SoCalFatGothChick
I'm a fat kid. Always have been, and always will be...well, at least at heart. I had a fairly normal and happy childhood despite my parents' divorce. I was loved, nurtured, and spoiled. I was never abused, neglected, or teased by my peers very much. I was always raised to be proud of myself no matter what, and I believe that attitude was what saved me from social torment. I was a very active teenager involved with many activities and friends. I was a hard partying college student with a very active social life, and at even at my highest weight got into plus size modeling, and boy, could I party hard!
So why did I get so big? Beats me. I just loved to eat. I came from a family of big eaters (I had a mexican grandma, a southern grandma, and an italian step-grandma, enough said.) I was so busy with life, school, friends, etc. that I just didn't have the energy to cook nutritious meals and exercise, so I turned to fast food, twice a day, every day, no exaggeration. Those elements coupled with those many late night after-club trips to Denny's or some scummy 24 hour donut shop pushed me into the depths of fatness. But hey, I was enjoying life, and enjoying food! I had tried so many diet programs, pills, etc. in the past, and nothing worked for me, so I just gave up and decided to live life the best I could as a fat person, and I did...for a while...
I eventually got up to 415 lbs, and that's when things started going downhill. It became physically harder to live life and be mobile. My blood pressure was sky high, my asthma was kicking back up, and it just hurt to move. I knew I had to do something, but I felt there was nothing I could do that I didn't already try. So I started researching the surgery. I spoke to friends and strangers who had it, and did my own research on the net. I decided to take the plunge and make a commitment to do this, and in May 2004 I had my first consultation at Kaiser.
I started the 8 week program (which I hear is now a 6 month program) at Kaiserin July 2004, you know, the one where they tell you to not do the surgery, it's bad, mmkay? yadda yadda yadda. So after all the nutrritional lessons, exercise tips (which I do admit has been helpful even as a post op), and other non surgical alternatives I still decided to go through with the surgery, and Kaiser approved me after I finished my classes and lost over 10% of my weight in October 2004. I had my first consult with the surgeon in December 2004. I saw an internist, psychiatrist, and the surgeon himself. They approved me a week later and told me I could have the surgery as soon as February 2005. But it was a busy time of the year for me, so I opted to have the surgery on September 9, 2005 after everything calmed down.
So I did it. My mother, grandmother and I made the trek to San Diego. I was seriously crying the entire week before my surgery. I made peace with a lot of things inside myself and let a lot of things go, because I figured there may be a chance that I won't make it through. I even wrote an unofficial last will and testament and put it on my hard drive! LOL....When I was wheeled into pre op I had to have a sedative. I was a damn wreck. After that blessed nectar I was a damn comedian. I remember the operating room being very cold, and I remember the last thing I saw was the handsome face of the anesthesiologist. When I arose from my anesthsia-induced slumber I woke up to 2 more handsome faces (god I love Scripps Mercy) and the first thing I did was spout out Napoleon Dynamite quotes. I felt pretty energized after the first hour, but didn't get up and walk until a few hours later. I was uncomfortable, but not in much pain. Morphine was my friend. I felt bad because for the first week I couldn't even wipe or bathe myself. I was so embarassed to have the nurses do it when my mother wasn't there, and my poor mother...she deserves mother of the year for putting up with my crying and screaming during the 4 days I had to stay in the hotel.
2 weeks post op I was out clubbing, so I guess you could say I recovered fast. I did end up catching a cold 3 weeks post op but was back at work by 5 weeks....TO BE CONTINUED...
