Julzster
I have been overweight since I was a baby. I have tried many diets without success. I am Insulin Resistant and I have PCOS, which means my hormones are pretty out of balance, and my body is super efficient at storing fat! I am also a foodie and I am an overeater. What can I say, when I was lonely, food was always my friend! I am 5' 4.5" tall and at my heaviest 307.5 lbs. I was a size 32 at my heaviest. My turning point was when the meds for the IR were not affecting my numbers at all, and they added another med to "help activate" the max dosage of the IR meds, and I received an elevated liver profile as a result of the new med, which had to be stopped immediately. I wasn't responding to fertility treatments. If I wanted a family, I needed to consider obesity surgery. I cried at the thought that I would actually need surgery to lose weight. I felt like a total failure. I have an insane fear of surgery, so I choose to have the Lap-Band since it was the least riskiest surgery. I had it in 12/03. It took about 8 months to get to the 'sweet spot' regarding the fill level. I was really frustrated with that. My port was really hard to access, which for me, the needle phobic that I am, was traumatizing every time I had to get a fill. Ultimately with the Lap-Band I lost about 75 lbs. I had developed a problem with reflux, and needed my Gall Bladder removed, so I had a revisional surgery in 08/05 to move the band up to help with the reflux. I got pregnant in 06, and my son was stillborn in 07. Somehow the Lap-Band stopped working after the pregnancy, during which I gained about 50 lbs. So we needed to remove it, and I choose to convert to the Gastric Sleeve in 3/08 for a couple of reasons. The first, it was the least risky (next to the Lap-Band), and you already know I am a major chicken when it comes to all things medical! Second, since I want to get pregnant, I would rather absorb my nutrients normally in hopes that one day I will be pregnant again and my child will benefit from this decision. And I am through with the surgeries! This will work. I have changed my eating habits from when I had the Lap-Band, and I work out regularly now. So I am waiting to see how much weight I can lose with the Sleeve, and waiting to see if this will resolve my other medical problems and hopefully, my special dreams will come true!
Good Luck to all of you on your own journey!
Julz
