Six years ago today bariatric surgery changed my life

Jun 04, 2013

Six years ago today I had Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass surgery. The primary reasons that I had the surgery were to address the health issues I had developed that were associated with my obesity. All of the health issues that spurred me forward to seek bariatric surgery have resolved, including:

• Type 2 Diabetes Melitus (T2DM) has resolved with an HbA1C that runs between 5.1 and 5.3, so I no longer take medications to keep it under control.
   
• My Hereditary Hemachromatosis is well managed; I have not had a phlebotomy since my surgery.
   
• Blood pressure which is normally about 100/65 is excellent and had dropped about 20 points.
   
• LDL and HDL cholesterol is fair, but with a family history of high cholesterol, I'm delighted.
   
• Recent sleep study shows that I no longer have sleep apnea.

While the health issues are what spurred me to have the surgery, the improvements in my quality of life are the truly tangible benefits of my sustained weight loss. They include:

• Being able to fit ANYWHERE, airplane seats, booths, turnstiles, amusement park rides, etc...
   
• Being able to shop for clothes in any store that my pocketbook can afford.
   
• Being able to handle the summer heat so much better.
   
• Being able to tie my shoes or paint my toenails and breathe at the same time.

During the past six years, I lost all of my excess weight and while I did experienced a regain; I also learned how to leverage the power of my tool, learning to maintain a healthy, stable weight. I have to say that when I was researching bariatric surgery, one of my biggest concerns was that I would not be able to maintain the loss of my excess weight. I’m delighted that I have been able to maintain the loss of my excess weight and look forward to continuing to enjoy the health and quality of life benefits that come with living at a healthy weight.

I'm delighted I made the decision to do this and would do all over again.

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