Not R\real until today....

[Guest guest]

Hi Folks...

Can't explain why really.. but wasn't into describing my story till

today... now that I have my surgery date none of this felt real till

now. So here it is...

I first started researching WLS in 1999 after hearing in the news

about Carnie . My husbands Co had an exclusion for weight loss

surgery and the all too popular offices in Alvarado showed no

willingness to help me fight this. Not knowing any better I gave up

on the idea.

In Jan of 2001 my husband's insurance at work changed from Metlife to

CIGNA PPO. That's when I started researching WLS again, and found the

WLS site which led me to the duodenalswitch.com site ... I had

decided I would be willing to go through the RNY until I realized

that the BPD/DS was a much better surgery for me and my

circumstances. Better long term weight loss stats, better quality of

life issues concerning food choices and meals size... and the most

successful surgery for someone of my size. It seemed to avoid what I

disliked most about the RNY, chewing my food to a paste so I wouldnt

get food stuck in my stoma etc... and being married to a chef I just

couldnt see the very restrictive food choices with the RNY being very

compatible with my lifestyle.

I have not been obese all my life. I was a skinny kid and of

a " normal " weight through my teen years and into college. The first

time I realized I was " fat " was seeing a photo of myself at the age

of 25 a couple of years after graduating from college and marriage.

Since then it seems I gained 10 lb. a year steadily. I was not

focused on food nor weight loss. I would not classify myself as a

constant food grazer nor being obsessed with food. I've never been a

breakfast eater, quite often I would only have one or two meals a

day.

My problems lie in loving high fat high calorie foods, being too lazy

too cook and eating out a lot, eating large portions while not ever

really feeling full, leading a very sedentary, couch potato life

style and being married to a **gourmet** chef...and maybe being Irish

and Italian as I love my pasta and potatoes. I was never a big

sweet/sugar eater. Found myself saying " I just ate but I dont feel

like I ate anything " .

It was not until a weight loss program was started at my workplace

that I enrolled in that, that was a good 10 years after I would

classify myself as being obese and into morbid obesity.It was there,

in my face at work so it was easy to give it a try. It was a liquid

diet that I was successful in losing 40 lb. with until my husband was

transferred and I stopped the program. Needless to say the I regained

the weight. I tried one weight loss program by myself, reducing fatty

meals and exercising 30 min a day 3x a week... lost 60 lb... gained

it back. There was one other medically supervised attempt with a 60

lb weight loss and same result.. gained it all back.

I have never really had a body image of being fat although I knew I

was so it was not something that constantly bothered me. Sure being

thinner would be nice but was not focused on the problem at all. Was

not on any meds or having medical problems...with one exception.

Within a year after stopping the liquid diet I had to have my gall

bladder removed laporascopically.

It wasn't until real mobility problems effected my quality of life

that the need for something more drastic was considered. i.e. not

being able to fit into restaurant chairs, booths, movie seats, plane

seats, the drivers seat of my car.I still have no severe comorbs.. no

HBP, no diabetes, no sleep apnea , no heart problems, no cholesterol.

I do have swollen ankles, back ache when walking more than 5 feet or

standing more than a few minutes, urinary stress incontinence. I was

within this month diagnosed with hypothyroid and have just started on

a synthroid type medication.

Now that my mobililty has greatly effected my quality of life (until

my visit to the PCP to start this process I hadnt gone out of my

house in a year).... I know crave the ability to walk and move

freely. I have never been an out doors person or into excercize of

any kind... now I dream of walking and running.... running! LOL One

day I fell in my home and it took me 20 min of repeated efforts to

pull myself up off the floor.. I was afraid I'd have to call 911 and

say the dreaded: " I've fallen and I cant get up "

Thank goodness I discovered WLS... I do consider it a last chance at

having a normal life again.

Now that this seems real to me I can really think of doing something

that was impossible a few months ago...

A short aside.... in 1997 I started on a quest to locate where in

Ireland my O'Connor ancestors came from. I had no clue. Through

exhaustive investigation into family bibles, US census records,

naturalization papers, obituaries and more - I finally discovered

that my Potato Famine era great great grandparents were the ones who

emigrated (1847), and that they came from an isolated spot in County

Kerry Ireland, on the western slopes of MT. . I dreamed of,

but never thought it possible due to my immobility... of climbing

(its actually a walk) up to the summit of MT as many have

done on annual pilgrimages.

Thanks to all the wonderful WLS buddies who have posted their trials

and tribulations thru this journey, while helping so many as

myself... I can actually think about reaching this goal... reaching

the summit of Mt next year and meeting newly found relatives

who still live in the same location after 150 years!... The reunion

will be quite wonderful.

That brings me up to today. Hoping to have a BPD/DS Lap, had consult

March 29, 2001 in San Francisco at the offices of DRS. Rabkin and

Jossart, LOMN Predetermination letter verified that is was received

by CIGNA Healthcare PPO on April 23rd, 2001, Approved April 25th,

2001, surgery date June 27th, 2001.

I just want to thank all for sharing your insights, your experiences

and yourselves...its helped me so much to reach this day.

mary bmi 68 Cigna PPO

corona, ca

Dr Rabkin

Surg date: June 27th, 2001