momofsteel
I have never been small. Even while keeping a relatively healthy weight and playing varsity sports in high school, my body just seemed to carry more mass than those of my peers. I went off to college not knowing how to take care of myself, and took advantage of every late night and cheap meal I could get my hands on. My "freshman 15" somehow became a 50 by the time I graduated.
Fresh out of school and newly married, I was 225 pounds when I found out I was expecting our first son. Little did I know that this is where my life with diabetes would begin. In my seventh month I failed the glucose screenings, was admitted to the hospital, and started on insulin. I was 21 and terrified. I did everything the doctors told me, learned diabetic exchanges, and faithfully logged my food. My first son was born loud and healthy, as were his brothers who were born after him. I did all I could on and off of Weight Watchers to lose weight between pregnancies, but in the end all three were plagued by insulin-dependent gestational diabetes. Six months after the birth of my third son, I was officially diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
The years after that were difficult. Two months after being diagnosed, my middle son was diagnosed with classic autism. I don't remember much of my 20's..... I had three kids under the age of 6 and one who needed immediate and intense intervention. Dealing with grief over my boy, paying no attention to myself, and trying to survive each day, I gained even more weight, reaching as high as 270 pounds. Periodically I would start Weight Watchers or some other diet to try to keep things in check, but I'd lose a little and then fall off the wagon again, buckling under life's pressures.
Now in my mid-thirties, thanks be to God, I am so much smarter and stronger. I lived a lot of hard life lessons in the last 10 years and I am more aware than ever that my health is precious. I focused a lot of energy in my early thirties on trying to lose weight and eat healthy, and have had some success, but my body just loves to live over the 200 mark. I have kept better track then ever of my diabetes these last few years, but although my numbers were okay, I required more and more meds to regulate myself. The day my endocrinologist recommended insulin was the day I started researching weight loss surgery.
Both of parents are/were diabetic. I lost my father when he was only 46. When I realized how difficult it was to fight genetics despite my efforts, I opted to explore more "creative" measures. I am counting on my gastric bypass to help me overcome diabetes, praying that God will give me many more healthy years to see my guys grow up.
