jastypes
4 years out
May 31, 2011
It is hard for me to believe it has been 4 years since my surgery. So much has changed. 4 years ago I was married to an abusive, drug-addicted husband. I was overwhelmed by life. I weighed 320 pounds, wore size 4X/28, and could not walk up a flight of steps without gasping for breath. I was being treated for diabetes, high blood pressure, GERD, high cholesterol and depression. I was a woman of faith, but had no real hopes, dreams or aspirations for the future.
It was my faith and a program of recovery (Celebrate Recovery) which led me to the decision to have gastric bypass surgery.
Within the first year following surgery, I had lost 155 pounds. I went from a size 28 pants to a size 14; 3x tops to mediums. I could walk for miles without becoming breathless. The only pills I took were supplements. I reached all my goals -- sitting in a bathtub; riding the carousel; wearing heels; etc. I asked my husband for a divorce, sold our house, and fell in love with an amazing, generous, kind, loving man.
Unfortunately, with the good also came certain trials. While I had planned to help others who struggled with food addiction, instead I became proud and vain. I stopped going to Celebrate Recovery meetings, Barix support groups, and even church. I wanted to live life to the fullest -- or what I perceived to be the fullest, making up for lost time, as it were. I got blindsided by alcohol along the way, developing alcoholism about a year and a half after my surgery. That took me down hard and fast. It took 2 years for me to get 90 days sober.
Today, while I did have some regain, I have maintained a 135 pound weight loss. I now attend weekly OA meetings and AA meetings. I sponsor others who are struggling both with food addiction and alcoholism. I have 85 days of food abstinence today, and will have a year sober on Thursday. I have learned the importance of recognizing and dealing with my emotions as they come up. I continue to develop a relationship with my Higher Power and to maintain my recovery using the 12-Steps.
The most important thing I can convey to people is that God met me exactly where I was, but He sure didn’t leave me there. Even through all the difficulties, trials and struggles, I have received immeasurable gifts of recovery and healing. I have been given the ability to have hopes and dreams again. I, along with all of you, have become uniquely useful to those who struggle with obesity and food addiction.