cinchosis
I have been struggling with my weight as far back into my childhood as I can remember, probably since I was 7 or 8 years old. I was never that skinny one and use to be made fun of often because of my size which was hard to take. It's not that my mother had all these bad foods laying around because she just did not, but I did eat what was there - and that was the problem. I love, love, love food. It did not help that obesity was a problem with almost all the women in my family, including my mother growing up. I can say that I became an emotional eater when I was molested by the director at a local recreation center. That really hurt me because I had trusted him and in the beginning thought he was a very nice man. Anyway, as I continued to go through life and it's challenges, food became my friend. I ate when I was happy, sad, mad, celebrating, not celebrating, bored, and so on.
Once I was in middle school, I really began to want to change things, and my mom wanted to help me, but it was hard. I would lose a few pounds, but put it right back on and then some. It wasn't until after high school that I finally had much success. I was exercising about 4 hours a day and barely eating anything, but I lost the weight. However, I soon was hungry again and could not maintain the diet I had put myself on. So, I moved on to Jenny Craig, Optifast, Nutrisystem, Amerisciences Slim, Hydroxycut, Diet and Exercise, and so on. You name it...I tried it. I would lose the weight, but I would always put it back on and bring "friends" along with me.
During my struggles with my weight, I watched my older sister have her own battle with obesity. She seemed to win that battle about 12 to 13 years ago when she had an open RNY surgical procedure. I wanted the surgery so bad, but did not qualify because of my size. While I was considered obese, I was not morbidly obese.
The thing I hated about losing weight and regaining is that once I lost the weight, I'm sorry, but people did treat me differently. Let me rephrase that it's not that they treated me differently - there were just more opportunities. For instance, I gained more attention from the opposite sex. I was offered job promotions. My friends wanted to hang out more and do more fun activities, aside from just going out to eat. I would hear comments like, "I hope you don't gain all that weight back," which was devastating when I did and I had to look those same people in the eye and wonder what they must think of me. There was just a difference. I was still the same person on the inside, but there were greater opportunities that presented themselves.
The turning point happened in February 2012 when I finally was considered morbidly obese, and had insurance coverage that would pay for the surgery - finally. It wasn't just that though - I also noticed I started having health issues because of all the weight. My ankles, hands, and feet were swelling - to the point I could not even wear my shoes. My blood pressure was elevated at times. My cholesterol was up. I was having shortness of breath, back problems, and just plain tired all the time. To be honest, I was not headed in the right direction with my health at this point and things were getting out of control. After many, many tests and lots of bloodwork drawn from my PCP, the conclusion was that I needed to lose weight. My PCP, although in favor of the surgery, wanted me to try another diet plan before having the surgery, but I just could not do it. I was tired, and growing sick and tired of being tired. I wanted help, real help in getting the weight off and keep it off this time.
I don't think of WLS as a magic solution, but a tool in helping me to accomplish my weight loss goals. I went to three different seminars, checked out four different hospitals, read plenty of surgeon reviews, and just did my research.
Like I said, this all started in February 2012 and I only had until April 30, 2012 before my insurance coverage would change over to my new employer. I know that does not probably sound like a big deal, but let me tell you it was because up until January 2012, before my employer switched plans, WLS had not been covered. So, when I found out on the new plan that it was, things just kicked into high gear for me. Then, I was on a time crunch because my job was being eliminated because the client I had worked for pulled their contract from my employer. I ended up finding a different job, but I wasn't sure if I would still have approval for WLS, and I did NOT want to check the chance that I would not.
Like I was saying, I went to the seminars, submitted my information, had called my insurance company to make sure it was a covered procedure - I was ready to go. However, out of all the clinics I called and the seminars I went to, only ONE was able to meet my needs - ATLANTA BARIATRICS - in Suwanee, GA. I went to their seminar at Emory Johns Creek Hospital on Tuesday, February 21, 2012. Met with the surgeon and nutritionist on Wednesday, February 29th and followed their Bariatric Surgery Pre Op Documentation Checklist. The office staff was so thorough that my paperwork was submitted to the insurance company on Wednesday, March 21st and my insurance company gave their approval on Friday, March 23rd! I was so excited and ready to start this new chapter of my life. I went in the hospital at 258 lbs (in my mind 260 lbs you might as well say) and on Thursday, March 29, 2012 my doctor, William H. Johnson M.D., performed a Laparoscopic Roux En Y Gastric Bypass on me. I weighed myself this morning (04/06/12) and I am now 246 lbs and counting down.
About Me
Before & After
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