I broke the mold.

[snowfie9 6]

I've been floating around the board for the last week researching VSG and I'm 95% certain that is what I want to do. But I wanted to come around and officially introduce myself.

Hi. My name is Dawn and I'm chronically obese. (Hi Dawn.)

I've always been overweight, even as a child. The last time I was less than 200 lbs (at 5' 10") I was 13 years old. I remember it very well because I was living with my father for a few months and my stepmother, who was appalled when I told her how much I weighed (she asked), put me on a diet and I had to lose 25lbs just to get to that magic "Onederland" number. I can still remember my father saying "There is no way in hell my 13 year old daughter is going to weigh more than me." (and he's a fairly burly guy himself)

Fast forward almost 25 years and multiple diets and weight loss attempts with varying degrees of success, I have now migrated to the 300s. I have horrible sleep apnea. My weight goes down, my weight goes up, my pressure is never right and I never get a good nights sleep. It's just a matter of time before I develop diabetes (I'm actually surprised I haven't yet), heart problems, severe joint problems.

About two weeks ago I was reading a story about a woman who was entering menopause with 100+lbs to lose and I came to a realization: I have no reason to expect the next 12 years to be any different than the last 25. And I sure as heck don't want to be 50 years old and 100+lbs overweight. I need to change and I need to do it now.

I've been fighting this battle all my life and I am so tired. I'm tired of fighting fair. This is a battle for my life and my health and I"m ready to fight dirty. I'm ready to bring out the big guns. I'm ready to hit obesity below the belt.

I'm ready to start living, instead of just waiting to die.

I don't care about how I'll look. I don't care about loose skin or sagging jowels. I just want to be able to DO things. I want to go hiking and travel and be active. I want to go to plays and other events without worrying whether I'll fit my huge behind into the seats.

Anyway thanks for listening. I'm sure I'll see you around.

[virtygirl 11]

Hi Dawn ~ welcome to VSG! There's tons of excellent resources and folks here that are able and willing to help you along the way. I myself am waiting for insurance approval at the moment. Good luck on your journey. You are in the right place and have taken the first step of many along what I've heard to be a wonderful if bumpy ride. I feel that what ever the bumps it's got to be better than the pot whole I'm sititng in at the moment.

[snowfie9 6]

Heh. I know what you mean Virty. I'll take a bumpy road over being stuck in a muddy ditch any day. I'm just spinning my wheels here.

[dlflightgirl 2]

Hi Dawn. I know how you feel. I'm only 5 8 but I started at over 330 pounds. I just had surgery on the 7th of Feb and I've already lost 25 lbs. While people are talking about onederland I'm just trying to get to the 200's. But it's only been 3 weeks so I think I'm going fine. I wish you the best of luck on your journey. And watch out this site becomes easily addicting.

[Lila21 36]

Hi Dawn,

Welcome to VSG forum! You'll find lots of support here, and an answer for practically every question you might have! Your story really touched me because it's kind of how I felt before I started. I think you are really ready to make a big change, and I believe you'll be very successful! There are so many great success stories here, and I hope you find some inspiration here!

[Stacy160 201]

Hi Dawn, and welcome!! You're making such a wonderful decision for yourself... I know it's hard to believe or understand the ravings of the post-ops about how awesome the sleeve is, but I'm gonna say it anyway. You will LOVE it!! I also turned to WLS when I got to where I just couldn't stand myself physically anymore, and was seeing health issues starting to arise, and looked at what I had to look forward to (family history-wise), but I've gotta tell ya... as you go, and the problems go away, and you start really feeling good, the LOOKING good part certainly does start playing a more important part. It is sooooo fun when clothes that were too small to wear have to go in the give-away box because now you're floating in them.

Anyway, good luck through the process and keep us all informed of your progress toward surgery (will you be submitting to insurance or self-paying?).

[Billy363627 15]

Dawn, wow you are very aspiring to all of us.. You have to climb that mountain one foot at a time and you seem like you are ready to get to climbing!! Good luck and please keep us posted..

[Butrcupz622 1]

Hi Dawn! And welcome to this site. I've always been overweight and can easily remember being sent to see a nutritionist at eight years old. My parents never really put restrictions on us kids growing up. They never bothered us with the fact that we were overweight so I didn't fully realize there was anything wrong until I was in high school. I guess I was a lucky big girl in that I never really got teased about my weight. So, I never really felt bad about it. My father was very over protective when we were young (he had 3 girls after all) so right after school I had to go straight home. If I didn't, he would actually roam the neighborhood looking for me (I guess I was the black sheep) So, because I had to go home, I would ALWAYS stop at the chinese restaurant, go home, eat then fall asleep for a few hours. And that's where the majority of my weight came from. When I graduated from high school, I weighed about 260-270. And that's from 160 lbs when I entered 9th grade!

Suffice it to say, I was 33 y.o. and 332 lbs when I decided to change. I started getting heart palpitations and had mild ischemia (heart attack waiting to happen because of my bad food choices), my blood pressure was beginning to escalate, I eventually got gallstones and had surgery for it, my arms began to fold in on themselves (ugh!), my already huge butt was the butt of many jokes (that just how HUGE it was) and it wasn't even sexy and, worst of all, my ability to have children has been impaired.

I know for a fact I couldn't have lost weight any other way. First of all, I never had any knowledge of what eating nutritious was. I never understood what the hell a carb, Protein or a starch was or anything else for that matter. I made myself learn. I quit ordering out, made salads and any meat I cook is all done through baking and grilling. Sure, it was definitely a big adjustment but my body tells me it was the best decision. My blood pressure is normal and I no longer have chest pains or heart palpitations. I have so much energy that lately I've felt like jogging!! My periods come each month now like clockwork and my butt no longer looks like 200 lb tumor. The only one missing that thing is my boyfriend, lol.

Although I still have a ways to go in this journey, I can't for the life of me ever remember feeling this "thin." I actually thought it would never happen. I recommend this WLS to all and strongly suggest that you go ahead with it. It's one of the greatest tools for a healthier and happier you. And it'll help to educate yourself on the good foods and give you the motivation to exercise. There are plenty of people here on this site who offer great advice, words of wisdom and motivation. Any and all answers can be found here.

Okay, I've written enough (sorry). I wish you the best of luck. Everything will turn out great!

[MINI-Me 196]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

[MRSKOUBiK 27]

Welcome