Kerrry
When I was 5 years old I contracted glandular fever. I was very sick. When I recovered I was extremely thin, so my mother started to feed me up. This went on for many years. It didn’t take me long to get to a healthy weight, but she kept feeding me, and kept feeding me, and kept feeding me…………
That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it!!! Well the glandular fever and nearly dying part was true anyway.
By the time I was 10 years old I was 10 stone (140 pounds). When I was 15 I weighed 15 stone (210 pounds….did I mention I was born in where they weigh in stones and pounds?). I’m truly glad that trend did not continue as I’d be 52 stone by now, or 728 pounds! I leveled out at around 260 pounds which is what I stayed at for most of my life. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always reverting to around the 260 point.
When I was 15 my family moved to
Over the years I naturally tried every diet I found in magazines and books. I tried all of the various diet pills. Fasted. Joined Weight Watchers three times. My mother even had me hospitalized for a month which worked of course, until the day I was discharged.
The most drastic thing I did was to have my stomach stapled. This was done in November 1983. At first it was great, I lost probably about 50 pounds before I noticed I was starting to be able to eat more, and within 6 months I was, again, back to where I started. I often wondered what happened to those staples…………I believe now that one of the reasons for the failure was the lack of support. None, either before or after the surgery. I went to see the surgeon, we booked a date, we did the surgery, I went home, he went on to his next patient, and that was it. Based on this experience I can see why we now have to jump so many hoops (apart from the insurance hoop, that one I can’t understand why they make it so difficult for some).
My most successful weight loss was from May 2000 to May 2001. I ate very healthy and actually became a gym junkie!! I went to the gym almost every day, sometimes twice a day. I loved the classes they had there. A different brand of Tae Bo, and the weight classes. I was good, I was active, I could run, I was fit!! During that year I lost 56 pounds, probably more because I had GREAT muscles too.
Then I moved to
Forward track to February 2007. By now my diabetes is taking three medications to control, my hypertension is through the roof and I’m on six different drugs for that. I have some (not much but some) coronary artery blockage. My cholesterol is starting to creep up (not badly, but needing drugs). I was having trouble breathing so using my asthma inhaler often (and I don’t have asthma!!) I went on a trip to the
The first available appointment was for 2 months away. I did all the usual, the psych evaluation, the six monthly nutritional visits. Had tests and found I had bad stomach ulcers so took medication for that. Then came the insurance fun. But hey, I was lucky, they approved me first time!!!
November 28th…..arrive at the hospital at 6:30 am. I’m the first surgery for the day. However, I end up waiting until about 10 am. After that, the day becomes a blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……
The surgery took over 4 hours I’m told because of the scar tissue from the stomach stapling. Also from 2 hernia repairs over the years, one of which used mesh. All surgeries done on the same scar line. I think I should just have a zipper installed. 
That was Wednesday. I was in hospital until the following Tuesday. What fun!! Wednesday as I said was a blur. Thursday was a day of itching and dry retching. I was allergic to the medication in my epidural. Not fun! I had the upper GI test on Thursday too. More not fun!! Friday they took the epidural out and offered me oral painkillers. Not as effective as the epidural, but better on the nausea. It took until Friday before the itching went away though. Also, Friday they found what they thought was a blood clot on my lungs. So, they put me on Heparin. Saturday, my blood count was way too low, so possibly I was bleeding internally. So, Sunday they gave me whole blood… all day…. It took hours. However, something worked because the suspect clot disappeared. Monday, all tests to make sure everything was okay. Yes, it was. But could I go home? Heck no!! Huge snowstorm on Monday afternoon. My surgeon says the last thing he wants is a surgical patient coming back in after an accident. Makes sense. Besides, by then the hospital was beginning to feel like home.
Tuesday I went home and my new life began.
