My name is Karen. I live on Long Island; married, 2 teenagers.
I started having weight issues when I was about 19--from there it was up and down until now.

My husband married a slim 132lb. woman (my adult low was 118 which lasted about 5 minutes.) I had a miscarriage soon after we were married and went up to 150; got pregnant again, and that was the beginning of my yo-yo-ing for the next 18 years. The lowest I ever got was 145 between my 2 children (they're 17 and 19 now.) As with most of us, I was on every diet out there.

When I was 42, I weighed 200 lbs. and without any family history, developed breast cancer. It was early stage, Thank G-d, but since it was so wide-spread in the ducts and not contained to one area, I needed a mastectomy. Since so many woman I know went on to develop it in their second breast, I elected to have a double-mastectomy with tram-flap reconstruction. They took the skin from my abdomen and microscopically reattached it to my chest, making new breasts. Taking the skin from my abdomen effectively gave me a tummy-tuck.

I swore I would lose my weight after that, as being overwieght put me at greater risk for other cancers. Well, that didn't work. One year later, I weighed 232 and was miserable. My insurance didn't cover WLS, so I elected to go to Mexico for a lapband.

Luckily, I lined up after-care before I left. For the 1st few months everything was fine. Then I noticed that after each fill, the band would get tighter and I would need a slight un-fill. It started happening more and more frequently so I went to my PCP, who's a gastro. and had many tests. Turns out I have Nutcracker Esophagus, which means I have too much motility as I swallow. Nobody knows why it made my band tighten up, but it is a potential pre-curser to esophageal cancer. It became very painful, I felt like I was having a heart attack all the time. So, I had my band completely unfilled. Throughout all this, I managed to lose 83 lbs. I was the perfect bandster, eating exactly what and how I was supposed to.

I must add that while all this was going on, my husband was diagnosed with 2 different liver diseases, which will necessitate a liver transplant. He's being carefully monitored to determine the right time for that, is not able to work, and is on SS disability. Thankfully, last November I got a new job w/a substantial pay raise, so we are just making it financially with help from family.

So, as my weight crept up to 210 (not hard to do when I was existing on Three Muskateer bars, ice cream and little else. I think sushi was the only healthy food I ate! My BP was climbing and I was at my wits end, again. Many doctors will not touch people banded out of the country, but when I called Dr. Garber's office, the response was "if you need medical attention we cannot deny it." Everything else happened as if in a dream. It turned out that he is a good friend of my plastic surgeon, whom I love. Somehow that meant a lot to me--why, I have no idea. Then when I asked my PCP for advice, when in the past he was dubious about WLS, he said "I think Dr. Garber is the best." Among the tests required was a phych. eval. The psych had no appointments for months. Then I found out she had supervised a WL study for adolescents that my daugher had been in; I emailed her and she fit me in in her Commack office. To me, these were signs that it was time for RNY. Everyone knew that I wanted it done ASAP so I could be healed in time for whenever my husband has his transplant and they could not have been more cooperative. My first consult w/Dr. Garber was in May, and after completing all tests in record time, sometimes 2 in a day, I got insurance approval for June 18th. My BMI was 37.5 w/high BP, and Stephanie in Dr. G's office was amazing in working w/Oxford for my approval.

My 47th b'day was June 17th, so I got 2 birthdays in one. On June 18, 2007, I had RNY, and at the same time my lapband was removed. The journey begins.

About Me
Long Island, NY
Location
29.8
BMI
RNY
Surgery
06/18/2007
Surgery Date
Nov 17, 2004
Member Since

Friends 27

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