field here in St. Louis.  The information meeting was at the beginning of March 2009 and I completed my physical therapy, nutrition and psychology appointments in April.  My first appointment with the surgeon was May 26, 2009.  Tricare approved my surgery after the first request and my original surgery date was scheduled for September 7, 2009.  However, through divine intervention and because someone else wasn't prepared for their surgery, I got bumped up to Wednesday, July 8, 2009.  I went in for my surgery at 4:56pm on 7/8/09 (4,5,6,7,8,9).  :)My husband was deployed overseas at the time, so my mother and a dear friend stayed with me for four days while I recovered.  It wasn't bad at all.  I actually went walking 1.2 miles two days later.  I took five days total off from work and was back at my office the next Monday.  As for weight loss, I lost 9 pounds pre-op and then another 10 pounds during the post-op liquid/mushy diet.  I know there is a long road ahead of me, but little by little, I can achieve my goals.  I have been using other tools, including three times weekly Curves workouts, lots of walking with the dog, healthier eating (chicken, fish, fruits, veggies, yogurt and salads mostly), positive imagery, some acupuncture....you name it.  I am determined to succeed, this time for good.  I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions and questions about my personal journey and to learn more about my fellow bandsters.  However, since I am not a trained bariatric surgeon, I cannot give official medical advice over the message boards.  Thanks for understanding this.