Lori V.
I have been overweight since I was 12 years old I have never been the cute girl, you know the last one chosen for what ever game was being played and I don't even want to talk about gym class : ( I have tried many things to lose weight and was not successful; all those pounds would come back and bring their friends with them. The more I dieted the more I gained eventually. Finally I quite dieting and my weight stabilized at 339 pounds. I weighed right around that for 3 years and finally I decided to do something about it. I got a job with company that had great insurance. I called the Dr; we set up an appointment for one week later. He took my information and gave me a physical. The office manager turned in the request to the insurance company and within 2 weeks I was approved. I had my RNY done in April of 2002. It was the beginning of a whole new life... Or so I thought. I know that you should not compare with others, but at 2 months I had only lost 42 pounds, others where over 50 and darn near 60 lbs lost. I figured I was only a little behind them, but it got worse instead of better. I had plateau after plateau and I felt like a failure. I couldn't bear it so I decided I was going to lose it. I walked twice a day, once with my sister-in-law and then once by myself. I ate very little, mostly protein and protein drinks. I did manage after a year to have lost 115 pounds; I was so close to getting below 200lbs. I worked so hard but no matter what I did I just couldn't get below 202. I lost my job (company closed) and I enrolled in school. When my unemployment ran out I had to work, between full time work and full time school, there was little time for exercise. It began to all come back a few pounds here and there...it was all my hard work flowing backwards against me. I tried to be so careful about what I ate...it didn't matter, one more pound and one more pound soon I was up to 280 I was just 59 pounds away from where I began. I was so depressed and so despondent...this was worse than being fat, this was hell. I started gradually trying to get it back under control I have gained and lost the same 5 pounds so many times. It is not successful for the same reason dieting wasn't successful in the first place. I need help. I think my first RNY failed because the Dr was too conservative in the length of bowel he bypassed. I also know now that not everyone is successful with a RNY. I would love to have the DS surgery, but since it has been 4 years, I think there would be too much atrophy, so I am planning on the BPD (Biliopancreatic Division). I had hoped to have a surgeon here do it, but there is no one local, and of the 7 surgeons I spoke to within a 2 to 3 hundred mile radius all want between 10 and 15 thousand dollars up front. I am now making plans to go to Curitiba, Brazil and have Dr. Marchesini perform the surgery. I know that this is the right choice for me. It is the tool that will work for me. I no longer feel like it was all my fault, I feel optimistic now. I just need for the mortgage company to refinance the house with a cash offer of 25 thousand. That will cover the surgery, the surgeon, the hospital, the flight, the hotel, the food, the meds, the after care and transportation, plus make up for my time out of work. I get the surgery I want and a trip to Brazil…it doesn’t get much better than that : )
