AundreaSmith
I am 36 years old and have had weight issues for the vast majority of my life. After my parents seperation and divorce when I was a young child (8), I became a very emotional eater. I ate when I was sad, I ate when I was happy, I ate to celebrate, etc. It was and is a vicious cycle. I had several moments of success where I would lose 50-70lbs and unfortunately would gain it back...and then some.
I married in 2000 to a wonderful man. I got pregnant with our first child, a son, in 2002. I was heavy at the time and was considered "high risk". I developed preeclampsia and my blood pressure has never returned to normal. After a very traumatic pregnancy that ended at 32 weeks, the weight started to pile on.
I got pregnant again, and gave birth to a healthy baby girl in 2007 and again was "high risk" because of the previous history of preeclampsia, but also my blood pressure wasn't controlled, elevated fasting blood sugar and my weight. 7 weeks after the birth of my daughter, I fell down the stairs carrying several books and severely broke my right leg.
I had emergency surgery to repair my broken leg and to this day still have a rod and 3 screws in my right tibia. At this point, I was extremely depressed and my weight skyrocketed due to 4 months of inactivity due to bed rest.
I have considered WLS for numerous years, especially watching my weight increase year after year after year. Unfortunately, I was never considred a surgical candidate becuase I had NO comorbidities. I don't have sleep apnea, Diabetes, COPD, nothing. I have a lot of weight and high blood pressure and that was never enough for my insurance to consider me for surgery. Recently, I really pushed my PCP with VERY little results until I just contacted my insurance provider directly. I obtained my authorization number, meaning soley based on my BMI I am FINALLY candidate for surgery.
I had first informative meeting in June 2011, and have choosen Dr. Foote as my surgeon based on his extensive reputation as well as the fact he assisted during my gallbladder surgery. I have yet to decide on what type of surgery I want, I am here to gain as much knowledge as I can in order to make a good and informed decision.
