snowflake1205
YEAH!!! I AM HAVING OPEN RNY ON 1/6/09!! I CAN'T WAIT TO GET THIS PARTY STARTED!
I am 48 years old and have been overweight for as long as I can remember.
I remember being "chubby" in grade school (around 11 or 12 years old) and I remember that our family doctor suggested to my mother that I should lose weight. My mom always made sure that we had a good healthy breakfast, a sensible lunch at school, and our family sat down for a very balanced meal together every single night- there were no fast food restaurants around at that time, and even if there were my mom would not have spent the money on eating out (to this day she has never been to a drive-through restaurant of any kind, believe it or not). Homemade pizza was an occasional treat, chicken wings were not yet an American staple, and our snacks consisted of fruit, a "normal" sized serving of chips or other snack, or a "normal" sized portion of ice cream. We drank milk at meals, and never had pop in the house. Despite the very healthy eating habits that we had growing up (when I was too young to be able to go out and eat outside of home), I continued to gain weight slowly. By the time I was in high school, I was obese. I continued to gain weight, especially since I was going out with friends and snacking more. I was around 160 pounds when I graduated from high school and was put on medication for high blood pressure shortly after high school.
Over the years, I continued to gain weight. I was constantly on one diet or another, and if I wasn't dieting I was always thinking that I should be. I tried Diet Workshop, Weight Watchers (more times than I can count), Atkins, South Beach, low fat/high carb, the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Mayo Clinic fad diet, and countless other "miracle diet plans". I successfully lost weight to within 5 pounds of my goal twice on Weight Watchers, however I quickly reverted to my old habits and gained the weight back- and then some.
Several years ago, I was laid off from my job unexpectedly. At that time I was also dealing with the very serious illness of my younger brother. I was out of work for about 8 months, which could have been the perfect time to get myself together, exercise consistently, and lose weight. I went in the opposite direction. I was extremely obese when I lost my job and was morbidly obese when I started my new job. I have been morbidly obese and gaining for the past several years, despite several serious attempts to get back on track with Weight Watchers and exercising.
I have been taking medications for high blood pressure and high cholesterol for many years. I have had problems with back, knee and hip pain and foot pain due to my weight. I have been depressed and discouraged. I have had back problems for years from years of working as a Nurse. For the past year or so, my back has hurt every single day. Many days I was unable to do anything other than make it through a day at work and then come home to the heating pad. I spent this past summer doing absolutely nothing other than working because I was in pain constantly, I was tired and exhausted every single day, and I was depressed and withdrawing. I knew that I had to do something drastic to get my life back. I realized that I was merely existing- I was not living.
I have thought about WLS off and on for about a year, however I would never admit that it was an option for me. I thought that it was a "cop-out" or the "easy" way out. I felt that I would be admitting that I was a "failure" if I had the surgery. I did a lot of soul searching this past summer and realized that I was at rock bottom and that I had to seriously consider WLS in order to save my life. That sounds dramatic, however I truly believe that this is going to save me. I could not have stayed on the slippery slope that I was on for much longer. When I found out that I was insulin-resistant and had pre-diabetes, the decision was final.
I researched about WLS extensively and picked a very reputable surgeon. Once I started the process, I was focused on the mission and went from the decision to have surgery to scheduling a surgery date within 4 months. I have continued to research about the surgery and the necessary lifestyle changes. I exercise 4-5 times a week. I have been sampling protein powders, taking vitamins, and drinking water. Regretfully, I have not stuck to much of a weight loss diet during this time, but that doesn't surprise me- if I could do that, I wouldn't be needing this surgery!
So, that's my story- so far. The pre-op testing and medical clearance is done, and surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, 1/6/09. Let the Games Begin!!
