I am 41 years old and have battled my weight for 29 of those years.  My father was in the military and we moved all the time.  Around the time I turned 13, I began gaining weight.  We had just moved to Germany (again), my mother began working outside the home and I was left to my own devices (pretty much).  I loved to read, so I would get my homework done and then I would get snack(s) and go to my room and read.  Family meals began to become emotional issues for me as my brother and dad both made fun of me if I took another helping of potatoes or vegetables or whatever we had to eat.  Around this same time, I began babysitting and that was another source of food - especially foods that we might not have at our own house.  With the money I earned, I bought junk food and hid it in my room.

Although upon graduation from high school I was approximately 30 pounds overweight, I wasn't too worried about it because I had a fiance that loved me and we were married the following year.  Slowly but surely my weight began increasing and then I became pregnant and women, we all know what  happens to our bodies when this happens.  Of course, I've had my share of health problems through the years and I've dieted and lost some and then gained "some" back with "more".  I feel I missed out on so many things with my daughter because of my weight and the problems it placed on my health.

When I first heard about gastric by-pass surgery, I thought, "I'll never do that, that is for people that want an easy way out."  Well, after 3 years of researching the process along with a lot of other issues related to being overweight, I realized it was not the easy way out.  I've come to realize the easy way out is to keep yo-yo dieting and eating because that is what is comfortable and what we know best and it brings us comfort.  Deciding to go through with the surgery was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my life.  But it was one I made with the support of my husband and through a lot of prayer as well as encouragement from friends.

However, I started my process in June 2007 of getting pre-approved according to my insurance company and I almost quit shortly afterwards.  Life was just too hard at that time.  I had a cousin brutally murdered, my mother's twin sister had surgery in July and has been in a vegetative state ever since, my mother had sugery in August and we almost lost her, she came home from the hospital finally on September 6 and very unexpectedly, we lost my father on September 9.  To say my world came crashing down upon me is an understatement  Four weeks later, my father's oldest brother died, and approximately 6 weeks later, we found out my father's oldest living brother had been diagnosed with colon cancer.

How I ever managed to complete the 6 month requirement my insurance insisted upon can only be credited to the grace God gave me to get through each day during the last 5 months of 2007.

On January 15, I had my surgery at Baptist Hospital.  I did really well and didn't have any complications.  I went in to surgery weighing 297 pounds (not my heaviest - that was back in August at 315).  I was able to go home on the 17th and haven't felt so good in all my life.  For the first 6 days home, I was out of the house everyday shopping or running errands or taking my mom different places.  I can't say I really experienced any pain after the 1st day of surgery, so all was good.  I went back to work on the 28th and other than being a little tired from fighting a cold, I believe I have more energy and stamina than I have ever had in my life.  When we go places now, my husband asks me to slow down.  I get up and do the dishes every evening after dinner and I'm just constantly up and down all night.  I can't seem to stand to sit still.  I'm excited about my progress.  As of this morning, my weight was 262.1 and I am thrilled.  I love seeing the results and love to see my husband's face when he sees me in something I haven't been able to wear in forever.

My goal is to make sure that "some" and "more" never make another appearance on my body ever again and I hope if you are thinking about  having the surgery or have just had it that you can adopt that as one of your goals to.

Good luck to everyone and I look forward to being a part of this site.

About Me
Antioch, TN
Location
21.9
BMI
RNY
Surgery
01/15/2008
Surgery Date
Feb 03, 2008
Member Since

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