NurseDanaD.
March 22,2007
Well here we go... I have been researching WLS for sometime now. I guess it's been 4 years (WOW,time flys!) I have been overweight since 3rd grade. I started gaining weight after I had my tonsils removed at age 6. After I became a nurse I thought maybe my thyroid was involved, afterall the thyroid is in the throat, and so are the tonsils..RIGHT???!!! Well of course all my thyroid test came back perfectly normal. I was trying to find something to blame my obesity ( YUCK, what an ugly word!) on! I have come to the realization that part of it is genetics, but most of it is bad eating habits, and lack of exercise. My mother, aunts, and grandmother (Mom's Mom) have all had weight issues as long as I can remember. When my grandmother died in 1980, she weighed 320 lbs... mind you she was barely 5 ft tall. She suffered from diabetes, cornary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and probably sleep apnea (they really hadn't discovered that diagnosis in the 1970's yet)
My Mom & I have been yo-yo dieters since the 1970's we've done TOPS, weight watchers, Adtkins, Curves, you name it we've probably tried it! (Yes, even the grapefruit & boiled egg diet!) I just can't seem to get the weight off! The only time I have lost a significant amount of weight is when I was pregnant. Yes, when I was PREGNANT! Of course I threw up everyday...all day!!! I lost 47 lbs. Thank God it didn't hurt my daughter, but when I got pregnant, I weighed 212 lbs, so when I came home at 165 lbs. I looked pretty good. But I could eat without throwing up! And eat I did! Now it's 12 years later and I have gained 100+ pounds. My health is suffering due to my obesity... morbid obesity at that! I have hypertension, degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis, and probably sleep apnea (it just hasn't been formally diagnosed...yet) I know I NEED to lose weight. My daughter is headed down the same path, and I don't want her to go through what I have been through. The teasing & taunting takes it's toll after a while! She wants to be thin, but loves the wrong kind of foods! I need to set an example for her!
I guess I have rambled on long enough. I want to have WLS to become healthier. I need to exercise, but can't due to the pain from arthritis, DJD, etc.. so I need to lose weight to exercise, so I can lose more weight and increase my muscle mass and increase my metabolism. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it. TODAY is my first day of a long journey...but with God's help I CAN DO IT!!!
