CurvySista

The reason I have elected to have lapband surgery is because I have suffered from PCOS since I was somewhere between 19-21. I began my cycle at 9 and with it came horrific cramps that would keep me out of school for about 2-3 days a month because the pain was so unbearable. Between the age of 14-16, I was introducted to an GYN/OB who changed my life. From the time I started my cycles until I became a teenager, I would dread that time of the month. I would bleed profusely and the cramps were really bad. This GYN/OB told my mother that she wanted to put me on birth control pill and this would help me with all these problems. She was correct. I went from having 7 day periods, to 5 days period to eventually 3 day periods. The cramps became more managable or not existent at all. Being one of 4 woman growing up (2 sisters and my mom), me and my mom's period became synchronized. I was happy to be able to have better control of it. My boyfriend at the time and I had been together since high school. He later joined the military and I stayed and went to school in town. One day, I realized that I hadn't had a period in about 3 months. I wasn't really paying attention and mother had noticed that we hadn't gone through a truckload of pads and she asked me when the last time I had a period. I had to really jog my memory and realized that it had probably been about 3 months. Needless to say, I had a pregnancy scare. I never thought much about it because I was used to irregular periods. We made a doctor's appt and after realizing I wasn't pregnant and subsequently months thereafter through extensive blood test, hormone testing and many sonograms, it was discovered I had PCOS. I have always considered myself and active person. I would diet and run if I gained 3lbs....lol For most of my high school years, I was able to maintain a weight of 135. In college it would go between 145-165. I knew it also had to do with my bad eating habits but what I didn't know was that it was also affecting my hormones, etc. Also, during that time, I tried several other types of birth control and they didn't work for me anymore. It was like my body was resisting it. So thus, came the crazy bleeding again. This time my period would become even more irregular and when they did come, I would bleed for sometimes 3 weeks straight. So, this year, I have decided that I didn't want to do this anymore. Not only was my weight out of control (pre-surgery 300lbs), my pressure was really high and I thought eventually I could have a stroke. It seemed like it was one issue after another. I met with my team of doctors (gyn, repro endocrinologist, internist) and decided that this was the best decision. Collectively, we had spent many years trying to figure this out and had exhausted all of our resources. So, I had my surgery on June 21 and ready to start my new life. I pray I will never have to go through what I've been through for the last 15 plus years anymore. I'm happy to report that since I started this journey, I've lost at least 20lbs and my blood pressure is now normal.