DebsGiz
08/15/08: I'm 18 days pre-op and currently weighing in at approximately 257 pounds. Funny thing is before I decided to go forward with gastric bypass, I weighed myself the very moment I got out of bed each morning to see exactly how much weight I might have gained the previous day. I've never before had to approximate how much I weighed because I knew practically to the ounce how much. However, these days, I no longer weigh myself because I don't care how much I weigh. I am very much aware that I am on a journey to a a healithier me, where the byproduct will be weight loss, so I'm reporting my weight to be somewhere around 257, which is what it was the last time I actually did weigh.
Though I just did meet the weight criteria for gastric bypass, I was very fortunate in that my insurance (TriCare Prime) approved my surgery in less than four days from the date of submission. As well, I was able to complete all my preliminary testing, including the psychological evaluation, in less than one week. At this writing, my surgeon has in hand all the documents necessary to proceed with my surgical procedure.
Intresting enough, when I initially began down this road I was uncertain whether or not this was the path I should be taking, so I prayed about it and decided to place this massively huge decision completely in God's hands. Of course I understood that I would need to do His legwork, but I decided early on that if this surgery was not in God's plan for me, then He would put the necessary hurdles in place to dissuade my journey. So far, God has thrown open every door, to include a surgery date that came well before what had been expected.
This journey has served to remind me once more that nothing we could ever pray for ourselves is nearly as magnificent as what God actually provides to us. I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams that this journey, thus far, could have possibly been this uncomplicated. Thank you God...
Several people have asked me if I'm not afraid, and at this writing, I most equivocally state that I have absolutely no fears whatsoever. While I am certainly not looking forward to the physcial aspects of the surgery and the initial recuperation process, I have absolutely no doubt that between God and my surgeon, Dr. Jawad, I could not be in more capable hands. There is nothing for me to fear here...
I am currently in the dieting phase where I'm primarily on a high protein, low carbohydrate and low fat diet; however, I do find it challenging not to slip in a "goodie" here and there. However, in five days I will move on to the liquid protein phase of the diet, and this is where I will draw the line and proceed pricesly by the book with regard to what I can and cannot consume two weeks out from surgery.
Some background about me...
Unlike many people who find themselves living with obesity, I have not been heavy all my life. In fact, just the opposite was true for me. During my childhood and adolescence, I was extemely underweight. I was so skinnly in fact, that my high school years were sheer torture because of the horrible teasing I received. At the age of 16, I was 5'8" and weighed 98 pounds. On the day of my marriage 28 years ago, I weighed in at a mere 113 pounds.
I was one of those people that we all hate. I could eat anything and everything I wanted, and I never gained an ounce. My friends who battled weight issues fondly hated me, and I had absolutely no concept of what they were going through; how it felt to be overweight, or to have to almost constantly battle with a weight problem.
In my early thirties I began to put on a few pounds, but in my case this was not a bad thing because I had always disliked my thin, sticklike body after being so teased about it throughout my earlier years.
I now look back at pictures when I was in my 20's and earlier 30's and wonder what the heck I was thinking!! I was tall and beautiful, but too damaged by the cruelty I had experinced in my youth to appreciate the great gift God had blessed me with.
In my later 30's and 40's, the weight came on at a much faster pace, and by the time I was 45 years old, I was more than 100 pounds overweight, which was rather physically crushing because I have a fairly small frame with which to carry that weight.
I soon found my knees screaming for relief, and my feet protested with each step I took. Physically, I neither looked nor felt good, so at the age of 47 I began to battle my weight. A battle that I was never quite able to win no matter how much dedication I applied...
Oh, I lost weight. In fact, a little over three years ago I actually lost almost 80 pounds. I looked great, I felt great, I was smart & sassy, and I was hungry most all the time...
The weight eventually began to creep back on as I caved into the hunger, and in a matter of 10 months, I had not only gained back the weight I had lost, but an additional 20-plus pounds for good measure.
I quickly, once again, found myself experiencing knee, joint, and foot pain, and this time I also found myself battling sleep apnea, high cholesterol, asthma, back pain, acid reflux, urinary incontinence, and edema in both my feet and ankles.
Though I have tried every weight loss progam from Weight Watchers to Nutra-System, from acupuncture to hypnosis, and have literally spent thousand upon thousands of dollars in my quest to rid myself of the weight, nothing I have tried has resulted in any long-term success. The hunger monster is seemingly forever present.
So, here I stand at the helm of a new journey, realizing that there is no going back for me. I am absolutely no longer willing to live a life where my joyful spirit is compromised as a result of the excessive weight I carry. If this surgery is what it takes to regain my health and spirit, then I am ready to take the journey...
