My dear sweet father died at 46 years old. He was overweight, smoked like a frieght train, had high blood pressure, stress out the wah-zoo and loved to eat. He was a good man and I miss him so very much. Fast forward 20 years later, his baby daugther, now 37 years old is overweight, has high blood pressure, stress out the wah-zoo and LOVES to eat. More than anything, I dont want my children to miss me like I miss my Dad. THAT is my reason for WLS.

As a child and teen, I was grossly skinny, could eat whatever I wanted. It was a good life! I was called "skinny minny", "string bean" and later as a teen by other girls "bitch" :blushing:. I was athletic and pretty darn cute. But interestingly enough, very self conscious of my weight. Because I am right at 6' tall, I thought because I weighed 125- 130 pounds, I was fat...because all of my short friends weighed 100 pounds. Then I had my first child at 19...its like my metabolism slammed on the brakes and stored EVERYTHING I ate. Like most people, I have done all of the diets. Most successful at Weight Watchers, it truly is a great program. However, I consider myself an emotional eater..I eat when I'm happy, sad, glad, mad..you name the mood, I eat the food! But this is a life I no longer want. I am 37 years old and feel like I'm in the body of a really old person..my feet, knees, hips (this is recent), back ...they all hurt. I can't sleep, have NO energy and am missing out on life. I have a very supportive husband of almost 20 years and two of the greatest kids. My grandmother (she is 92, drives, exercises and has a very full social calendar) is the best..she is my father's mother and does not want me to have the same fate as her beloved son. My insurance does not cover WLS...crazy, I know. But I am fortunate enough to be in a position to pay for the surgery. After reading several posts, I am very thankful not be at the mercy of an insurance company.

My wish is the surgery makes my life better, to do the things I wish my father could have done with my children. He was awesome and would have been the best grandfather. I will make him proud. :001_tongue:

Sorry for the ramblings, did not intend to take up so much space. This is more emotional than I ever dreamed! Besides, I'm from Texas..we like to talk. Wish me luck!

Good luck!!! Welcome to VST! You seem to have your head in a very good place to go forward with this AND be successful. Thank you for sharing your story and keep us posted on your pre-op journey.

Hi and welcome to VST from one Texan to another.

I think you'll love the sleeve, and my son and future children were a huge driving force for me to get my weight under control.

Best wishes with your surgery, and keep us posted on your progress.

We're having a Dallas/Fort Worth area meet-up April 3rd no exact details have been nailed down, but we're trying to get it all worked out. If you're able to join us, we'd love to meet you.

Welcome! Let us know if you have any questions or how we can support you.

Welcome! How exciting that you are taking charge of your life. I think when you lose a parent it is a real wake up call. I lost my father 3 years ago and it made me realize I had a lot to live for and I didn't want to leave this Earth any sooner than I had to. And by making better choices for my health it will hopefully let me live longer to see my grandkids grow up and maybe even great grandkids! LOL!!

What part of Texas are you from? I am outside of Houston. I hope I can make the meet up Tiff! That would be SO neat!

Welcome and thanks for sharing. Your story is touching and I can relate. I too was "skinny" and tall "for my age" as a kid. I laughed when you said you were called "string bean" so was I. I too was an emotional eater...whatever the emotion. Sadly I packed on the food and the weight started at around age 13...I was then considered overweight not obese but that changed later on in my life. I don't know how you came to the decision to choose the sleeve but for me and in general I think it is the best surgery out there. I wish you all the best in your WL journey.

girldep, welcome!! Very similar story here. I lost my dad at 62 to cancer, my mother in her 50's to Lupus, and my brother at 42 to complications from diabetes. I didn't want to end up dead at an early age either. I too was self pay and I don't regret it for one minute. I think this is going to be the best thing by far that I've ever done. Best wishes to you along the way.