JennD
This is the letter I wrote to go in my file for my first visit with my surgeon. I figured it tells my story better than anything. I am writing in regards to my interest in Gastric Bypass Surgery. I have always thought of myself as a big girl. At a very early age my father would tell me that I was fat and needed to lose weight. He would put me on diets and make me exercise in order to accomplish this. In the sixth grade I took up jogging and loved it. My father turned it into an exercising opportunity and I soon lost interest. I can look back now and realize I was not overweight, however, I believe that it was these events that assisted in my eventual weight gain. I am extremely overweight. I have yo yo’d on diets for as long as I can remember never losing more than 5 or 10 lbs at a time and always gaining it back. Several years ago I agreed to do a weight loss competition at work with some of my fellow co workers. I lost 25 lbs in 12 weeks. I actually won the competition. I did that with a low to no carb diet. The diet was miserable and there was no way I would have been able to stay on it. It was soon after that that I went to the doctor due to lack of energy and just not feeling good in general. It was at that time I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Needless to say, I was devastated. My mother had Type 1 and I knew how awful a disease it was. I also found out I had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom which has pretty much made conceiving a child impossible. I went through a whole range of emotions including depression but the one that seemed to linger was denial. I tried to fight it at first but was so miserable I just quit. At the beginning of 2007 I could no longer deny how bad I was feeling. I decided the time had come to go back to the doctor and found out my diabetes had gotten worse. I now have to take injections of insulin which I did not want to do. I realize now that diabetes will not just go away on its own and without treatment will only become worse. It was at that time that my doctor asked me if I had ever considered weight loss surgery. She told me that she had diabetic patients that had good luck with it. I had actually considered the surgery a few years before but was not sure I wanted to do something so drastic. After researching it I realized that the surgery could change my life.
The impact this surgery would have on me is remarkable. I now realize how serious my condition is and how much more serious it can become if I don’t do something. Having this surgery would help me regulate and possibly get rid of most if not all my health conditions. I currently take 9 different medications for different elements all that are aggravated if not caused by my obesity. I have been told that post surgery it is possible I will not have to take any of them. Words cannot describe how I would feel to not have to worry about that anymore. I know that it would add years to my life and I want that not only for me but for my family as well. I also want an active life. I have future plans to have a ranch with horses and cows and you need energy for those sorts of things. I also would love to be able to go hiking in the mountains with my sister and not be the one waiting at the car because I can’t make it more than a half mile up the hill. I want to be able to go to amusement parks and not be embarrassed when they tell me I can’t ride the roller coaster because the restraints don’t fit me. There are numerous small reasons such as these but the biggest and most important impact the surgery would have is to give me a chance to be a mother. I have been told that it is much easier for a woman to get pregnant at smaller weight and that losing weight would help with my PCOS. I also know that at a healthier weight I would be less at risk than I am now. I know that having the surgery is no guarantee on conceiving a baby but I still would like to be a mother even if I adopt. If we adopt or are able to have children of our own I want to be around for a long time in order to see them grow up. How will this surgery impact my life? It would be giving me a new one to live.
Jennifer Davis
I just wanted to add that through the pre cert process I also found out I have Sleep Apnea and a haitel hernia with my stomach, all obesity related. I currently weigh 280 which is 19 lbs less than when I started this process in February 2008. My surgery date is scheduled for June 5th!!!!!!
UPDATE: 5/19/08
I have been approved and new surgery date is May 29th. Also I currently weigh 271 which is 28 lbs less than when I started this process. WOOHOO!
