Hello all!  My name is Veronica and I'm a 5'1" 32 y/o Puerto Rican female from Cleveland, Ohio.  I am a loving wife of ten years and mother of three beautiful children ages 11, 7, and 2.  My weight problems began as a child.  I was always the chubby kid.  I really began to put on weight in my early teens when my parents separated.  My mother moved back to Puerto Rico and I stayed in Cleveland with my father.  My father had a drug problem so before too long I ended up living with my grandmother.  In high school my weight peaked at 170lbs although I was somewhat athletic and played softball and tennis.  When I graduated high school I went on to college and gained the average "freshman 15".  It was then that I first started the unsuccessful attempts at dieting.  I could lose about 10 or 15lbs but it would not stay off long.  I would gain it back and then some.  I met my hushand and had my first child while I was still pursuing my bachelor's degree.  The funny thing is that when I got pregnant I actually lost weight.  It was after I had my son that I started packing on the pounds.  I graduated college and began working (in an area unrelated to my degree).  When I had my second child the same thing happened again.  I lost weight during the pregnancy but gained after she was born.  By this time I was probably about 220lbs.  About 2 years after my daughter was born I decided to go back to school to get my bachelor's degree in nursing.  You could just imagine what my diet was like at this time, I was working full time and going to school full time.  How could I have time to eat right and exercise?  After nursing school I probably weighed about 240lbs.  About a year after nursing school I have another daughter.  Of course I lost weight again and put it back on, and then some.  Throughout all of the yoyo weight gain/loss I was fairly healthy. Other than having gallstone and kidney stones during my pregnancies, my weight was my only real health problem until last year. Early in '07 I became very depressed about my weight and was put on antidepressants.  I felt good for a while.  I started a new job and started exercising.  In October  I began having very frequent bouts of shortness of breath and abdominal pain.  By this tim I was at my peak weight of 255lbs.  I saw a pulmonologist who diagnosed me with reflux.  She was the first physician to suggest I be seen by a bariatric specialist.  She also sent me for a sleep study which showed that my oxygen levels dropped to low levels for about half of my sleep time.  She started me on reflux meds and put me on oxygen when I sleep.  This made me think even more seriously about doing something about my weight.  I think what finally made me decide on having surgery was a visit I had with my gastroenterologist.  I saw him because I was having frequent abdominal pain.  I had labs drawn that showed I had elevated liver function tests.  I was then sent for and abdominal ultrasound.  Well, the ulstrasound showed that I had a fatty liver.  When I saw the GI doctor about my abdominal pain he said that the pain was probably nothing and would go away on its own.  However, he was very concerned about my liver function.  He sent me for more labs and sent me a letter with his recommendations.  In his letter he told my that I had to "lose weight at all cost" or I could potentially go into liver failure.  This scared the hell out of me.  I have a husband and and three small children I have to be here for.  This was my wake up call.  I went to a bariatric seminar several weeks later and began the process.  I was approved for surgery by the insurance company first time out.  I am scheduled for RNY surgery on March 31, 2008.  I'm nervous and excited about starting my new journey. 

About Me
CLEVELAND, OH
Location
25.8
BMI
RNY
Surgery
03/31/2008
Surgery Date
Mar 08, 2008
Member Since

Friends 5

Latest Blog 2
3/30/08 The Night Before Surgery
3/16/08 The Liquid Diet

×