Before & After RNY with Antoinette, losing 170 pounds!
November 15, 2016Celebrating Antoinette's Before & After RNY Journey!
As a young girl, I didn't really suffer from obesity. It was after bearing children that the weight started to take over my life. I birthed two daughters and raised them alone which caused me to get depressed and eating was my dependence.
Although I never realized that was a problem, I continued the wrong eating habits. My habits of eating were eating during the late night and going to bed. It was nothing to have a full course meal, with a nice sweet filled snack to end the day. Then right to bed, I went. This was a nightly ritual.
I must have gained 190 pounds from graduating high school in 1988 until 2002. That may seem like a long amount of time but it's a lot of weight for someone to carry and function. I could no longer wear a two piece bathing suit, short pants or a sleeveless blouse without shame. My thighs scrubbed together which caused blisters between my thighs. My under arms had blisters from the weight and kept continuously sweating. My arms were so big I could have used them as floating devices while swimming. I had a cute face but this enormous body wasn't cute anymore.
In 2002, my struggle was real at 322 pounds, size 32 pants, size 44 DDD breasts, 6X blouse/clothes and size 10 shoes (my shoe size even changed). I couldn't get around as much. I was ashamed of my weight but tried to use my pretty face to get through life. I was very unhappy, insecure and wanted more for my health. I even had a bad airplane seating experience. Two seats were needed but the people next to me were nice about it all. It was so embarrassing. Everything seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. I prayed for help.
I did some weight loss surgery research and decided I would get the RNY Gastric Bypass surgery. As soon as I made my decision, my best friend's daughter died on the surgery table during her RNY Gastric Bypass procedure.
After this difficult situation, I had to think about having surgery myself. Another factor that came up for me was that I believed my best friend could never know this was my decision to have the same surgery, and my mother was not in favor of the surgery after that situation. Now I'm trying to please everybody else but forgetting about myself. Now here I am making plans to have the surgery as a SECRET from family and friends that were not in favor of the surgery. For one year, I was in misery.
Before & After RNY
OH Username: antoinettejohnson
Total Weight Loss: 170 pounds
Surgical Procedure: RNY Gastric Bypass
Surgery Date: 5/28/2003
Surgeon's Name: Dr. Wayne English
In January 2003, I decided to have weight loss surgery and went to visit Dr. English. He was so nice and I just knew everything would be ok. He assured me that I could be successful as long as I followed the directions. His staff was supportive and informative. I went with a friend to attend the final orientation doctor visits. Both of us scheduled a date for surgery which was May 28, 2003.
My family finally gave that 110% support which really helped. The recovery was smooth sailing. I was up and moving around, and actually back at work in two weeks. I had some constipation problems but my post-op experience was all expected because I had been informed by the surgeon what to expect.
I probably should have stayed off work longer but I was so excited to go on with life. I also needed my finances still flowing in so I could support my daughters.
The only thing about the recovery was my tolerance level was 0. When I say tolerance was zero...I'm referring to my nerves, my patience - I changed mentally. Not having those late night snack really got to me. Although I didn't think about eating as much because I had to cope with the changes mentally. It took a toll on me overall.
Constipation, protein shakes, vitamins etc. those things I never had to do before were the new daily regiments in life. New life - new things to stay healthy. I had to concentrate on those things.
After being back at work for about nine months, I walked off my job one day because I was just so frustrated. My boss was asking me what was going on with me. With all the body changes I was experiencing, I couldn't tolerate more aggravation from work.
I was losing weight rapidly, and I was tired of protein shakes and protein bars. I just wanted several Oreo cookies and ice cream. I had to get my mind focused. My mind had to catch up with my body's rapid changes.
Post-operatively, I had some medical problems. I had a hernia removal in 2005 with the un-tieing of my intestines plus a blood transfusion a couple of days after the hernia removal. I have a history of being anemic which also occurred after my surgery. In 2006, I had another transfusion.
In 2007, I was wearing a size 9 shoe but wearing a training bra. People don't realize some of our breasts is fat tissue so those 44 sized breasts were actually training bra sizes after I lost weight. I was now depressed.
When I had lost 165 pounds, when I saw people that have known me for years, they didn't recognize me at all. I would walk up to people and say "hey" and they looked at me like I was a crazy lady. Once I would show them an old picture of me, or tell them it was me, they would freak out at how different I looked. It is a wonderful feeling. You know it's a change when your grandmother doesn't recognize you! 13 years later, I weigh 185 pounds, wear a size 12, my shoe size is a 9, breast implant size of a 36C, PLUS healthy and happy mentally, physically and emotionally.
Special Milestones
By having saggy skin all over my body from losing 170 pounds (which is equivalent to an entire person), I was depressed. At six years post-operatively, I decided to have plastic surgery. I went to see a surgeon and didn't know what to expect. In the process of looking into plastic surgery which will cost me (per estimates) $8,000 for the breast (lift and implants) and arms. I was determined to make this happen for me. I was a single mother with one income in my house so I didn't think this was going to be a reality for a while. Shortly after looking into it, I was able to have the plastic surgery.
In 2009, I got married to my childhood friend, Eric, became an educator, am an active Nanna and two God children, and currently opening a family daycare. Plus, I'm more active now.
How has ObesityHelp.com been a part of your journey?
Using Obesityhelp provided me with tools to cope with all adversities...pre-op and post-op. I was able to share my story, struggles, victories out in the open and privately with others who could relate to it all.
Share Your Before & After Success!
Celebrate your own Before & After WLS Success, milestones, non-scale victories, and inspire others! The OH team wants to hear from you to share your weight loss surgery journey. Visit our Before & After Submission page for details.
