Laurie's Story - ThinnerTimes

fitbefore40 · 02-03-2006, 08:09 AM

Well, I'm the new chick on the block and happy to be here. I get so much strength from reading others stories, so I thought maybe I should post so that my story can help others.

I've lived a very active life. As a child, I competed in gymnastics and other sports. As a young adult, I started taekwondo and have trained for most of the last 21 years. Looking back, I wasn't heavy - but my mom thought differently. When I was in Jr. High and High School, I was a cheerleader and a popluar kid, but mom was always concerned that I wasn't one of the small girls. I'm 5'2" - my cheerleading uniform was a size 9, my mom was appalled. All the other kids were 5s and 7s. So mom took me everywhere to lose weight - Weight Watchers, hypnosis, Dr supervised - I always stayed around a 9 - about 145 pounds. But, I didn't let her bother me much - I had a great time in school - loved it - was class president - I have no bad memories of school. The worst time for me was when my dad died - lung and bone cancer, 36 years old. We were very close, but my parents had divorced when I was 4 and my mom had remarried - I had a great support system during this time. My dad was great, he said that he was dying because he smoked cigarettes and it was a lesson for me to never smoke. I never have.

During the first 2 years of college, I gained about 40 pounds. Nothing new, mom didn't put pressure on me - and the summer between my Soph and Jr year, I lost 70 pounds through mainly starvation. My lowest weight ever as an adult. I stayed in the 120 lb range for 5 years.

By the time I was 24, I met my husband and married. I was wearing size 24 waist Guess jeans on my honeymoon . . . . Then I had an accident while training in Taekwondo. I blew out my knew while jumping over people to break boards. At the time, there was no recontructive surgery for injuries like mine - so, after being a competitive martial artist for 6 years, I was sidelined. I had worked hard for a national ranking, and ended up 5th in the country that year. I guess I started gaining weight the day after my injury. I didn't gain much, 10 pounds a year. I applied to be in the FBI at 27, I weight 150 - the top of my range. After passing all the psyche testing, I failed the physical - my knee was too injured to be in the FBI.

So, I changed courses, maybe law school, I thought. I took the entrance exam, didn't do that well and was put on the wait list for law school. I was #4. I got a call the night before orientation that I did not get in. So, another reason to eat for me. I re-took the entrance exam, did very well this time and got an early acceptance for the next year. But, the damage was done, I was over 200 at 29.

I was still fooling myself that I could be active and during a volleyball game, I blew out my only good knee. By this time, technology had caught up with my injuries - there was a surgery that could help me. During law school, I had both of my knees reconstructed. My ortho, of course, told me that losing weight would help. I lost and gained the same 50 pounds for the next eight years. My mom died when I was 36, she finally understood my struggles with weight because she ended up dying of emphysema and anorexia. She apologized for everything she had pushed on me. But, I understood, you play the cards you are dealt.

Then, at 37 had my first child, at 39 had my second child.

Now I look at the scale at 251. I'm 42 and this is just not working out for me. 18 months ago, I made a final attempt to lose weight - did well for three months and, now I'm higher that any non-pregnancy weight.

I had never consider WLS until I had kids. I don't want to be the fat mom, or worse, the dead mom. I started researching and on Wed, I took in my paperwork to a recommended Dr. They will not make appointments until your file is reviewed and your insurance has pre-determined coverage, but when I got there, the office manager had me come on back and interviewed me. My insurance is easy - they actually said, you just meet the criteria (>40 BMI or 100 over aver weight) and we will pay. The Dr was not as easy. He is requiring a sleep study and 3 weeks of CPAP (if needed) before surgery. So, I have an appointment 2/27 for the sleep interview, then the the study and CPAP. Looks like late April or early May.

I'm still training in TKD, I haven't told anyone except my husband and best lawyer friend. It is embarassing to workout - at 251 - I'm not the martial artist I once was - but I'm working on it.

I keep posting.

Julez · 02-03-2006, 12:03 PM

Laurie,
Thank you for sharing your story.Welcome to the forum.There are many wonderful people here for support.Good Luck....

Gladitsme · 02-03-2006, 12:33 PM

Laurie,

Glad you're here. You'll do great I'm sure.

Bypassingme619 · 02-03-2006, 02:05 PM

Welcome aboard Laurie. I look forward to your up and coming post about your progress in your journey. Thank you for sharing the hard times in your life.

Duckie · 02-04-2006, 03:30 AM

Welcome aboard. Thanks for sharing. Keep us updated on your progress.

coptergirl · 02-04-2006, 09:08 AM

Laurie - you have guts and determination and will be a winner here! Don't put your dreams to rest just yet, sweetie

botchy · 02-04-2006, 08:26 PM

Welcome!! You'll love this forum. I found it just after surgery and it's been great.

JustAnotherVictim1 · 02-05-2006, 12:01 PM

Thats great! I hope my Insurance is fairly easy.

Can anyone inform me on what a CPAP is?

coptergirl · 02-05-2006, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustAnotherVictim1

Thats great! I hope my Insurance is fairly easy.

Can anyone inform me on what a CPAP is?

Its a fun little machine that you put on your bedside table. It has a hose attached to it that attaches at one end to the machine, and at the other end to a nosepiece. You turn the machine on at night, and it blows air through the tube and into the nosepiece which is strapped to your face. It opens your airway making breathing easier (supposedly), and many people report a more restful night's sleep.

I had one during my sleepstudy that was uncomfortable (wasn't fitted for me personally), and it was blowing too hard, so I dried up and started gagging in during my study. I am positive that this machine is why they disgnosed me with sleep apnea - I couldn't sleep all night! - LOL!!!

Duckie · 02-06-2006, 05:45 AM

I have a mask that goes over my nose (not the nose prongs). I LOVE IT! I sleep so much better. It was scarey to know how often I stopped breathing and how LOW my oxygen levels would go!