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Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

After having three kids I have had a hard time with losing all of the weight. With my second and third children I was barely able to get under 180. After exiting the military 2 years ago I have gained almost 100 pounds. I have tried multiple diets and can only seem to maintain them for a few weeks. I am a very emotional eater and I LOVE Dr. Pepper. So with all of this I didn't know where I was going to go. I would look at pictures of myself and felt completely disgusted with myself. To me I looked like a big whale. I hate taken pictures because after looking at them I see this fat whale staring back at me.

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

The worst thing for me about being overweight is that when I travel for work I have to set in the small airplanes and have to room to move. I have to take a big suite case so that 5 days worth of cloths and personals will fit. I hate the looks that I get from the other parents at my kids school. I feel like they are judging me. I don't like being social because of my weight and if I am I prefer to hang with others that are big so I don't have to worry about them judging me for what I am eating or what I am drinking or doing.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

I haven't had surgery yet, but I have lost 18 pounds since I started the process. I did have to start my appointments all over again because I missed my last appointment with my mom getting sick and needing to go to her to take care of her. So I was very disappointed when I found out that I would have to start over again but I guess things happen for a reason so 2 more appointments to go and I will get everything submitted to the insurance company.

How did you first find out about bariatric surgery and what were your initial impressions of it?

I first found out about the process from an advisement on the radio. I decided to look into it and didn't tell my husband about what I was thinking about doing until I found the place I wanted to go to and had my appointment for the information seminar set. After hearing what they said and became even more excited about getting the surgery done and while and the seminar my husband decided he wanted to do it too.

What was your first visit with your surgeon like? How can people get the most out of this meeting?

My first visit with Dr. Ascota was very informative. He had a lot to say and gave me lots of paper work. I didn't have much questions because I had done lots of research and most of my questions had already been answered. I do recommend getting yourself a three ring binder to keep all the paper work. It is an easy way to go back and look at the paperwork they gave you.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I think the turning point for me in pursuing to have the surgery was the family pictures that we took after my sister had her baby. I went back and looked at them and noticed how big I had let myself get. I couldn't believe what I had let myself do.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Deciding to have VSG was easy for me because I have had issues with items being placed inside of me when I was on birth control and had it puncture my uterus wall. So doing the lap band was not an option I wanted to look into. I then couldn't get my head rapped around have my organs cut in two, so again I didn't see that as an option either.
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Before & After
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ARE YOU READY TO PAY IT FORWARD & SHARE YOUR JOURNEY? Your journey will help highlight the many ways weight loss surgery improves lives and makes a difference in our families, communities and world. EACH JOURNEY COUNTS as a voice towards greater awareness.

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