newbie here

Hello everyone. My name is lisa and I am a stay home mother of 2 children. I am 29 yrs old. I am married to a very supportive man for coming up 5 yrs. I live on vancouver island, british columbia. I have had an issue with my weight most of my life. I have only really started having issues with my weight in the last 10 years or so. I had my gull bladder removed when I was 19 yrs old as it was rotten. Before that surgery my weight was not that bad and I was happy and trying to lose weight. After that surgery and with some complications I had a lot of damage to my muscle in my lower stomach so that is when my first struggles started. I then started going down hill due to a bad relationship and marriage that only lasted 10mos due to the abuse, very mental from him and the lack of support and confidence that I did have started to go away. I did not turn to food but I started staying home lots and not exercising very much. Once I left my ex-husband I tried to get my life back in order and I did lose about 50lbs but I had lots of support from my brother as we ended up living together for awhile. In Dec 2002 I met my now husband of almost 5 yrs and my life changed. I had someone in my life that loved me for who I was and not what I looked like. My husband did encourage me to get my weight under control but was not making feel like "****" when doing it like my ex did. We did a lot of walking which helped. I had c-sections with both my kids. My daughter in 2004 was an emergency c-section which I ended up with a massive infection which put me bedridden for 6 weeks. My son was born in 2006 and I had lost about 40lbs (the amount I gained with my daughters pregnancy) before I got pregnant with my son. I gained about 60 lbs with my son and that scared me. My son was a planned natural birth but once we got within days of his due date and nothing was happening they told me a c-section is going to be done. I have lost about 35 lbs since my son was born but now I am at a standstill. I have my 1st appt with Dr Amson on March 26th 2009 and I got referred to him in October 2007. I am in the midst of doing my "homework" on the surgery and what I need to do before I go for my first visit and what this all entails. I am hoping meet some new people here and maybe some people that are in the same boat as me living close to me. I am sorry to ramble on as I sometimes get carried away when writing about my life and weight issues. Hope to talk with some of you soon. :)

Hello Welcome to the site. You will find alot of information here. I cnnot beleive how long it takes to see Dr Amson. My doctor phoned in Sept 2007 I have not heard from his office for an appointment yet. I don`t really care because I already had my surgery in Seatle in Jan2008. I cant wait to tell Dr Amsons office thanks but no thanks. If you have any questions, someone on this site will help you out. Good luck with Dr Amson Sharon

Thank you for the welcome. I have heard that I can be waiting up to 4 yrs after I see him for the 1st time which is a little frustrating but I am staying positive. Where do you live Sharon? I thought that I had to see him only cause I live in British Columbia (vancouver island) but if there is a way to get it covered via MSP then I would be willing to look at a different doctor. Thanks for the words of kindness. Lisa

Hi Lisa I live in Langley. Have you looked into out of Country? A few of us have gone to Seattle. Some are trying for Seattle aswell. BC medical will cover gastric bypass by Dr Hunter down in Seattle. You have to apply and meet MSP criteria. When MSP accepts you, you can be down there within a few months not years. That might be something to look into. Talk later Sharon