NEW ... My Story
Hi everyone
No Idea where to begin here.
My name is LeighAnna, I'm married to Paul. I'm 28, he's 26. I have 3 children (ages 6.5, almost 8, and 9.5) from a previous marriage.
I didn't battle a lifelong extreme weight problem, but had always been 10-30lbs overweight during childhood and teens. I'm 5-4 and finished high school (1994) at 165lbs. Had my children young.
Around age 21 I started gaining, about 15-25lbs a year - with no lifestyle changes - I'd been done having kids at 21, and was working on my feet all day, blah blah - so I thought my weight gaining culpret was eating late at night after work around 10:30pm - so I cut it back to 8pm and no change. I thus began my battle of weight - started seeing DRs whom were small healthy people telling my I ate too much - however, I never thought i did nor did my family/friends. In fact I had a DR make me keep a food log - when i brought it into him after 2 weeks, he decided that the just of what I ate was healthy and normal portions, and usually 1100-1300 calories a day. At that precise time and my weight factors he said my resting body would burn about 1500-1800 cals a day - so he wasn't sure why I gained weight vs losing weight.
Since I have no insurance I wasn't continuous on getting help, after leaving my FT job b/c of a back injury on the job, I had no insurance and started doing my own thing from home making soaps, candles, etc from scratch. - Anyways ... I divorced, moved, carried on. Steadily gaining weight, not knowing why, and becoming more and more depressed, not liking myself, feeling like a failure - you know the drill I'm sure ...
I got remarried in May 2004 - weighing in at 285. 15months later here I am at 337. However in a strange way this marriage brought me some answers. My new hubby was called to serve in Iraq, and part of our appeal for him not to go was based on the medical needs of myself and my oldest child (long story there). The army wanted full medical history on me. In the midst of that I went back to a DR (a size 0 tiny frame woman) who looked at me and said your health problems are b/c of your weight - you need to eat less junk and eat the right things - SOUND FAMILIAR??? So I proceeded to bring her the info from my previous doctor (food journal) Her response was, well then your body is telling you to eat less, lets try a 800 calorie a day diet, mostly protein. 
2 weeks later i showed up with another food journal never going over 770cals/day - now of course i was starved, and i knew when she saw the scale she'd say something like impossible, you aren't taking this seriously or you did something wrong (I've been there) so I took along a friend, my mother, and my husband who had all watched me starve myself on this womans diet - to back up my story. So I get on the scale - gained 11lbs - she started (just like i predicted) so my family/friend jumped in, LOL - long story short I left more discouraged b/c i KNEW i had something wrong with me but everyone wanted to blame food.
so April rolls around, we've been denied by the army once and on our 2nd appeal, I go to my grandmother and great grandmothers DR - he knows the family histories - I feel i have a chance - I take all my medical info and say look somethings wrong with me and it isn't food - show him the journals (he says the other DR was crazy to make me eat 800/cals, LOL) and orders blood work a full scale - well me with no insurance freaked at the $407 bill, but paid it - I go back a week later - he diagnosed me with Metabolic Syndrome (previously called Syndrome X) He explains to me that it is genetic and builds in your body system for about 20-22 years (I started gaining at 21) and then explodes and will make you gain 10-30lbs a month regardless of what you eat, it also leads you to diabetes and high blood pressure usually in your 30's (I'm 28 and borderline on scales for both those) Most wieght is carried at your middle tummy, hips, butt, verses legs, bust, arms, neck. He explained there is little info known and this has only become recognized in the last 10yrs or so. There is no WL diet for this but a Maintenance diet. (Who wants to maintain 337lbs, lol) so they try to do a WLS to get the bulk off the body before doing the maintenance diet.
SO....
anyone else here have info on Metabolic Syndrome? (Syndrome X, etc) Or having a WLS to help with it?
My mother, and grandfather have both had gastric bypasses, for other health reasons, mom's heart, and grandpa's diabetes. I am an exact duplicate body style of my mother - so if you ask me I believe she had this as well.
My husband will get me on his insurance in Jan, not sure if they'll cover this WLS but praying - any one know who Does/Doesn't cover it?
PS: we won our 3rd appeal, hubby is home, retrained in MO at post for 7 weeks then came home
I lok forward to hearing back from anyone - and anyone in FL willing to buddy chat/Im/Email is great!
~*L*~
2 weeks later i showed up with another food journal never going over 770cals/day - now of course i was starved, and i knew when she saw the scale she'd say something like impossible, you aren't taking this seriously or you did something wrong (I've been there) so I took along a friend, my mother, and my husband who had all watched me starve myself on this womans diet - to back up my story. So I get on the scale - gained 11lbs - she started (just like i predicted) so my family/friend jumped in, LOL - long story short I left more discouraged b/c i KNEW i had something wrong with me but everyone wanted to blame food.
so April rolls around, we've been denied by the army once and on our 2nd appeal, I go to my grandmother and great grandmothers DR - he knows the family histories - I feel i have a chance - I take all my medical info and say look somethings wrong with me and it isn't food - show him the journals (he says the other DR was crazy to make me eat 800/cals, LOL) and orders blood work a full scale - well me with no insurance freaked at the $407 bill, but paid it - I go back a week later - he diagnosed me with Metabolic Syndrome (previously called Syndrome X) He explains to me that it is genetic and builds in your body system for about 20-22 years (I started gaining at 21) and then explodes and will make you gain 10-30lbs a month regardless of what you eat, it also leads you to diabetes and high blood pressure usually in your 30's (I'm 28 and borderline on scales for both those) Most wieght is carried at your middle tummy, hips, butt, verses legs, bust, arms, neck. He explained there is little info known and this has only become recognized in the last 10yrs or so. There is no WL diet for this but a Maintenance diet. (Who wants to maintain 337lbs, lol) so they try to do a WLS to get the bulk off the body before doing the maintenance diet.
SO....
anyone else here have info on Metabolic Syndrome? (Syndrome X, etc) Or having a WLS to help with it?
My mother, and grandfather have both had gastric bypasses, for other health reasons, mom's heart, and grandpa's diabetes. I am an exact duplicate body style of my mother - so if you ask me I believe she had this as well.
My husband will get me on his insurance in Jan, not sure if they'll cover this WLS but praying - any one know who Does/Doesn't cover it?
PS: we won our 3rd appeal, hubby is home, retrained in MO at post for 7 weeks then came home
I lok forward to hearing back from anyone - and anyone in FL willing to buddy chat/Im/Email is great!
~*L*~ 
LeighAnna,
Hi! Welcome to the board. I am new here also. I do not have any experience with Metabolic Syndrome but I have just started working on approval for WLS. I have Tricare Prime (hubby is retired military) and from everything I have heard they are wonderful to work with. My surgeons office said they usually approve the surgery in 2-3 days once all the paperwork and the surgeons requirements are completed. I checked into the Lap band here in Jacksonville and they said my BMI is too high for that procedure and sent me to see Dr. Overcash in Ocala. They told me that if I was accepted as a pt. there (the place in Jacksonville not Dr. Overcash) that I would have to change my insurance from Tricare Prime to Tricare Standard. Don't understand why but Dr. Overcash does accept Tricare Prime. Anyway do your research online and talk to people and read profiles of the experiences of people who have had the surgery before choosing a surgeon.
Best of luck to you!
Kathy
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