While in high school, I was made fun of and called names, because I was taller than most girls and heavier. I tried every diet imaginable, some things worked and others didnt. It wasnt until my junior year of high school in 1987, that I got a job working on a horse farm and my weight dropped to about 180 lbs from around 230. I was able to stay at that weight for several years until I married in 1990 and got pregnant twice. The weight came off of my first pregnancy without any problems. It was with the birth of my second child in 1992 and a 80 lb weight gain, that it became almost impossible to lose.

My relationship with my husband dissolved after the birth of my children. I left him in late 1993, because of his lying and cheating and moved home with my mother. I then joined a gym and was able to lose that excess 80lbs. It took me a good nine months to lose the weight by walking on treadmills, swimming, weight training, etc.

It wasn't until November 1997 that I went to see a few doctors about a medical problem I was having.

I was diagnosed in December 1997 with having a bladder disorder called INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS. This is an un-curable disease of the bladder that causes major pain at times, urinary frequency, and un-controllable spasms.
Doctors have treated the disease in other patients, usually un-successfully, for several years. The doctor I was seeing over a period of several months, tried all of the treatments known to the medical field. The result of these treatments/ medications was a weight gain of 100+ lbs in a matter of 11 months. This doctor's ignorance did not help matters any.

The weight gain caused major joint pain in my knees and hips, placed extra pressure on an already injured disk in my lower back, and severe depression.

My family doctor tried getting my insurance to pay for Meridia and Xenical to help curb my appetite.

I was put on Prozac for depression, and was sent to the hospital to see the staff dietician. The insurance rejected my prescription for the diet drugs and the diet the dietician put me on simply didn't work.

At being over 100+lbs overweight, it was virtually impossible to lose weight by exercise. Joint pain prevented me from doing any sort of quality aerobic exercise. The local gyms just are not that local! You had to drive a half-hour each way and it was very un-comfortable trying to exercise being so fat!

I finally got the "shits" of everyone telling me I needed to stop eating so much and exercise. Hell, I was starving myself and attempting light exercise, but I couldn't lose the weight. I made an appointment with my family doctor after seeing a show on TV about music star, Carnie Wilson. She had just had the surgery a few months prior and had lost quite a bit of weight.

I was then referred by my to Doctor John Monk in York, PA. He said that I was a candidate for the surgery and was sent for testing and an evaluation. I did a lot of research about the surgery online and decided that I wanted to go through with it.
The entire process took about 6 months. Sometimes it took almost 1 month just to get an appointment to see one of the doctors on his list. Then the appointment came where we set the date. JUNE 26th, 2000. I counted down the days. Talk about frustrating!

After the surgery, I wanted to kick myself in the ass. I thought for the first 2 weeks that I had made a mistake. I had to suffer through a holiday where the family had hamburgers off the grill and I had chicken broth.
I was deeply depressed just after surgery, but after talking to many online post-op patients, found out that it was normal and would pass.
Indeed, it did and the weight started coming off. I plateau'd several times and broke them by eating more frequently.

It has been over 1 year now and I have little joint pain. My back is still bad due to having a herniated disk, but does not bother me as much now that the weight is gone.
My interstitial cystitis has not been affected by the surgery and until a cure is found, I will have to deal with that the remainder of my life.

I highly recommend to anyone this surgery. It is a personal preference for me and a decision someone should not take lightly.
Do your research, ask questions, be prepared for the emotional overload, etc. A great support system will greatly benefit a WLS patient. Support groups are everywhere now, as the surgery has become so popular.