~ Mar ~
My story is the typical story you hear most on this board, I have been overweight since I can remember. I always acted like it didn't bother me when in reality it did. Imagine being in the 4th and 5th grade and already wearing your mother's clothing (size 12). By the time I started high school I was already a size 20 and steadily growing. I dedicated myself to school since I couldn't do much else. I didn't feel comfortable even looking at guys much less dating, I didn't know how to act. In 2005 I looked into gastric bypass, I had reached a size 26 and I couldn't live with myself being that big. I was already 24 years old and I felt that if I didn't do something about my size I would never be able to get married and/or start a family. I wasn't even able to have a period anymore because of my weight. What took me so long you might ask... Well quite simply, it wasn't in God's plans just yet. Even though I was doing awesome... I did the psych eval, nutrition counseling, started pre-op dieting, attended support groups, and had full approval of my pcp things just kept getting in the way. Finally I saw that I was doing so well on my pre-op diet that I figured I would just do that instead of taking such a "drastic" measure. I stuck to it for almost a year and a half (luckily my PCP documented all of it) and I did loose about 70 lbs, but all of a sudden I stopped and couldn't keep loosing. Not only that, but I had some other surgery and I couldn't exercise for over a month, then I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel and I couldn't lift weights either. During that time I stayed at the same weight so my doctor gave me diet pills... I hated those but they helped a bit. Finally I just gave up, if I didn't exercise 5 times a week (for 45 min or more) I stopped loosing, if I stopped eating only 1,200-1,400 calories a day I would start gaining. The worst part was that I was still hungry!! Stress from school, the surgery, work, and deciding to move to San Antonio proved to be too much for me, in no time at all I was gaining back all the weight I had lost.
For a while I tried to ignore the fact that I was gaining all the weight back... yes I couldn't wear my size 20 jeans anymore, but that meant they had probably shrunk, not that my butt was getting big again! Finally a visit to my new ob/gyn opened my eyes. I had finally gotten a boyfriend and we were talking about eventually having a family, when I started discussing all of this with the ob/gyn she mentioned that it would be rather risky for me to have a baby at my size. She said I would have to loose weight if I wanted to get pregnant (not to mention the fact that I can't menstruate because of my weight). I asked her how much I had to loose and she said "at least 120 lbs". At that point my jaw just dropped and it took all my strength to keep from crying. How could I ever loose all that weight on my own??? It took me over a year and a half to loose 70 lbs which I gained back after I couldn't loose anymore and I just gave up. I knew I was fat... morbidly obese even... but I had never thought that 120lbs stood in the way of me becoming a mother one day.
So here I am... I have a couple more days until my surgery and the time has just flown by! Now I know that this was the time God had planned for my surgery. Once I made my decision to have it everything just happened! I called the doctor's office and made an appointment, I attended his seminar one day before my appointment since that was a requirement and that was it! The day of my appointment I saw the doctor and discussed things with him, I also saw the nutritionist and went over my diet history with her. I pulled out a typed out list and she was VERY impressed, she said she had never seen someone have such a detailed list of every diet they have been on (if it were my resume I would never get hired, lol.... I have at least 15 diets on there). On the list I included when I started, my initial weight, how long I did it for, and what my ending weight was. Needless to say, I got thumbs way up from her, she saw that I was prepared and committed. After that I went to see the psychologist the next week... I should had seen her that day, but I needed to get back to work and it was taking forever. A week later I called my doctor's office and they said they had already received my medical history from my former PCP (the one that documented my diet when I was still in California) and they were waiting on my psych eval and my medical history from a doctor who saw me over 5 years ago (to prove I have been obese that long). Three weeks later I was told I was approved and my surgery was scheduled for 11/12/07 and that was it!! My employer was really supportive and gave me the days I asked for, my insurance was awesome and I only have to pay $73 for my surgery, my family, friends, and boyfriend are super supportive and everything just seemed to go in my favor. That is why I know that this was the time for me to have my surgery... Who would of thought 2 months ago that I would be just days away from starting a new life? Not me, that is for sure!
UPDATE: 5/5/09
I have gained almost all of the weight I lost after my RNY... all 65 lbs of it. I couldn't believe that that could be the end. I had done so well initially, but after my first 2 month weight loss I stopped losing. By 6 months I actually started to gain and here I am. Yes, I had a lot to do with it, I didn't exercise and I didn't only eat 3 meals a day, I preferred 6 small meals/snacks much to my surgeons dismay... but I never thought this would happen. I felt like a total failure. Then I started researching my options. I finally came to the same place I had come initially, questioning if a duodenal switch was the best thing for me. I had considered it for a minute when I was researching the RNY, but I decided it would be "riskier" and I didn't want to have to travel to get it even if my insurance did cover it. Besides, my surgeon at the time said bad stuff about it, so I blocked it out of my mind.
Now I have come to the conclusion that it is my only option. I had a phone appointment with Dr. Husted and he explained to me that 20 to 30 % of RNY patients have a really bad metabolism that doesn't allow them to lose... I was one of the chosen few. He said I was a great revision candidate and I should be able to get my DS done. It is all up to my insurance company at this point. Last time my insurance company was great and I was approved almost immediately, now only time will tell. I have to wait until after mid November to have my surgery though, since two years must have passed since my first one (for insurance purposes). I will keep my profile updated after I find out more.
