Karla V.
Hey all! My name is Karla and I am now almost 5 years post-op! I was 272lbs pre-op, and am now 120! Grand total loss of 152 lbs! I know that it all sounds great, but it has been a long road and a long struggle! A few months after my surgery I started experiencing uncontrollable amounts of vomitting. Nothing was working to make it stop. Come to find out I had a gallstone, and got pancreatitus. The dr's took out my gallbladder (about 2 months after all this began). I still couldn't eat or drink, because I couldn't keep anything down, and I was in and out of hospitals. Everyone thought I was dying, and frankly, so did I. Come to find out, my hero surgeon was the person that I needed to go see to get fixed. He discovered that my intestine had closed off and needed to be ballooned back open. This was a 4 month ordeal, where I was unable to take care of myself (moved back home to moms!) I couldn't drive, hold my head up straight, do anything. But Dr. Steward saved my life and got me right back on track. I still experience dizziness and a sense that I'm way off balance, but I've learned to deal with it.
I had plateaued about a year ago at 135, but I got an ulcer and dropped down to 120. Although I'm better now, I still can't seem to put any of that 15lbs back on. And honestly, I want it back.
Before WLS I was too fat, and now I'm too skinny. People always comment on how skinny I am, how I need to eat, and how I'm withering away to nothing. I used to think that these kinds of remarks would be great, but now I just have even more of a complex on how I look. I'm always wondering if I look too pale or thin, have to make sure that I eat, like REALLY eat, around certain people so that I don't get hassled about it. Hello! I had WLS so that I could be skinny and healthy! DUH!
Although I am 5 years out, I still experience a lot of fatigue. I don't think that my vitamin levels are where they are supposed to be. I can eat pretty much whatever I want, whenever I want. Some days I can eat certain things, and somedays I can't even look at it. I find that I talk myself out of eating at times, which isn't a good thing but I do it. The foods that I find I really can't handle are some breads and milk, rice makes me bloated (but I still eat it, but not fried), and it just depends on the day on whether I can handle ice cream.
If I eat cereal in the morning I find that my sugar is more likely to drop that day. That is another problem I have now...dumping syndrome. It wouldn't be so bad, but it comes on unexpectedly, whether I've eaten or not, and even if it was something healthy that I ate. It just hits, and then I feel like I could pass out, and then I'm drained for the rest of the day. So...cereal?? Not for me!
People always ask me if I regret the surgery, some days I do and some days I don't. I find that I knew who I was more as a big girl than as I am now as a skinny girl. Also, when I had my surgery I was married, and he went to Iraq a few days later. When he came back, it was like we were both 2 completely different people, who had went through extreme situations all alone. I don't think either one of us knew who the other was anymore. We made it another 2 years before getting divorced. But we don't hate each other and we're still friends; we look at is as "We were young". None of this surgery was easy for me, except for the actual weight loss. I know that the weight loss is the goal, but it's only the surface goal of WLS. The GOALS are to be healthy and learn to live, and these are a few things I still struggle with.
I haven't had any cosmetic surgery, but I would really like to. I would like a tummy tuck, boob job, and thigh lift. I weigh 125, and I still won't wear a bathing suit. I don't have a highly noticable amount of skin, (I'm a size 6 so it's not bad), but I know that it's there and it bothers me. But, after having so much difficulty after my WLS, I am definitely more cautious about any procedure done to me. I don't heal very well, or quickly, so I'm not planning on having anything done any time soon! But hey, I'm only 25, and there's still plenty of time!