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After 4 years of research, I have finally decided to begin the process to have weight loss surgery. I am 33 years old, with two sons ages 11 and 6. When I think about how my excess weight has impacted my life, I can only reflect with sadness. I have been struggling with my with my since 1996, after the birth of my oldest son.
Prior to my pregnancy with him, I was very active, going to the gym several times a week and walking about 10 – 15 miles a week with my mom and other family members. After giving birth I gained about 50 pounds over the next year. At the time(Dec ’06) my OB-GYN, Dr. Donna Smith, was very concerned with my weight gain and referred my to a nutritionist. Her name was Dr. Donna Chrisanderson. She met with me and immediately started me on a nutritional program. I had to limit my fat intake to 28gms/day, increase my water intake, and she also started me on the fen-phen cocktail. Admittedly, I began to lose weight, and for the first time since I had my son did I feel like I had control over my appetite. Prior to this I had tried Weight Watchers. My grandmother convinced me to go with her. The weekly meetings were ok, but it wasn’t structured enough for me, and very easy to fall off track.
Unfortunately because of the controversy behind fen-phen, I had to be taken off in September 1997. With a starting weight of 296, I had come down to 264. To some that maybe small, but for me it felt good. I maintained this weight for about a year, through a regular work out regimen (my job had an onsite gym), and watching what I ate. From September 1998 to October 1999, my weight fluctuated between 285 and 300. Problems at home and work prevented me from focusing on my diet and health, and so began another cycle. In November of 1999, I was experiencing serious relationship issues with my son’s father. At the same time I beagan using Xenadrine to keep my appetite at bay because I knew I was an emotional eater. My weight dropped to 270, in under a month. , Soon after I found myself pregnant again with my younger son. I was relieved to some extent, because for at least 9 months, I did have to over concern myself with dieting. After I had my second son in August 2000, the rollcoaster ride with my weight began again. My post pregnancy weight was 275, and I some how managed to maintain that for about a year. I tried following the techniques I learned with Dr. Chrisanderson, but instead of the fen-phen I used Hydroxycut. I didn’t lose much, constantly regaining and losing the same 10 lbs. I decided to give my body a break from the ephedrine, and tried Slimfast. I had a consultation with Dr. R. Altema regarding Medifast, but being a single mom with limited income, I decided its poor cousin Slimfast would have to do. I tried to stay diligent, and from about January 2002 (I tend to forgive myself at New Years, and start fresh every year) to that summer, I struggled with my weight loss efforts, never losing more than 10 or 15 lbs, and ALWAYS regaining more than I lost. At the end of 2002, I found myself at what I thought would be my all time high of 305 lbs. I wanted to die. I never thought that my weight would get that out of control.
So in late January 2003, I had a consultation with Dr. Joseph Kamelgard regarding weightloss surgery. My visit with him left me apprehensive, and I decide that if I could lose the weight on my own, I wouldn’t schedule a follow up. Well suffice to say between February 2003 and December 2003, with the help of Stackers II with ephedra, I managed to lose 25 lbs. It was not easy to maintain the weight loss because by the end of 2004 I had regained it all, no matter what I tried. So again in January 2005, I began again, my starting weight for the year 303 lbs. This time I got together with some coworkers and we formed a workout support group. It did work for sometime, and I was able to get down to 285 by the summer. Unfortunately due to health issues, I wasn’t able to stick with the program.
Fast forward to September 2006. Same song, same dance except now I find myself fluctuating between 310 and 320, both all time highs. I am winded easily and experience chest pains when I walk more than a block at a time. Because of the extra weight climbing stairs, has become a painful chore. Walking for more than 10 minutes at a time causes my joints to swell from the knees down, and very little relieves the swelling. I tire easily, and it’s getting harder to keep up with my sons who are very active. Increasingly, I leave the house less except to work because going shopping, running errands, or social activities leave me in such discomfort that Alleve has become my new staple. I look at my mother and grandmother, both overweight with diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis. My father has hypertension as well. I know if a long term solution cannot be found for me, that is the future that awaits me. Only difference, is that I weight A LOT more than they do. I weigh more than my dad! My sons deserve a mother that can keep up with them, and be active with them. Not one that has to stay off her feet, because it hurts to be on them for any length of time.
I don’t expect a miracle or to lose maybe more that 65 percent of my excess, and I know with this surgery comes dedication and hard work on my part. However, the time has come for me to take back my life, and end the cycle of yo-yo dieting which has probably done me more harm than good. This has not been an easy decision, but it has been over 3 years in the making. I am ready.
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