Casey B.
Hi! my name is Casey. I am currently 25 years old, and am roughly 1 month post-op. I had the RNY. It took me about 3 years, a lot of pain, and constant sickness to decide this was right for me. I, as well as every other WLS patient, have attempted every weight loss option i could get my hands on since i was old enough to understand what was really happening..I would say it REALLY kicked in around 13. As a child, pre-teen, teenager, and young adult (up till roughly 20), I was very active, especially for someone of my weight at those times in my life. I went hiking in the woods, played some sports, I was an incredible swimmer in 8th grade! Rode bikes with my friends, climbed trees, just active...it was very rare that you caught me at home lazing about. it wasn't until around 20ish that i starting losing the ability to become as active...my back started causing me serious issues, my knees were a problem, I got winded at the mere sight of stairs, and unlike my years before I was getting sick CONSTANTLY! Up until then the last time i had anything worse than a headache and a mild stuffy nose was when I had the flu at age 8. Now I'm getting the flu, stomach bugs, head colds (and i mean the ones that knock you down for a good week), just all sorts of health issues. Granted i didn't wait for these things to start happening before attempting serious diets or exercise routines, but after all this it was all i could seem to concentrate on. Everything i tried i would lose around 20 or so lbs, then plateau and no matter how i tweaked it i couldn't lose more. So finally after becoming so sick i had to quit my job in January 2011, getting meningitis that February, and being in and out of the hospital all that year and lastly having to get emergency back surgery i decided enough was enough! I was ready for WLS, after speaking with my mother about she had apparently been thinking about it for me for quite some time, but was unsure how to talk with me about it. I have always been comfortable with the way i look, and up until recently i could live my life quite happily even being as overweight as i was, I just need to have my life back, and i was clearly heading down hill. so i met with my PCP, and started doing my research on different surgeons, and finally decided on Dr. Anthony Dibenedetto, with Rochester General Hospital (the same hospital that took care of me for all of my previous visits they are an incredible hospital.) I had my first appointment with Dr. D's office in July of 2011, went thru everything to get all of my clearances, including my biggest struggle yet, quitting smoking after 13 years. After quite the hassle, i was cleared by the insurance (only a hassle because my insurance lapsed for about a month) on the first try, and surgery got scheduled for July 2, 2012!!
Surgery went well, no major complications...tho I was having a hard time with the breathing afterwards, but i got better quick. I am currently on soft foods, and itching for solids! I've been something along the lines of miserable for the past few weeks because my struggles have kept me fairly locked up in my house. I don't, however regret the surgery, I still know it was the best hing for me and that soon this stage of hating everything that goes in my mouth will be over :) I'm happy to have this site available to me. It reminds me that I'm not alone in this, I've read so many peoples stories on this site and it's truly inspiring seeing how many people have been exactly where i am today and a month or a year or a decade down the road they are the happiest they have ever imagined..I am impatiently waiting for the time when i can be back to my normal self and watching to pounds fall off, and i can play with my dog and my nieces, and one day my own children. Thank you for reading :) soon i will have more to say more happiness and success to share. i would love to hear any ones success stories, even failures, or hold-ups...if you fell off the path, how did you get back on. have a wonderful day and thanks for reading!!
Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo
