Anna D.
I've been overweight for most of my life since pre-adolescence until adult life. I was about 90 pounds when I was 11 years old. This is probably about normal weight for age but I was very short for my age. I was always one of the three shortest people in our class in grade school.
When I was a senior in high school I was about 5'0" and 190 pounds. I thought I was grosely overweight at the time because all my friends were skinnier than me and the male species didn't give me a second glance. I was looking through pictures for scrapbooking and found pictures from my sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. I did NOT look as overweight NEARLY as much as I do now. Looking back, I see how beautiful I was. Hindsight, right? I don't have a small frame but I have short legs and short arms. Maybe that means small frame. I guess we'll see!! LOL!
I had a sleep test back in September 2008 and was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea. I am heaviest in my hips and thighs with a genetically blessed large chest. When I started this whole WLS thing, I was weighing 280 pounds at 5'2" tall. I was winded from bending over to tie my shoes. I was winded from going up and down our stairs. Geocaching with my husband became more and more difficult; I couldn't climb without becoming overheated and frustrated. We went to Orlando April 2008 and sitting in rides made me even MORE aware of how heavy I am. Being around a bunch of people makes me realize how large I am. Pictures with others makes me realize how large I am.
My whole family is over weight. I have 2 older sisters, 3 older brothers, and 1 younger sister. My dad is diabetic and has had a stroke and kidney stones and problems, and also had his knees replaced. My mother has recently been diagnosed diabetic. I have 3 other siblings that have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I take medication for anxiety and depression.
I want this surgery because I want to be healthier, I want to live longer, I want to be happier with my life. I want to be more comfortable. I want to be able to do more things with my husband and I want to be able to, in the future, have a healthy baby... or two. =)
- I started all of this in January 2009.
- I met with my PCP on February 17 and he sent in a referral to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN.
- I met with a dietitian on Febuary 18 and started carb counting much like a diabetic. So far I have seen a 10 pound loss.
- My husband & I went to the Info seminar on February 27 & was given the go ahead to schedule my surgery consult on March 5.
- I had my psych eval and MMPI2 test on March 25th with my therapist who said he has no problems signing me off for surgery.
- I will be meeting with the Abbott Nutritionist and have my Surgery consultation with Dr. Raymond Drew on Tuesday, April 7, 2009.
Originally I thought about the Lap Band because invasive major surgery scared me. I had my gallbladder removed in 2004 and I have been slowly gathering more information about the different surgeries. The information seminar solidified my decision to go with Roux en Y gastric bypass. I don't like constant doctor visits and I don't like the idea of an alien material being inside of me. That and I also don't like the idea of the band slipping.
I have an aunt on each side of my family that has had RNY surgery and also a male cousin who just had RNY recently and all have done really well. I've come to know even more people who have had the procedure. I am very glad that I found this website because it's been so helpful over the weeks/months in gathering information, building support, and having an outlet for this experience.
