bluehairbrigade
Hi,
I am a Mum to a beautiful daughter & proud gramma to her 4 great (most of the time), kids. I have been employed for more than 35 yrs as the office nurse for a busy obstetrician/gynaecologist at a downtown hospital.
Weight has been an issue with me for pretty much as long as I can remember starting at age 8. Until that age, pictures show me to be of absolutely normal weight. Dieting began at 14 & was pretty much a way of life from that point on. I managed to maintain a reasonable weight throughout my teen years & twenties, but from 30 on, the battle was a losing, or gaining one for me. Not being endowed with great height (5'3"), every lb pretty much shows on me & the more unhappy I became with my appearance, the more I'd seek comfort in food, the usual vicious cycle. In spite of my girth, I was always healthy; normal blood pressure, cholestrol, sugars, etc.. Then came my mid-fifties & menopause & even more weight gain. The final straw; a slip on ice, a badly fractured ankle, a wrenched knee & 3 mos of inactivity sitting home in a knee high cast. My weight soared to an all time high of 256 lbs & my blood rose as well necessitating bp meds.
Years of yoyo dieting convinced me that fad dieting wasn't the solution for me, & when I met a patient who had had gastric bypass surgery & saw her astounding results, decided it was definitely something I wanted to look into & pursue.
From the first consultation with my surgeon until the actual surgery was a very long journey of more than 2-1/2 yrs. I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket to have the procedure done privately & quickly, & by opting to have the weight loss surgery covered by OHIP meant having my name put on a waiting list. When more than 2 yrs later a call came from Dr. Yau's office asking if I was still interested in having the surgery, I immediately said "yes". My second meeting with Dr. Yau was in Oct. '07, & he informed me that he was now doing laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) as well as the RNY & I chose the VSG. Things moved quickly from that point & my surgery was Feb. 6/08, & to date it's been quite the adventure. My post-op course was uneventful with the one exception of a strangulated hernia 9 mos out which necessitated emergency surgery to correct.
I have gone from 256 lbs to currently ranging from 138 - 142. By all standards I am overweight for my height, but given that I haven't been under the 200 lb mark in almost 10 yrs, I'm delighted with my results. I am now more than 2 yrs post surgery, healthy & happy & yes, I try to be vigilent daily regarding what I am eating. Is every day successful? No it isn't, I'm all too human, & carbs will always be my enemy, but am constantly aware that the success or failure of the wonderful weight loss tool I have been given, is entirely up to me.
