I have been overweight since my early teens. I have fought ridicule and many upon many failed diets. All this to lose weight and regain it again and again. I went to my doctor for a problem with my asthma and he checked my blood pressure and said it was extremely high and I was borderline diabetic. He put me on a diuretic first and that didn't do enough so he tacked on an additional blood pressure medicine and an acid reflux medicine as well. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and he said I have a suggestion, maybe we should consider leaning toward weight loss surgery. He gave me the options and I did my research. I was nervous and so were my kids and husband. I did not want to die and not see my children grow up, how fair would that be to them.

I made the decision to have the Lap Band surgery done. It didn't take long to get going but I did go through about a year of classes and tests and insurance approval. When they called me to let me know I was approved they scheduled my surgery for April 30, 2007. I was so nervous. My recovery was good. I had a few days that were not so great, especially with the the pain meds, they made me constipated, not a good thing at all!

The first two weeks I lost 17 pounds. I was exstatic. Then it tapered off and came off more gradually after that. I am almost to my 1 year anniversary and I have lost 70 pounds, and went from a 26 to a 16. I have not seen this size since junior high. I would reccomend this procedure to anyone who needs help with their weight, it certainly has been my hero!! I would do it again in a heart beat. Thank you Dr. Kelly, of UMass Memorial Hospital, Worcester, MA and the Lap Band for giving me my life back.