CoronaRN
My story....let's see. Aren't we all pretty much similar in our story? I have been overweight all my life. I remember my mom saying the doctor told her when I was 10 years old that I was 10 pounds overweight. When she told my grandparents, they laughed. They said "let that baby eat all she wants!" I am from the south so my family knows how to cook and eat! I remember going to my grandmother's house every Sunday after church for homecooked meals. To put it plainly: I LOVE TO EAT! I'm addicted to carbs, chocolate, and CHINESE! Those will be the 3 things I will miss the most after I have this surgery.
I am a nurse and have worked in the ER since 1992. I have debated having gastric bypass for at least 6 years now. When I first started thinking about it, I was 100 pounds lighter. Being an ER nurse, I saw really sick patients come in that had had the GB. I got to take care of them and hear them say "I'm so sorry I had this done. This was a mistake!" And I would think to myself "Uh....I'll never go through this!" The other part of me also said "There's no way I could give up sweets and the foods I love to eat!" So, here I am, 6 years later and 100 pounds heavier.
Until this last April, I have been pretty healthy despite my weight. In April, I had a sleep study done due to bad morning headaches and it showed I had severe sleep apnea. I have snored since I was 12. I was put on C-pap the end of April and put on 2 low dose blood pressure meds for my "morning headaches". My blood pressure was 130/90 at that MD visit. My cholesterol at that time was also borderline high. If I'm on my feet alot during the day, I have pitting edema in my ankles and feet. (Hence, the 2nd blood pressure pill is for the edema!) I have arthritis in both knees and hips now. I have been on Celebrex for 6 years now for the arthritis in my knees. I stopped having periods when I went off the pill last year. I am having to take meds to make me have periods every 3 months. I found lumps in my breast this past Feb. and was SCARED to death it was cancer. I had an ultrasound and mammogram only to be told it was "fatty tissue changes". Probably from the weight gain. THANK GOD! What a horrible feeling waiting to hear those results.
I was married April 2005 and since then, I have gained 70 pounds. The only thing I have done differently was go off BCP's. I still eat pretty much the same things but I have taken a job in Public Health nursing and went limbo in the ER. Maybe I'm not walking as much as before at work. I have 3 stepchildren and have always considered myself pretty active. I am not able to do the things with them that I would like to do.
So you may wonder what changed my mind this year. I have 3 friends, 2 of whom I graduated high school with and one I work with in the ER who had this surgery done and they all look GREAT!!!! Actually the one I work with in the ER was my inspiration to seek out Dr Schroder and reconsider this surgery. I saw her at work and thought "Man, she looks great and hasn't had any problems after her sugery. Maybe I can do this too and do okay." I emailed her and my other friends asking about the surgery and she immediately emailed me back saying "I'm so glad you asked me about this. I have wanted to talk to you about this. Call me tonight." And, I did. We talked for 1 1/2 hrs and she told me everything about her journey from beginning to end and she is the reason I decided to go through with this lifestyle change.
I haven't really told alot of people of my decision at this point. I figured it's my business and I don't want anyone trying to talk me out of this. I have told my closest friends, my husband, my boss (because I will need time off), and my parents/brother. Everyone I have told is VERY supportive of me. My mom has been trying to talk me into this for years. My brother is very concerned because it is a serious surgery but he has not tried to talk me out of it. My husband is supportive and has said "You need to do what you feel is right for you at this point in your life." I want to be healthy. I want to fit in regular chairs. I want to be able to go to amusement parks (and waterparks) and ride rides with my stepchildren. I want to be more active without the arthritis in my knees and hips killing me. I feel like there's a whole other person inside of me begging to break out of this shell of a body.
1/5/07 - I had my initial consult with Dr Schroder on 12/14/06 and I am currently waiting on insurance approval. I have Anthem BCBS thru the State of Virginia. My friend has Anthem as well and had her approval before she left the office that day. But, that was over 1 1/2 yrs ago for her. So until I hear, I will sit patiently with my fingers crossed. I know they cover the surgery and I met with my PCP before I met with Dr Schroder and she has said she would do whatever she needed to do to help me get this done. She is very much for the surgery and has several patients who have had it done. I will post more when I hear something! Wish me luck!
