Joanne G.
I have been obese my whole life... and morbidly obese most of my adult life. I have come to a crossroads of sorts in my life where, due to my health, I have had to make some hard decisions. The years of abuse to my body have caught up with me... my unhealthy habits over the years have taken their toll on me... I am 55 years old, 322 lbs, have high blood pressure, sleep apnea, depression, I am an insulin dependent diabetic and I have coronary artery disease. Over two years ago I suffered chest pain and underwent a heart cath. They found that one of my major arteries was over 90% blocked.... I have had 5 heart stents put in along with an angioplasty done. Thank God it was all found before I had a stroke or heart attack... so there was no permanent damage. I also have Fibromyalgia which is a chronic pain condition associated with my muscles. oh.. I almost forgot.. I also have a bad back. In other words... I am a "Hot Mess". I am in constant pain... anyone who experiences this knows how it affects you not only physically but mentally. Three years ago my doctor started me on insulin for my diabetes... omg.. within two months I had gained twenty pounds...and then the vicious circle started... because I gained weight I had to take more insulin.. because I was taking more insulin... I gained more weight... ugh.. what a nightmare. I ended up having to take huge doses of insulin daily along with oral meds.. my endocrinologist told me I was severely insulin resistant. In other words.. I had to take large amounts of insulin and they would have just a little effect. Not good!
I use to smoke but quit when I had the heart issues.. which is wonderful... but... again.. I gained more weight.. like 25lbs... which again..made me have to increase my insulin.. and on and on. I tried to lose weight but something with the insulin makes it almost impossible to lose.. believe me, I tried. I have dreamed about having weight loss surgery for years but knew it was time to get serious about it. Literally, my life is at stake. I know all of this sounds extremely depressing.. believe me.. I am not looking for sympathy.. I am just wanted to share the truth of where I was when I started my journey just a short time ago. I made the decision to go ahead and get the RNY done.. and after having to jump through hoops for my insurance for about a year I got approved. I am going through a wonderful program through my local hospital, Sarasota Memorial Hospital Bariatric program. awesome bunch of ladies who made it their job to see that I got approved and well educated on every step of the process. My surgery was originally scheduled for the end of Nov. 2010, but due to illness it had to be postponed for several months. Finally I was able to book my surgery for April 4, 2011 with Dr Fitzgerald. I had heard only good things about him, "top notch surgeon", "the best in the area" etc.. so I put my trust in him. even though I had many abdominal surgeries before, he felt he could still do it laproscopically... yeah!!!! go team!!!
