OT: why dont all of us JUNE PEOPLE.....

I am Pam and I'm 37 years old. I've been happily married to my second husband for eight years. (My first husband & I divorced after I gained weight. He said "the sight of your body disgusts me." - Those are definitely parting words). I'm a mother of five: son 17, daughter 16, son 15, daughter 13, son 5. I live and work in Southern Maryland. My weight has been up since my first child. I had a few problems with it growing up but it didn't get this extreme until I had that first child. I gained 88 pounds during that pregnancy and it just stuck. I've dieted and dieted and exercised....repeatedly. I'm a professional dieter. Ask me anything!! (ha.ha) I even got all the way down to 138 for about an hour!! (that was when I was in my 20's) I've found the older I get, the harder it is to move and the harder it is to get the body to repsond to any type of dieting. Now, I have arthritis, GERD, Barrett's esophagus, stress incontinence, I'm a borderline diabetic, and I've broken my foot twice just by standing up! Enough is enough. My Surgeon is Osvaldo Anez in Fairfax, VA. and my surgery date is June 1st. I absolutely want to do this. I'm very excited about it and just a little nervous. I've never had surgery. Pam RNY 6/1/05 5'5" 250 BMI 41%

My name is Joan, I am 53 years old. I live outside Memphis , Tn. I have 2 boys 35 and 32 and 5 Grandchldren who are my whole life. Girls 14, 9,7and boys 13, and the devil boy 6. I Started really gaining weight after I quit smoking in my mid 30's. I gained weight so fast, folks thought I was pregnant, even my slowww husband. Well I went from 150 to my present weight of (drumrolls please) 326 lbs. I am 5' 5". The fatter I got the more health problems I got. I now have diabetes, high blood pressure, high colesterol, and because of joint and nerve problems, I haven't worked since Nov. I worked in a distribution warehouse and could no longer stand all day. I started college online about 9 months ago and I'm getting a dgree in Elementary Education. I threaten my Grandkids when I graduate I will be a teacher at their schools. The youngest believe me, the oldest ones hope I'm joking. I am going to Mexico on June 1st and will have surgery on the 3rd. I am hoping losing this weight will let me get my life back. I miss working in my yard, taking the kids to the zoo, and shopping. I'm ready to get on with it. Joan

Hey June bugs and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I know we may not have been born in June, but we surely will be REBORN this June!! It's our new chance at starting over! My date is June 13th! I am 46 years old, married to my honey for about 5 years now. This is my second marriage, though my first husband and I are still very close family. I have a 19 year old son finishing his first year at Marist College in Poughkeepsie NY, and a 4 1/2 year old who is finishing her first year in pre-school and is giving me grey hair! HA!! She is a bundle of energy, God bless her! I experienced a mild case of congestive heart failure in June. That was pretty much my deciding factor. I live in NJ, and am having RNY surgery laparoscopically at Hackensack hospital. A friend of mine went through this a year ago with the same surgeon. My husband sister also had this surgery 2 years ago by another doctor. I have not had my insurance clearance just yet because I have to go one more step..a meeting with the support group next Thursday night, to satisfy their requirements. Then I should be good to go. I have been overweight all my life. I am a performer, and I love my life. I have never been particularly bothered by my weight, so I thought!! Since I made this decision, it's been like coming out of the (fat) closet! I am realizing just how much I hate my fat! Everyday, I realize how miserable I am with how I look. Clothes I thought I looked pretty good in, suddenly don't do it for me anymore. It's kind of liberating to admit that I am unhappy with my weight! I am 5' 7 1/2 " and about 320. That's a lot of woman! I am thrilled to be doing this. I only experience "fear" on a very sporatic degree. I have had many surgeries in the past, so I am pretty confident that this one will be no different, in that I will come out fine and heal well, etc. Our new lives are upon us. God bless us and our surgeons! Let's all stick together. It's a great support system here and we all need each other! Please feel free to email anytime! I check my mail about once or twice a day. Good luck to you, my new family!

Great idea. A little about myself is I am a single 25 year old who weighs around 425 and am about 5'4. I am having my surgery on June 6th. Origanally up till last friday my surgery date was suppose to be May 10th but had to be post poned. I am having a revision done by Dr. Kevin Wasco. My surgery is scheduled for 7am so I have to be to the hosp by 4am YIKES. I had my origanal surgery June 7th of 2000 and had alot of complications and found out that the surgery wasnt done correctly for me and done a old version. I am very impressed with my new surgeon and he is great. When I started out from my first surgery i was over 500 lbs and had gotten as low as 335 but then gained 100lbs back due to the stomach being made to big. I am looking at this surgery as a brand new start jess

Hey Lisa, I'm 32 years old and have been married twice now. This time he's a keeper! I tell him my first marriage was just a practice run so I could do things right this time! I have basically the same main reason you do, for my kids. I have a 9 year old boy a 5 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. They are the loves of my life! I live in Iowa and I do in home health care taking care of my mother. I have also battled obesity all my life. Was always the fat kid who got picked on. When I was in High School we had a girl come to our school who was actually bigger than I was and so the picking switched to her. I felt so bad for her but another part of me was relieved because I was no longer picked on but I always stuck up for her! The only other health problems I have is asthma and arthritis. I can't imagine myself as a normal sized person doing normal things either. But our day will come!!! Hope you have an uneventful surgery! Can't wait to hear how you came out! *huggs* Tracie S

Hello to all my fellow Junebugs! It looks like I'm bringing up the rear of the month with a scheduled date of 6/27 . I was originally scheduled for the 20th but because of snow days I won't be out of school (I'm a teacher). I'm 36 years old and, like many, am on my 2nd marriage to a WONDERFUL guy . I have a 16 year old son from my previous marriage who also struggles with weight issues. I went through a period of "thinness" in my 20's after my divorce. I was quite thin but didn't loose in a way to keep it off. I did enjoy exercising and miss doing it now. I had a car accident in 1998 and was put on a medication that helped me gain 50 pounds in three weeks . I've never been able to take off the weight. I was in a wheelchair for almost 3 months and because of problems related to the accident and my weight it hurts to walk sometimes much less exercise. I can't wait till I drop enough to enjoy hiking again. I am 5'5" 268lbs. I have two goal weights and plan on celebrating like there was no tomorrow when I go below 200 ! I wish everyone the best ! Kate

Hi everyone! I keep meaning to post on this board but I always seem to forget (not this time!)! I am a 21 year old college student majoring in vocal music education. I will graduate a year from now and will start a whole new life (and by then...well on my way to having a new body). I didn't start having a weight problem until I was probably 12, after being put on birth control pills for regulation. Between the medication and normal teenage emotions, I have continuously gained weight (and lost...and gained it back, isn't dieting wonderful ). I am currently at 265lbs and I'm 5'7" tall. I am still on my parent's insurance (which will cover 95%) and will be getting the Lap Band on June 7. My goal weight is around 140-150. I am constantly being reminded by the people on these message boards of how lucky I am to be doing this at such a young age. So I can't say my reasoning for doing this is because of my kids...more likely so that someday when I am married (have to find the guy first!) I won't have trouble having kids and so that I can live a long, healthy life and avoid some of the co-morbidities that would be in store if I weren't to have the surgery. Well, I attended the first wedding of a couple my age yesterday and, let me tell you, it made me want June 7th to come even quicker (where's my groom???)! Bye! Christina

Hey Everyone! This is my first visit to this forum and it is definitely getting me even MORE excited for my upcoming surgery(s). I am having my Open Gastric Bypass on my son's 20th birthday. I didn't let them schedule it until I made sure it was okay with him. Just in case.... HE said he knew I would be just fine and he wasn't worried at all so I should go ahead with it. He is the oldest of my three children. I also have a daughter that is 18 and another son that is 10. I was married to their father for 16 1/2 years before he decided he didn't want a wife and kids anymore. I remarried 3 years and 11 days ago...we shall see what happens with that one. It is an on again, off again relationship since we separated last September. My daughter lives with me right now, but she is planning on moving out this week. She wants to move back home....Springfield, Missouri, where my oldest son lives. That means that I will have no one here to help me after surgeries. I keep saying surgeries because I am having carpal tunnel surgery on June 16th and then the WLS on June 28th. Yes, it is only 12 days apart but both surgeons said okay. I don't want to be off of work very long because I am the only income in my house and I only get one week's vacation pay. Personal time and sick time has been eaten up by doctor's visits. My 10 year old will be with my parents until June 18th when I drive myself to Springfield to pick him up. He will be here with me during and after the WLS which will help some...at least with the puppy. Good luck to everyone else getting ready for their life change and let's get ready to ! and do the happy ! Cindy Lou Who

Hi there! My name is Christina. I am a 29 year old single mother of a 9 year old boy. My surgery is June 1st and it can't seem to get here soon enough. I am currently 244 lbs and just under 5'4''. I too have struggled most of my life with my weight. I have been single most of my son's life. I used to date from time to time. Then I met who I thought was Mr. Right. I soon married and thought I was finally really happy. Then only 6 months into the marriage he decided he was not ready for marriage after all. We went from perfectly happy to divorced. Boy was that hard on my pride. He was my second husband. I was married for a year when I was 20 years old. I was single for over 7 years before I let someone back into my heart. Well needless to say, it has been over a year and a half since my second husband left and I have not even attempted to meet anyone. I love my son and we do very well on our own. But I am tired of being all alone. I want to lose this weight and keep it off for me! I let the weight keep me from doing many things. I don't go out and have fun. I don't even get together with friends much. I even work from home on the computer. All that said, I am not happy with the way I look. I let the weight control me. No Longer! I can not wait to be on the losing side. I want to be happy and fill my life with new and exciting things. I also want to get out and live life with my son. I don't want to give him my bad habbits. Good luck to each and everyone of you! I would love to hear about everyone's journey! Congrats! Christina Cook

Hi Christina, I completely understand you about not wanting to pass on your bad habits. My son is 16 and I'm afraid I already have. He struggles with his weight. I'm hoping that after my surgery I can model better eating habits for the precious time I have with him Enjoy life and the journey as your date quickly approaches! Kate