Jonna O.
I have been fighting my weight all my life. I have always said, " I am comfortable in my skin." "If others do not like the way I look... it is their loss." Neither I or my family really ever said much about my weight. It just kept coming up and up as the years passed. I then developed thyroid disease (Graves). This is over active thyroid. I tried to control it with meds for over 3 years, only to gain 30 pounds. That did not work so I chose to have my thyroid killed with radioactive iodine. Finally, within a year or so, my thyroid levels came to normal and I now I have to take meds to keep my levels normal. Once I got my thyroid levels under control. My doctor mentioned... Now, its time to work on my weight. I weighted right at 350. So, we discussed weight loss surgery. I decided I would try it on my own! I went to Weight Watchers for over a year. I lost around 40 lbs. I went back for my yearly check up. I mentioned, that I have been getting sick and my side was hurting. She thought it might be my Gall Bladder. So, I went for test. And an appointment was made for a surgeon. He said my gall bladder needed to be removed, for I had at least 6 stones. He also mention one little problem. He said, " You are too fat to do the surgery. You need to loose as much weight as possible before I do the surgery." I asked him what I was to do in the meantime. He said, " when you cant even keep water down, call me and we will see if you lost enough weight." I stood strong until he left the room. I left and sobbed in my car all the way home. I called my doctor and made an appointment. I asked my doctor again about weight loss surgery. She referred me to the Deaconess Weight Loss Clinic. And so my journey begins. I attended an informative meeting, and made an appointment. My insurance asked that I participate in a 3 month supervised weight loss program and attend meetings and classes offered by the clinic. On October 5, I have completed all insurance requirements. The clinic is to send my letter of Medical Necessity this week. Now I wait for insurance approval.
