My name is A and I am 26 years old. I am married and am the mom of 2 beautiful girls. My oldest is 3 and my youngest will be 1 year old on the 28th of November. I currently reside in Orlando, Florida and I am a stay at home mom. I have been married for almost 8 years.

I have always been overweight. I have struggled with food and weight since I was younger. At my thinnest I was 170lbs and 5'1. I am currently close to 300lbs. My heaviest weight was 330lbs in February of this year. I started working with a nutritionist in Feb and trying to lose weight. I currently walk 2-3 miles 4-6x's a week. I have been trying everything to lose the weight but nothing is helping.

I finally decided to ask my PCP for a referral to see a Bariatric surgeon. My PCP has only been seeing me for 4 months. Before that I didn't have a PCP just my OBGYN. I am praying that I will be approved for RnY. I am pretty healthy beside my BMI being 57 and I think I have sleep apnea. I wake up in the middle of the night having panic attacks and gasping for breath. I also keep dreaming I am drowning. My ankles and knees give out on my at times and my hips ache. I have not been diagnosed with any co-morbidities though. :-(

I am hoping to have this surgery to get myself healthier. I have an extensive family history of morbid obesity (both sides), heart disease (both sides), type 1 diabetes, congestive heart failure and hypertension (both paternal and maternal). My oldest daughter is special needs and will never be able to take care of herself. She will always need someone to carry her, lift her, change her,etc as she will never walk or talk due to a brain injury during birth.

I am going to see the Surgeon for orientation on the 30th and for a consult. I am praying they can help me. I look forward to meeting new people who are in similar situations.

God bless,

A

Welcome to the group & hope you get approve sounds like you need it.

Hi. Our stories sound so similar. I am 5'2" and was 300 at my heaviest. I spent two years exercising 6 times a week and eating next to nothing and starved myself to 190. Once I hit that brick wall, I tried to get approved for surgery, but I didn't weight enough! Now I am back to 230 and am going for my last dr. visit to get approved.

Even without sleep apnea, it sounds like you are a good candidate. What insurance do you carry?

Christi

Hi Christi,

I actually have a Medicaid PSN. I pay a low monthly rate due to my daughter being disabled and not being able to work in order to care for her. I miss working and having adult interaction. Unfortunately if I work we make too much for her to have her healthcare and if we pay out of pocket it is $2500 per month plus copayment for every doctor, specialist and therapy appt. she goes to 2 therapy appt a week. I would also have to pay for a specialized daycare because she is medically complex and normal centers won't care for her (she has seizures and has a Gtube to eat and drink).

It's nice to find someone similar. I am hoping that my insurance will accept the 9 months of nutritionist visits in leu of a PCP supervised plan. They said I had to see a nutritionist as well. Clearance from a Gastro, endocrinologist, cardiologist and psychologist.

Ab, first of all welcome, so glad you found us. You will find so much support and information here,

You will have hoops to jump through like most of us, some have more, some less, but just keep your eye on the prize (your health) and go through what they ask of you. It takes so perseverance and patience. But you already know that having a special needs child. You have jumped through many hoops for your child to get the care and therapy they need. Now it is time for you to put all that knowledge to work for you to get through the requirements.

My prayers are with you and I hope the process is quick so that you can get healthy for your family and for yourself,

Big Hugs and the best of wishes, You can do this, One step at a time.