McKenzie G.
I am 26 years old, I have 2 children, Kimberly is 8 & Joshua is 3. We live in Moline, IL. I have been a stay at home mom since pregnancy complications led me to quit my customer service job of nearly 5 years. I have been overweight all my life, I was 240 when I graduated high school and it only kept going up after the birth of my daughter. After a miscarriage in 2002 I was diagnosed with PCOS & IR, at the time we did not have insurance so I was not able to see a specialist to try to do anything about it. After reading a lot about PCOS I decided to try to control it with a low carb diet & exercise. By this time I weighed over 300lbs & we had been ttc another baby for nearly 3 years. I was able to lose 60lbs successfully on Atkins & become pregnant in June of 2004. In mid August 2004 I had another miscarriage, this really broke my heart & led me to seek food for comfort as I did when I was a child. I gained 30lbs of the 60 back and then found out in November I was pregnant again. This time I quit my job to really focus on taking care of myself & the baby growing inside of me. I assumed that I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy, but gave birth to a healthy 10lb 6oz baby boy on July 28th, 2005. After Joshua was born I couldn't wait to get back to dieting & exercise, I actually love exercise for some odd reason. However even with constant diet & exercise I was only able to lose 12lbs. This has got me very frustrated, just since Josh's birth I have tried Atkins again, Slim Fast & the Biggest Loser diet & exercise program, but my weight just doesn't seem to budge. As a child my mom had me try Weight Watchers, a Nutrisystem type program and Phen Fen, I lost very little on these & gained it all back of course. I have had several friends & family members have WLS with varying success, but I had never really considered it until June of 2004 when I met Carnie Wilson. I have been a fan of Carnie's since her days in Wilson Phillips, and although she was speaking at our hospital about her WLS, I went just because I was a fan of her music. At this time I was in denial about my weight, I had just lost 60lbs and was feeling great. Now though after having a couple years to think about it I am glad I attended the program because I really did learn a lot, I went out & bought both of Carnie's books which I have since re-read. In late August I decided that I am fed up with the yo-yo dieting, inactivity, and I see how much it hurts my kids that I can't be as active with my kids as they would like or as much as I really want to. I want to be able to take long walks with my husband & not get winded after going a block, I want to not have to worry about finding clothing to fit me, I want to be able to take my kids to an amusement park and ride the rides with them, not just watch. You guys know how I feel, that's why I came here for support. I thank you all for this wonderful OH community! On Monday, September 25th, 2006 I attended the educational introduction class on WLS at Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery in Davenport, IA. It was a great class and the 1st step on the path to WLS. We are now waiting for my medical records to be transferred in order to set up my next appt. I am hoping for surgery in mid March. 300 245 It's Me Fall 2005 Me & Carnie Wilson 2004 "Spruced-Up" by AnnoyingLizard Member Interests: Click here to see interests of other ObesityHelp members. Surgeon Info: Surgeon: Matthew Christopherson M.D., F.A.C.S. Insurer Info: Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa, PPO |
About Me
Muscatine, IA
Location
31.3
BMI
Surgery
01/15/2007
Surgery Date
Aug 23, 2006
Member Since