cocoa_chanel12
Just like so many of us, I was overweight at as a child. I don't even remember ever wearing a size 8. I went from a girls XL in stretchy clothes to a misses size 14 and up to the plus sizes for many years. Wearing a size 20 was the norm and I was pretty tired of it. Feeling exhausted all of the time and insecure. My pregnancy was horrible - gestational diabetes, gained 50 lbs, felt like death. I really just hated my life and my appearance in addition to always feeling sick and tired. My husband and I separated in 2008, I got fired from my job, used up all of my 401k money to get by. Things just got worse and worse for me. I couldn't find another job and had my car repossessed. With absolutely no money left, I had to move in with my parents (at 35 years old) with my 5 year old daughter. I weighed about 235 lbs on a 5'4" body. I had PCOS, depression, was taking 3 different meds and think they were all driving me crazy and even more depressed.
A friend of mine had gastric bypass a few years prior and she had success, although scary complications. I swore I'd never go through it but I changed my mind. I called my insurance company to see if they even covered such a thing and they did provided I get all of the approvals from doctors, etc. So I went through the entire process and insurance approved the procedure, covering 100%. My husband (although still separated) had excellent insurance and was still covering me, bless his heart. I first got word from my surgeon's office in April 2009. Since I STILL lived with my parents with no job, scheduling was not an issue so I took the first available date - June 2nd. I was SO excited! Even though I had a hard time with my diet, as I was told to try to lose a little weight prior to surgery to avoid any problems. I thought HUH? If it were this easy, I don't think I'd be going through this. However I somehow lost a whole 4lbs (probably water weight). LOL
My surgery was done by Dr. Kurt Sprunger (Scottsdale Bariatric) at the Scottsdale Hospital. Since I was living in Tucson at the time and had no car, I had to rely on family for rides for pre-op appointments and the surgery. The surgery went well - thank God for drugs! That drain tube didn't feel so good the following day and developed a severe pain in my left should. Apparently it was common - I can't remember why or what now - something about air getting in there. Anyway, the nurse had to give me morphine to stop me from screaming and the tube came out the next day. I can't say I enjoyed my stay since we had to get up every few hours and walk a couple of laps around the unit, but I understand why.
Two weeks later, I had my first stricture. I frothed a lot and was in the hospital for 5 days under observation. I had an endoscopy and the dude basically said "yep, it's a stricture" but did nothing else. Two days later, a different doc performed the endoscopy and stretched the opening. That was not fun.
Ten day later, guess what? Another stricture. Yep, I'm the lucky 8%. This time my surgeon had to really convince me to come back because of the last stricture. Said I would be severely dehydrated among other things. I wouldn't come back unless I was guaranteed that someone would be there to do another endoscopy - minus the 5 day stay. I realize that was stupid of me, but I was really pissed. Dr. Sprunger held true and arranged for the endoscopy the next day and had a room ready for me at the bariatric unit. After my lovely 2 hour ride back, throwing up in tupperware every 5 minutes, I was greeted by the friendly staff - who seemed to know me pretty well by now. The worse part was being so dehydrated that I was poked in 4 different places to get a decent IV going. Then they decided it wasn't good enough and ordered a pick line. Apparently I was so dehydrated my kidneys could have failed. That scared the crap out of me.
The next day was the endoscopy. I was told that I woke up as they were putting the scope down my throat, freaking out. They gave me more drugs and continued with the procedure. Once I woke up, I vomited for over an hour. I was discharged the following day (July 4th). Not really wanting to celebrate much of anything at this point. My soon-to-be ex-husband picked me up and drove me back to Tucson.
At this point, I am really regretting getting the surgery. Going to the pharmacy with more prescriptions, having 5 large bruises covering both arms and barely having the energy to walk 10 feet was enough for me. I actually felt like I was close to death, and felt this way for a few more weeks. My weight started to come off pretty quick too - I guess being restricted to water, jello, and tea for the first 2 months will do that.
FAST FORWARD 7 MONTHS. I'm already at goal (-84 lbs) and no longer regret getting surgery. It's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I didn't quite agree with some of the nutritional suggestions (ie it's ok to eat chicken 1 week post-op), so I used this forum for suggestions. Lots of cottage cheese, refried beans, then I started sipping on a protein shake but shaken with water. What a difference! I had color in my face again!
I am no longer separated from my husband. We are back together and happier than ever. I also made a permanent career change. No more IT jobs, I am sticking with my passion for photography. I have more energy, I feel lighter and don't mind my reflection either. :-) My weight loss has given me a fresh start. I have confidence in myself and my insecurities are small. My weight got the best of me and almost ruined my marriage. Plus I never thought I could pursue my passion. Now I feel like I'm worth it and I don't care what anyone else thinks.
Some things I noticed as I lost weight. Women start to dislike you. Well some do. As they watch you lose the weight and become smaller than they are, there's definitely some jealousy going on. I believe I lost my last IT job due to that reason. It was a blessing in disguise but nevertheless, it happened. Men also pay much more attention to me. That's ok with me. LOL I'm flattered and may never get tired of that. Also, it's really nice to be able to fold my legs under a table in a restaurant - or really anywhere for that matter. It's also weird that my sister has given me some of her clothes. She's a size 6/8. I JUST now fit into an 8! Never in my life have I fit an 8! It's liberating. I don't care about the excess skin, I think I look frickin' awesome and I feel awesome!
I hope to God I can maintain this.
