my introduction (probably TMI! lol)

[legster 2]

Hi all. I've been posting in the May 2007 Bandsters thread and just now noticed this forum. I will be banded on the 14th! WOOT! Below is what I blogged for friends a few weeks ago. I think it will serve as introduction, but it's a bit long. Bear with me. BTW, the names are fake.

I was born (yes, this may be a long entry! lol) one of a pair of twins. My twin sister, Jennifer, came out fat and sassy but I was just 4 lbs. 1 oz. and in 1954 that was very small indeed. What they now call intensive care nursery was then called the incubator. These days it costs about $2000 a day, but back then it was $5. I have the bill from the hospital Mother saved. They didn't let me go home until I was 3 weeks old. Anyway, I remained painfully thin for all my childhood and even had special Dr. visits just to consult about my weight. Now, mind that we were Christian Scientists and Dr. visits were few and far between. It was that bad, but I think a lot of it was just the stark contrast between myself and Jennifer, who remained slightly on the chubby side, and strangers continually questioning why Mother didn't feed "that one"?

The truth was, I was perfectly healthy, rarely sick and I just didn't eat what at the time was "normal" food. I didn't like cooked veggies or meat of any kind and was always munching on a carrot or a banana. My favorite food was just plain cottage cheese or Peanut Butter on a spoon! chocolate milk was another favorite, but they cut me off from that when the Dr. said maybe I was filling up on that and it might be why I wouldn't eat my dinner. *rolls eyes*

Fast forward (you're welcome! lol) to when I got my driver's license and stopped walking everywhere. I gained a few (needed) pounds, but to me I hated the little paunch of a stomach I could now see when I sat down in a crop top. That's when I first started thinking I was FAT. The dieting started and really all I had to do was stop eating (easy for me at the time) and I'd lose a few pounds, but soon gain it back and a couple more. This went on and on until I got pregnant at 22 and I actually DID get fat. I gained 45 pounds. My stupid Dr., now that I actually needed some help, always just said, "Well, you're a big girl". I do have a larger frame and am 5' 10" (5' 9" now) but I surely didn't need to gain that much! One word from him that it was unhealthy for the baby or myself and I'd have been all over it!

Fast forward again through many, many diets, losses, gains and here I sit today at 310 lbs. The good news (yes! there is GOOD NEWS!!!) is that my dear, dear older sister, Sophie, saw an ad for a seminar on bariatric surgery (I had mentioned to her 18 mos. ago that I was considering it) and she went with me to it a week ago yesterday. Some of you may have heard of a somewhat new (in this country) procedure called the "Lap Band". It's a less invasive surgery that is totally reversible. I liked the Dr. and I am GOING FOR IT! Unfortunately, the surgery is excluded on my insurance, but it may just save my life. A bargain at any price.

Tomorrow morning I go for the mandatory visit to a psychologist, then later a seminar on nutrition (I'll be totally surprised if they tell me something I don't already know) and my initial visit with Dr. Gilbert is on April 5th.

EDIT: I almost forgot...the odd twist to this story is that Jennifer is now painfully thin and may have an eating disorder. Everyone says she looks older than me. She can't possibly go a day without running 5 miles and dinner for her is like a small salad and 4 boiled shrimp. Go figure.

Okay, thanks for listening and I'm happy to have found this wonderful web site!

[Kat817 19]

Welcome Legs! I personally love hearing about the path that brought us all together here!

Hope all goes well in your Quest to have your band---hang out and keep us posted!!! We are glad you popped out of the May thread to introduce yourself!!!

Kat