First Post :)

Aug 19, 2009

I really wish I had started this much sooner, but I was afraid to. I was afraid of what people would think. But, I've learned over the past several months that we are all in similar situations. So, here I am going to share my story.

My "journey" (more like torture) began almost 3 years ago. Before that, my life seemed to be cruising at a good pace...I had a great job, wonderful husband, 5 terrific kids (2 biological, 3 step). Sure, there were ups and downs. I was no where near being thin. I mean heck, even in high school, I wasn't thin. I sort of had come to terms with it. I had some sense of confidence, even though I was overweight. I think I found it 3 or 4 years prior to the beginning of my journey. It was one thing that attracted my second husband..or so he says ;P. Unfortunately, my Hell had to start.

I began having your normal, typical migraine headaches at the age of 17. No big deal. They came rarely and I dealt with them accordingly. As an adult, I opted to see a doctor and was taking Imitrex for them. Then about 3 years ago, they became more frequent...to the point I was having either a migraine or a really bad headach daily. I went to a few different neurologists, did sleep studies, took a variety of preventatives and different migraine meds, er and urgent care visits. Finally one PA asked if I had had a spinal tap. Freak out time...was scared to death. So, I had my first spinal. We discovered my pressure (not bood pressure...which by the way was normal unless I was in pain) was very elevated. I was diaganosed with Intracranial Hypertension aka Pseudotumor Cerebri (PTC). So, I began a different type of meds...plus percocet for pain management. Nothing really seemed to help. I was still having headaches...some days a lot worse than others. Some days even the percocet didn't help. I had to change neurologists because everything was staying status quo...and I needed relief. My new neuro decided to take me off percocet (very difficult, but I'm thankful it's all out of me now!) and he sent me to a neurosurgeon to look into a shunt. The NS decided my problem was weight related. I felt so hopeless at that point. With my condition, I can barely make it upstairs in my house, let alone exercise as much as I would need to in order to get the weight off...and dieting was a very scary prospect to me. As much as I was down in the dumps, food was a HUGE comfort for me. Anyway...the NS suggested bariatric surgery.

Bariatric surgery was another scary prospect for me...but I thought it might make things easier and it gave me a bit of hope. That was March of this year. I began researching the best I could. I visited my PCP and he sent me to Scottsdale for my initial consult....I think this was around May. The doctor suggested the sleeve...so I did more research and made my decision to go with it. Things moved quickly from there. I had my surgery date for the beginning of July (funny...at this point I can't remember the exact date). A week or so before I was due to go into surgery, they called to move me up to June 29th. I said...Ok! So, my food funerals ended early..and I had a lot of them!

One thing now that bothers me is that my surgeon didn't seem 100% positive that this surgery would "cure" my IH. The reason is because I wasn't heavier. As of today (August 19, 2009), I have lost 35.9 pounds. I am still 1.1 pounds heavier than I was when I was diagnosed with IH. I haven't seen any changes in my headaches. I HAVE started exercising...but just a little. My wonderful, sweet husband (I'll share about him in another post) bought us an eliptical for our room...and an Ipod (he works from home...office is in our room...and I can't always have the TV or radio on to "workout" to). The most I've spent on it is 7 minutes...but it's a start for me. I can go that long sometimes before my head really starts thumping.

So, that's the story...I'm planning on posting as often as I can. Oh....I am seeing a therapist to help with my food issues and IH related emotional issues. :) Now....to figure out how to get an avatar and some pics uploaded!! Thanks for reading!

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