ObesityHelp

02/15/07,  My name is Dorothy Jean Armstrong ( Jeannie). I'm 47 years old and I have been over weight all of my life. I was born in a small town west of ATLANTA, GEORGIA, to Mr. & Mrs. William E. Akins, ( Gene & Dorothy Jean). They were high school sweethearts and were married 1958. My father was a hard worker and he raised two wonderful daughters. 

Well, I guess I will tell you my story now! As a small child I was large in Elm. , Jr High, Sr. High, and too in College. I have been up and down with my weight. I was even married for a short time with my ex-husband saying that he could not be with anyone that was FAT. That was news to me since before we married he said that it did not matter. Until one day he found someone that was doing all the things that he was doing. (DRINKING, DRUGING) ect........So with all of that happening I began to gain my weight, and usely the weight that you lose you gain back two times over. Then I would lose it again and then I lost both of my parents a few years ago. Then my sister began to get into trouble so I was depressed and then gained it all again PLUS.

Then as I started looking into having WLS something would happen and I would not have the insurance to have it done. So after a couple of years I was finally able to start the fight again and see if I was going to be able to be approved to have WLS. But to not avail my insurance was not going to cover it. Then I had something happen! I was able to pay cash for my operation. I started looking here in ATLANTA, GEORGIA and I was finding that I was not going to be able to afford it here. Then I had a friend of mine tell me about the doctor she used in Alabama and she said that he was really good. So with the advice from her I looked him up and I went to see him. My first visit was on July 13,2006 and I was able to have my surgery July 27,2006.

Even thought he was a great surgeon, my hospital experience was not that great. The morning after my surgery I went down to have my leak study done and they looked good. I was told that when I got back upstairs I could start having my liquids. As the time went on that day I was never given any liquids and my body went into shock, with dehydration. With that happening I went into renal-kidney failure. I was going to die if they could not get my kidneys to start working again. They told me that they were going to have to put a central line in me so that they could give me all the meds that I was going to need. But that was a failure, they made 2 attempts and nothing. (I STILL HAVE NOT FEELING IN THE SIDE OF MY NECK ) to this day. So times I really think that the hospital did not want to listen to me. They do not know my body like I do. I told them that if they did not do something really soon I was going to call my surgeon and a LAWYER. That is when things started happening. My friend had to come out of MACON and RAISE the ROOF on the hospital. But I'm doing better now.

02/19/07- today I'm 7 months post opp and 3 months after my WLS I had to have my gallbladder removed but I'm better. I'm now only 50 pounds away from what my surgeon said I should get too. But this has really been a long journey.

03/31/07- Sorry for not updating in awhile! But here goes. I have been doing well over the past month. I have had just a few ups and downs and my doctor has put me on med's for depression and they are working OK. But I know what my problem was. I've since then gotten things straighten out and I hope in the next few weeks that it will be even better. I did find out though being cash pay that my surgeon does not see you any longer after your are 6 months out, He will see you if you can pay for his office visits but they are over 100.00 plus. My insurance did not cover this operation and so I have to depend on my PCP to pick up where he left off. I have a wonderful PCP she is the best I think in the ATLANTA area.

04/17/07, Well it has been awhile since I have posted anything. I have a wonderful support group that I'm over seeing. We are really small right now but I expect that we will be growning soon. I'm so glad that I have this group because it really helps me in all the things that I want to be able to do. Since my surgery back July 2006 I have come a long way and I'm really happy with my life and how things can really change. Before my surgery I was really tired all the time and I really had no energy, but to this day I have more energy and I really love being able to help others through their WLS. So as life goes on from here I will be telling a lot about my life and how things are going. So until next time I hope that all is well.

07/08/07, this is really long over due once again. As many of you know I have gone through OH SUPPORT GROUP LEADER TRAINING. I'm really Glad that I done this because it has given me so much in-site on all the things that I need to really give all the support that I need for all of us out here. Just to really inform everyone I'm really doing well not saying that this journey has been easy it is really hard when you are really trying to do all the correct things that we now have to do. I still have a lot of things that I want to try and eat, it is called head hunger and I really play hard with it. So when I think that I might be able to eat it I try and then I feel sick for a couple of hours. Then guess what? I stay away from it again. I think that I'm still scared that I going to do something wrong and I'm going to fail in some way that I really watch all the things that I put into my body. SO REMEMBER THAT THIS JOURNEY IS LONG AND IT IS A REAL BIG LIFE CHANGE.

08/02/07, Just a few updates. I have been doing well since my WLS I made my 1st year make on 07/27/07 and 185 pounds gone forever. I'm really excited with all that I have done in my life this past year things have really been moving forward for me. I have met this really wonderful person and he really makes me happy. Then the latest news is my sister is going to be coming home the 1st of September I hope that she is ready to take on life. Since the lose of our parents she has really taken a down fall. But as I keep telling her she really needs to grow up and be the kind of person that I know that she can be.

08/11/07, Well I got wonderful new! The gentleman that I have been seeing is not going to have to go out-of town and work. WOW, HOO. this really makes me happy.
 

03/20/08, Well it has now been another long time since my last update. I have been doing really well. I have not had many if any at all health problems in quite some time now. Since my last update in August 2007, I have been working really hard and staying involved with my SUPPORT GROUP. I have also been going out of town a lot with the man that I have been seeing for almost a year now. Things in that area have been really great. We have been talking about getting a bigger place to live since now we have gone into the BIRD-BREEDING business. This is really going to be a lot of work but I think that I'm really going to be happy with all the things that we are going to be doing. Since my surgery July 27, 2006 my life has really changed. I have become more active and involved with so many different things that I some times feel that I'm not going to have enough time in the day to complete all the things that I really have to do. But that is a wonderful challenge. If it was not for me to have this surgery I do not think that my health would be as good as it is today. So if anyone is reading this PLEASE FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. 



Hello FRIENDS; It has been a long times since I have been here and it is coming up on my 2 year SURVERSORY, and I'm still doing really great. I have lost a total of 210 pounds and I'm maintaining it really well with only going up and down 5 to 10 pounds. Life has been a wonderful challenge and I would not change a thing. I have been running a WLS Support Group for just a little over a year and that in its self is the BEST. I have met so many different people that are wanting to become HEALTHIER and start a new JOURNEY. Just in last nights meeting I really had a great time, we all talked about so many new things I also had a few PRE-OPS. They really had a lot of


10/29/09: Hello my friends, it's been a long time since I have posted anything about me. I'm now just a little over 3 years post op and this has been such a WONDERFUL JOURNEY. I'm not saying that I've not gained any but I have lost it back. It's only during the WINTER I gain 8 to 10 pounds and that is all. The main secret is to FOLLOW WHAT YOUR DOCTOR ORDERED. But as some post-op's know our heads will play lots's of games, but there is a WONDERFUL PLAN that we are able to use to get back on track and that is the 5 day pouch test. Then what I do along with this is I go back to my first post-op day's and start all over again. This is how I have been so SUCCESSFUL. LIFE TODAY IS GRAND!

 07/29/10; Hello OH family, I know that it has been a long time since I have been here; but today things have been really wonderful in my life and this week I celabrated being 4 years post op on July 27, 2010. This has been a wonderful JOURNEY and I would not change anything about the way I feel today. I have so many things to be  THANKFUL FOR, and just to name a few OBESITY HELP  and all the SUPPORT that I have been given.

I have been a SUPPORT LEADER for OBESITY HELP for 4 years and I have helped many others in their journey it is such a wonderful feeling to know that you are able to help and then watching each of them change right before your eyes.

As a SUPPORT LEADER you have to be able to leason to all concerns that all have to say and be able to guide them. But FIRST you also have to make sure that you tell them to STICK with what their SURGERON has told them to do. See there are times that I have to go back to the BASIC things so that I will not fall into all the old bad habits that I was once used too. Because if you start falling back into all your old HABITS, YES! you can gain it all back, and I have seen a few that has done this. They have done it because they do not stay active with-in a SUPPORT GROUP. That is why your surgeron say's you must stay with a SUPPORT GROUP in order to mantain and keep a full balance. I'm really one that can talk about this because I know that if I was not doing all that I'm doing I WOULD HAVE FAILED. I know ME!

07/20/11; WOW, What can I say about my life today. I feel so much better than I did 5 years ago. As of July 27,2011 I will be 5 years post opp and boy my life has changed for the better. I have had some ask me would there be anything that I would have changed about my life. I do not think so! The only thing that I wished I had do through out my life would have been listening to my mother better and watching what I was eating. But I still think I would have still gained my weight since this was part of my family history. But I sure would have adopted better eating habits.

The things that I love most being apart of OBESITY HELP is being able to help others along their JOURNEY. I'm one that will talk with you when you are down or help answer any question that you may have in what to expect with your surgery. But I too will tell you to make sure that you follow what your surgeron has set forth in his guide lines. It is very important that you follow them for you SUCCESS in your JOURNEY.