MzTodd
I have been a plus size woman for my entire adult life. It took me 20 years to finally become comfortable in my body and how I looked. After surviving years of childhood abuse and abusive relationships, I had learned to finally love myself. At the age of 35, my heart function was at 35%. I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and placed in the UCLA Transplant Program. 4 years ago, my heart function had improved but I was told that I would be on my heart medication for the rest of my life - that was 12 pills a day for life. My doctors had tried for 3 years to convince me to lose weight but I was adamant - no surgery! I had begun to realize that I had stopped doing alot of things that I enjoyed doing, my clothes were too expensive and the airlines were talking about charging more for overweight passengers. I was now 427 lbs. I talked to my PCP and decided to have Gastric Sleeve. I was sleeved on 4/2/15. 2 days after surgery my Cardiologist reduced my meds to 4 pills a day. Today, I have lost 183 lbs so far, my heart function is 65% (normal range is 55-75%) and my doctor wants to discuss stopping all medication when I return in February. I am doing things that I never even thought I wanted to do or ever thought I would do again. I finished my 4th 5K in July and go on bike rides with my kids. One of the things I want to finally do, when I am comfortable, is to go to Knotts Berry Farm and ride everything - even if it takes all day! The Sleeve was the BEST DECISION I have ever made! I love my tool and am excited to see where my journey takes me. It has also become my purpose to share my journey with others and encourage them to not give up and know that they are not alone on their journey, through speaking to others and our regularly Monday night support group.
About Me
Before & After
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