A Friendly Introduction

Just wanted to say "Hi" to everyone, I'm a newbie, and not really good at the small talk. So the intro said I should tell you more about myself. I am 35 yrs old, 5"2 and 251lbs, the heaviest I have ever been. I have been battling my weight since I was 13, when I really "blossomed". I have 5 children, and progressively gained with each baby, and never lost the weight, and put more on after. But now I have high blood pressure for the last 8 yrs, and high cholesterol, diabetes, joint issues, etc., and I feel bad about not being able to be the mother I want to be with my kids. I can't play with them at the park, or go on bike rides with them, stuff like that. Due to my blood pressure meds, I can't really be outside for more than 5-10m, or my skin fries like bacon (not a good thing since I live in Texas).

I'm also a registered nurse, I work in labor and delivery, and I literally move all day long at work. It's really embarrassing to have patients that are 9mo pregnant and only be half my size. It's also hard to talk to patients about eating and drinking right or appropriate weight gain when it's obvious that I myself have a problem,

I haven't gotten banded yet, trying to get the party started though, but at my initial assessment, the NP told me I needed to get a sleep study and EGD done before they will set up a date or pre-op or anything. I figure this will set back my banding about a month or more- I don't mind waiting, afterall, I've been overweight for over 20 years, but I am bummed because my family and I are going on vacation in July, so do I go ahead and wait until after so I don't have to worry about the post-op stuff? Or say the heck with it, and do it anyways.

I am going through True Results in Houston, they assign a patient advocate to each client, whom also have been banded. And although I have only been there a couple of times, my advocate has already done more for me than she'll ever know. My insurance initially said they would cover the surgery if I completed the program, but after doing everything they required, they decided they wanted me to do more, and then I could never get a straight answer from them . It's so obvious they just don't want to pay up. So when I talked to my advocate about the runaround they were giving, she guaranteed me financing.

I wish everyone good luck in their endeavors, and wish me luck, I'll keep you updated.