This is my first step in learning more about whether Lap-Band is right for me. It has taken a few months of discussion with my DH to get him to support me, and he's still not 100%...but he's getting there. Hopefully, this meeting will help answer questions that we both have.

I am 38, I live in Houston with my husband and two lovely daughters, who are 4 and 15 months. They keep me very busy.

I have never been a skinny girl, but I've always been tall. I am 5'11". I weighed 150 at 15, 170 at 23, and continued to gain throughout my life, with the last few years being the worst. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2002. Severe. I had a TSH of 125. My weight at that time was around 250. I had my first daughter, and was able to get down to 220 with Atkins, but after my second child was born 15 months ago, everything changed and I am now at 300. I essentially gained 50 lbs within a year, and three months of that year was strictly doing Weight Watchers (I joined after the 2nd was born). It's hard to do WW and go to meetings when each week you see a gain and not a loss.

My endocrinologist sent me to a specialist that deals with resistant thyroids, who flat-out said, "You HAVE to lose weight. If you don't, you will have diabetes by the end of the year. If you want WLS, tell me, I will write a script for it right now. It is that critical." We were like, whoa, whoa, wait a minute...surgery...what? We didn't want any part of that. We left feeling...kind of upset but it opened a window in my mind, though I didn't really know it at the time.

It's been almost 9 months since then. Now that my thyroid is under control, it is time for me to get my weight under control. I was extremely resistant to WLS due to the thought that I was "giving up" and was unsure if it would even work for me. However, after reading some blogs over the past few months, and researching lap-band extensively, I decided to approach my husband with the idea. He was initially resistant as well, as he feels surgery is so drastic and unnecessary--but he also realizes what kind of weight loss battle I have been in since we have been married (7 years next month). I know he wants to see me healthy and happy; but he is a Ph.D. in cancer research--so he is very wary of things like this. He has to have all the data before him so he can make an educated decision. I'm the same way, but not as...anal retentive about it. :w00t:

Anyway, it was a long road just to get to where I am but I am sure my story sounds familiar to many as they have been down the same path. I am anxious to go to this meeting and just want to learn more; I am ready to start my journey and am ready to be healthy in all ways. I realize it's all on me and that the band is a tool, but I also acknowledge that I may need that tool in my arsenal to help me and it is not a weakness for me to say so.

Thanks for listening to me ramble :blushing:, and I look forward to getting to know you all better over the coming months.

:w00t:

Well, I went to the seminar last night. It was very good, but I was surprised when I walked in. The doctor that gave the talk was Dr. Davis--he and his son were on the show "Big Medicine" on TLC. I recognized his accent right off the bat! It was a very good seminar and my husband was fully supportive once we left. I think his questions were answered.

The bad thing--which, I suppose isn't "bad" necessarily--just annoying--is that my insurance requires me to be on a medically supervised diet for 6 months--so any hope of me being banded this summer is out the window. It's slightly disappointing, but not horrible. I just wish my insurance company could understand that for the past, oh, 15 years of my life I've been on a diet. Kinda funny.

My next step is to see my PCP, which I have an appointment with her on Tuesday. I am excited and can't wait to get the ball really rolling. I might be banded by January--it's an amazing thought, really. I've been yo-yo-ing between 230-275 throughout my 20s and 30s and now I will be going into my 40s being healthier than I've ever been. It's a sobering thought. Sad I wasted so much time, but happy I am doing something now. :thumbup:

Congratulations, Paula, on your weight loss goals. Hope it works out for you without too much stress.

By the way, as a cancer survivor (uterine and ovarian in my late 20s), I give your husband an affectionate and hearty salute in his research!

Thank you so much! Hubby is always grateful for the kudos, as you might imagine the ones behind the scenes don't always get the recognition they deserve.

His cousin died at 27 of ovarian cancer. He was 23 and at UT; both had plans to enter medical school when she was diagnosed. When she died, he decided he wanted to be on the research side of things. He's been with MD Anderson now a little over 11 years. I am super proud of him.

Congratulations on being cancer-free!! :thumbup: Awesome!

Hi Polly!

It sounds like you are really doing your homework and that's great. I know it's a bummer when you start and then find out about the 6 month diet requirement. My journey took from August 08- June 09, but it allowed my to really get my head around the surgery.

I did want to mention that some insurance companies take weight watchers records as a supervised diet so if you've been on WW recently you can try to use those. Talk your surgeon's insurance coordinator about it.

Good luck!

Linda