tinabram
My story is a LONG and somewhat involved one. I was born as a fourth child in a family with 6 children.I was always extremely underweight as a child (though I was very active and athletic) so that my Mom even worried because my ribs stuck out!
When I started into my teen years, everything changed drastically.I all of a sudden started putting on weight and from age 13 to 16 I went from 110 pounds to 225 pounds.All during this my Mom is putting me on one diet after another, and while i lose a few pounds, it just comes back with more weight added.By the time I was 19 I weighed almost 300 pounds, but was always active in college and my health seemed okay.Soon thereafter I had a seizure like episode while at school and was rushed to the hospital where tests showed that I had a Pituitary Tumor that would need radiation treatment at UCLA. After that I was told that I would never be able to conceive a child because of my glandular problems.A few years later I married and -never thinking it was possible-became pregnant with my daughter.I had a tough pregnancy, continuing to gain massive amounts of weight and delivered my daughter prematurely at eight months (by now I weighed 410 pounds).
My marriage fell apart soon there after and I found myself a single parent trying to care for my child while trying to find some way to decrease my weight and the medical problems I had begun to have secondary to my obesity.Though I was always on Thyroid medication, the dose was constantly having to be changed, and I soon developed hypertension.I worked long hours as a Medical Records Administrator and later being promoted to actual Hospital Administrator whil caring around a weight of 380-400 pounds.
In 1980 I had a procedure known as an Ileal-Jejunal Shunt which was primarily a malabsorptive procedure to lose weight, but it caused me to have severe side effects and 2 years later had to be undone and a stomach stapling was done. During the next 3 years I lost over 200 pounds, but after about 5 years the surgery caused an obstruction in my gastric outlet which caused me to become severely malnourished and resulting in the sugery having to be undone.
In 1990 I was diagnosed with Lupus and put on steriods by my Rheumatologist. I remaned on Prednisone for many years, causing my weight to gradually balloon up to over 400 pounds and leaving me confined to a wheelchair due to severe deterioation of the joints and ligaments in both my knees.
In 2003 I moved from Northern California to the Central Coast-Santa Maria (known primarily for strawberry growing, great Tri Tip Barbeques and being the site of the Michael Jackson trial)- and found a wonderful new doctor who gave me hope by telling me of a Orthopedic surgeon at USC University Hospital in Los Angeles who specialized in high risk patients and got me in to see him.
The rest is history ! Even at my weight he was able to totally replace both of my knees and also found that I had been misdiagnosed with Lupus and likely had never even had it-just osteoarthritis.I had the first knee done in 2003 and the second done in 2006 and do not even have to use a cane or walker to get around! My knee surgeon referred me to Dr. Crookes who is a surgeon of some great renown both in this country and in Ireland where he comes from.He is a specialist in Bariatric Surgery and I spent hundreds of hours on the internet researching everything I could about him and the work he has done and the comments of his patients on the care they received while under his supervision.
I truly feel that in finding this doctor I have given myself the very best chance I can have for a successful outcome.Since I now have f urther medical problems including Sleep Apnea ,GERD, Degenerative Disc Disease,Hypothyroidism, Diabetes Mellitus, Asthma and Anemia, I think that the time has come for me to try this final chance to get my life for me.
My partner and I have been together for 13 years-just married 2 weeks ago- and we have 4 adult children and 9 grandchildren together (with 2 more on the way) and I want many more years to enjoy my life with those I love and who love me. At 61 I feel that my life is just about to begin.......FOR ME !
