New Here. My LONG story. :O)

[88Shelly88 0]

Hi everyone!! I am brand new here and just found this forum earlier this week in my hunt for every piece of information on the lap band that I could find. NOW I found the 20's thread!! YEY! So here I am, here is my story....

I am a 26 year old married mom of one. My son was born last May; he is the joy of my life along with my husband. I have always struggled with my weight since my teens. I would say that I was on the thinner side back when I was 17-18, looking back at pictures now. :pray2:( I wish that I fit in those size 10/12 jeans again. Once I hit 19 my weight poured on. I have tried everything from weight watchers SEVERAL times, a gym, a personal trainer, etc. On my third time rejoining WW I was somewhat successful in that I lost 21 pounds in 17 weeks. I felt so proud of myself and kept it off an entire year, only to regain everything back that I had lost.

When I was going to the gym and working with a trainer I did not loose much and was working my bootie off. I got up every morning at 4:30AM and let me tell you I am NOT a morning person. I spent 1.5 hours a day sometime more, working out. I lost a few inches but never any weight. I know that what they say is true in that numbers are not everything. But when you are 5'1" and weigh 220 pounds at that point in time, numbers did matter. Especially after all the time and effort invested, every morning. It was very discouraging to say the least. I gave up after 7 months, and also gave up on the expensive gym fees.

When having my son I only gained 15 pounds during my pregnancy, I assume that is because I am overweight as it is. I have not been able to get off that 15 pounds and now weigh around 235. My BMI is 43.3%

A few weeks ago I was watching the discovery health channel and saw someone who had the LAP BAND surgery. I was amazed at the results and that is what started my weight loss Quest. I started researching this and now I am hooked. This sounds like the perfect thing for me. I know that it is not a miracle pill or miracle weight loss. But I think that if I can have this surgery done, it will help me to achieve the life long goals that I have. To be a thinner, healthier, happier person. To be an active mom for my son and also future children. (I would like at least one more child.)

My weight is finally starting to take a toll. My knees are bothering me, and I think that I have sleep apnea. Other than that I am healthy. No high blood pressure, etc. I am hoping that my insurance company (Humana) will approve me. I called them and was told that they cover weight loss surgery, etc. I know that several people have been told this to only be let down in the end. I have had people on here tell me that because I do not have a serious comorbidly that I probably will not be covered. So I guess that I am hanging on to the hope that with a BMI of 43.3, and a VERY LONG family history of obesity that I will be covered on that. I have also written a letter to the insurance co which was suggested on this board. (I was considering posting for thoughts on that too??) I plan on taking that with me to my 2 hour doctor consult.

This coming Monday I am going to the one hour seminar and then have my 2 hour consult scheduled after that.

Anyways, if you have listened to me this long, I thank you so much. I hope to make some life long friends here that know and understand how hard it is sometimes to be overweight. :wink2:)

[AmberWaves 0]

Hello! Welcome to the board! Good luck with your seminar tomorrow and with your insurance!!!! :girl_hug:

[Miss Michelle 1]

WOW! We have soo much in common. I am 25, going on 26 this year and am married with a five year old son. I Always had a weight problem. The only time I was near normal in size was when I was 16 and on prescription weight loss med.'s. Those pills worked miricales as far as weight loss, but almost killed me! At my smallest in the last 10 years I wore a size 11-12. In highschool, I was still the bigger girl of my group of friends. Now that I look back, I wish I was a 12 again! Anyway, around age 18, I started gaining weight very rapidly and by the time I had my son at 20, it only got worse. Two years ago my mother began pushing me into Bypass surgery. I was totally against it. Finally she backed off, and I began realizing that I had to do something! Recently, on my own I found out about the lap band and am excited about getting the whole process going. My new insurance which covers the band surgery kicked in on Jan 1st and I am in the very begining stages of the process. I think I found a doctor I really like, and am excited about begining the journey to leading a healthier life. I wish you the best of luck on your journey too!

[tifferoni326 0]

I hope everything goes ok for you!

I was always overweight growing up and miserable! No matter what I did, I was always fat...Id lose 40, gain it back..that whole yo yo cycle we all know so well..Now I am smaller than I believed possible. I can shop in stores where before I wouldnt have looked in, and its changed my life. I am happier now than I ever was and more myself, and I am starting to change my personality..I no longer feel as though I have to make it up to people..before I was so grateful for my friends because they were friends w me even though I was fat, so Id go above and beyond what I had to, just to make sure they stayed friends w me.

I didnt have any major health issues..no high blood pressure or anything, and I was approved, so good luck, email me if you ever want to talk! Or you can add me on myspace- I love talking to people before or after the band!!

[amc581 0]

I'm really happy i found this forum, I started my lapband journey last month, I'm really hoping to get everything done and my surgery by early april. I like most everyone here have had a weight problem my whole life, I've done ton's of research and decided that this is the best way for me to take control of my life and health. Everyone here is such an inspiration to me the before and after pics and especially knowing that other people my age have the same issues and are making the same choice, also reading the success stories makes me feel like I can really do this. Since the process takes so long with all the appointments ( although I am lucky my insurance does not require 6 month preop diet). Someday's I don't feel like calling the doc office or thinking about it but i log on here and it inspires me to get this done as fast as possible, So that I can be a success story too. Anyway I just wanted to say that you all inspire me and thank you for sharing your successes and disapointments it really does help with understanding just what I'm getting into.

[linzchavez 0]

Welcome Alicia!

I too am pretty new to this...I started in December (researching) and was banded on 2/6/08. This forum is great because we are all working towards the same goals together. My friends don't have the same weight issues I do, so it's nice to communicate with others my age that are going through this--we can all help each other with motivation & inspiration!

[amc581 0]

that is why i come on here, I'm 26 and none of my friends have ever had a weight problem quite like mine, although some have weight issues none of them have stuggled there whole life or need to lose as much as I do. I also love the fact that i have learned more on this forum then anywhere else i really do feel very informed because of everyones freedom to ask questions and all the help that everyone gives. I do have to say I am very lucky the friends that I have told about this are very supportive and so is my family, they all just tell me that whatever decision I have to make to make me happy and healthy is fine with them and that's awesome. I'm just really hoping to get the surgery soon so I can start my journey.