MiLeBr

Well hello there. I am a single mother of two great kids. Divorced and doing my best to provide everything I can for my kids. I have always had a weight problem. I would say it started to get obvious around 11-12 years old. I stayed active but there was no denying I was hefty kid. I hit 200 when I was 16. I climbed up to 300 after my first pregnancy and even higher after the my second.  Two divorces and some boughts with depression and I got up to 388.  I have tried the Atkins diet, miracle burn, cabbage soup diet, sacred heart diet, TOPS, weight watchers, the grapefruit diet. You name it probably tried it. Even these miracle herb pills from China.My doctor had thought about putting me on phentermine, but it raises your blood pressure and he said mine was too high. And he recommended surgery. He ordered a sleep test and wouldn't you know it, I had sleep apnea. I don't think it had really dawned on me how bad off I was until we went over the results. I stopped breathing 60 times an hour. My heart rate was all over the place and stressing out.  I guess seeing the proof of it was my wake up call.  I started thinking of my kids. As it is I don't like going to their school because I don't want them to be teased about their fat mom. But I want to go and not hide in the back but be right up there in front cheering them on. I want to help them practice in their sports. Be there when they graduate high school, get married and have babies of their own. After seeing those results it finally hit me that there was a good possibility that I wouldn't get to do all those things if I didn't do something about it. I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was 25. And it was devistating, I didn't want to leave my kids at all. Especially being as though I'm all they have. I did some research, talked to other people who have had both surgeries.  I decided if I was going to do this that I was going to do the lap band.  There are several people at my work who have had weight loss surgery. So I knew the insurance would be okay with it. I went to my first seminar on September 21st 2010.  I had already filled out the ten page application and medical history. They took my weight and the gal in charge saw my insurance and told me what they needed to approve me which is a meeting with a dietician. Things have been going pretty quickly in the one week since the seminar. I meet with the dietician tomorrow. On October 1st 2010 I have my Psych test, then I meet with the Psychologist.  I have my surgical consultation on October 19th with Dr. Swannick to decide for sure which surgery is best. The surgery has been tentively scheduled for January 10th 2011. The coordinator had said I could do it as early as the middle of November or in December, however with my job there was no way I would be able to take the time off I need with the holidays. So I think January 10th is a great date. Right after the New Years, a wonderful to start 2011. I am trying to get prepared for it. I have cut sodas out completely for the most part. I won't lie and say I don't have one every once and a while. But I am working on getting rid of them completely. My doctor wants me to lose 10% of my body weight before surgery so I have 38 pounds to lose. I was discourage when he first told me this, I was thinking "If I could lose 38 lbs just like that would I be going under the knife". But it makes sense. And I have committed myself to doing it. I have started walking. Slowly a little bit at a time, making the walks a little longer every three days. I have been pretty seditary for a long time. And I sit behind a desk on the phone all day. So I am hoping to get some good tips and encouragement getting ready for my surgery. And to read all the inspiring stories and experiences.