IrishHare92

I have been overweight my entire life. I was born 3 months early, but since I was healthy enough to grow I have been in the 95th percentile for weight to height. I was 16 when I stepped on the scale at home and it read 315lb. After I saw that I was determined to do something about it. I had been on diet after diet with my mothers help and nothing worked. My primary doctors all told me that I just needed to exercise more. I excercised 3 hours a day for almost 3 months and the only change was a loss of 4lbs. I gave up. I had a very severe period of depression from my weight and many other factors in my life. I got myself better and began looking for more ways to help myself lose weight and become healthy. One day after school, my mom picked me up and said, "I think I found the solution to your weight problem." She then proceeded to tell me about her findings on the internet about the Lap-Band. I was very skeptical at first because I hated having that kind of help. I also wasn't so keen on the fact that I would have something attached to my stomache and inside me for probably the rest of my life. I warmed up to the idea when I went to a meeting at AI DuPont Children's hospital. There I met the whole team of people I would be working with on my weightloss journey. Everyone was so helpful and answered all of the questions my parents and I had. Needless to say I became part of a children's lap-band study to see the effects the surgery had on obese children ages 16-18. I got into the program in October of 2009 where they taught me how to manage food and make the right choices. They corrected my glucose resistance with a medication I was on for almost a year, and they helped my self esteem and confidence. I lost 40 pounds before surgery. I went in on Aug. 9th 2010 and had my surgery. I have lost another 65 pounds since then. I am trying very hard to reach my goal of being 175lb. I am extremely grateful for the help of my doctors and the support they have given me through all of this. Now that I live in Alabama and can't go see them in Delaware I still keep up through e-mail and phone calls. I am also in the process of finding a doctor here that I can go see for my band.