SheWasBroken
Hello my name is Erika Hernandez, I am 19 years old, from Sacramento, Ca.
I had a GASTRIC BYPASS surgery on 11.23.2009... so I am a little over a year post op :) YAY lol
umm.. I was 18 when I had my surgery, it was definitely a life changing experience.
well to begin with my short little story about my journey to the 'Losers Bench' lol... here it goes.
(if you wan to get to the good stuff, just skip the next paragraph lol)
Well as most of you can probably relate to, I've pretty much been obese my whole life.. well since I was a child.
As I grew into my teen years, my weight increased severely and my self confidence went down the drain.... I mean WAAAAY DOWN.. So I didn't really take care of myself, by the time I was 13, I was considered 'Pre-Diabetic', and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which I hear is actually common. So yeah, that also caused me to gain weight and made it alot more difficult for me to lose the weight.
.. I remember when I was 14, there was this specific day that changed my life.. I had went to the dr. for a check-up, and found that I was slightly above 210 lbs. Wow, SHOCKER!... not really. but that definitely opened my eyes, especially when my doctor said by the time he would see me next, I would probably be 400 pounds at the rate I was going. Whooooa that made me cry! ;.(
(what a douch bag, right?)... anyway..
My mom had started her bariatric journey when I was 14-15ish, so I was beginning to become more familiar with the different surgries. Although I never thought I would have had one! lol... well my mom had her surgery in 2006 I believe?, idk but she lost almost 100 lbs.. so that motivated me to start losing weight. I really did try everything! diets, pills, shots.... none of it worked for me. Soooo my mom put me in a few weight loss classes, then during an appointment with my doctor, she asked if I could be refferred to the South San Francisco Bariatric Dpt, for an orientation.. but she said nope. Soooo we asked my endocronologist instead, and she said Yuuup. lol oh... this was like July 2007 btw, I had just turned 16.
-- So a month later I went to SSF for my orientation, I was weighed in at 327 pounds.. and I started a bariatric adolenscent program.. we talked about the different procedures and yada yada yada lol... diets, exercise, meal plans, pre op and post op expectations.
By that time my dietition actually had convinced me to get the lapband. but I was told I had to hit a 300 pound goal weight before I could even schedule a surgery date.
I tried and tried, but failed. I had lost 15 pounds with diet and exercise... then before I knew it I had gained weight and was now 365 pounds... which led to severe depression... I even dropped out of high school :/
... after meeting different people, I started to become more aware of my health problems and risks. so somehow after a years worth of hard work. I lost 60 pounds on my own, and hit 306 pounds :D
By that time I had just turned 18, and my mom scheduled an appointment with my surgeon, Dr. David Le, MD.
and I was then scheduled for surgery a month later.
(if you want to see videos and here more about it you can watch me at Youtube.com/SheWasBroken)
My surgery went extremely well!!!!!!!!! Best day of my life... I truely loved the whole experience.
there were no complications whatsoever. I lost 16 pounds in 3 days!.... and so on and so on.
I wont say every little detail, just watch my videos ^^ lol...
Now I am 14 months post-op and I currently weigh 220, I has made lots of mistakes.. and I really need the support and motivation to get back on track and hit my goal weight of 175-180.
