My Bariatric Surgery Journey

Just like 90% of the women on the planet, I have struggled with weight issues most of my life. As a child I was always the "chubby" cute one or in junior high I was called "thick". I was the short one too. The summer before I started high school I came down with mono and over that summer I lost 20 pounds and grew 2 inches and finally was out of the chubby and thick categories.

Me before surgery and 3 months after

Throughout my freshman year I kept it off and started getting involved in things like cheer leading, softball and volleyball that really kept the weight off and miraculously, built some muscle. When I graduated high school I had made it to my final height of 5'7" and weighed 132 pounds. I looked great, had great muscle tone and felt wonderful about myself for the first time ever!

During my senior year I met a guy that I ended up marrying way too young and a year later gave birth to my daughter. I gained a whopping 60 pounds and being so young I thought the weight would just go away and I would look exactly like I did before the pregnancy. After about 3 months I started to realize the weight wasn't going any where I would have to do something.  I lost 30 pounds in 5 months and thought I was on my way to my former self. My beautiful baby girl had colic and between no sleep, weird eating schedules and no time to exercise the 30 pounds crept back on. The sleep deprivation and fatigue from being up all day and night with her really took it's toll on me and I gained yet another 20 pounds from what I later learned was post partum depression. I had a miserable husband who did nothing to help me at all and it took a huge toll on me mentally and physically.

6 months after surgery

When my daughter was turning 3 and we were planning her birthday party, I was 9 months pregnant with my second child and gained another 40 pounds. I gave birth on the day of her party and again lost absolutely no weight after the birth of my son.  Now I had 2 children at the age of 22 and no self-esteem, thanks to an abusive husband and the weight stayed on. When my son was about 9 months old, my marriage ended and now I was raising 2 children on my own. I worked 2 jobs most of the time or a full time job and school trying to make a better life for them and still no weight loss.

By the time my kids were 6 and 9, I was blessed to be offered a job at Ford Motor Company and for the first time in our lives we were not struggling. I met the best friend I have ever had when I went to work at Ford and she is my BFF to this day, 16 years later. She was a big girl too and we decided to start weight watchers together and get gym memberships. Weight loss is always easier with a buddy!
We went to weekly meetings and hit the gym 5 days a week for over 6 months. I lost 50 pounds and she lost 70. We felt great and for the first time in a long time, I had my self-esteem back.

3 months after surgery

As luck would have it, life had another curve ball for me. I had a car accident, was hit by a drunk driver, and had to have multiple surgeries, rehab, procedures etc and the weight loss train was derailed. I couldn't work out any more and sitting at home unable to do anything but eat I packed the pounds back on quickly.

It took over a year to get back to work and get the all clear to go back to the gym. My BFF was there for me the entire time and we took our behinds back to weight watchers yet again. I lost 85 pounds this time and we were at the gym now 6 days a week. I looked as good as I did in high school, if not better. I felt amazing and even started adding yoga to my daily routine.  About this time I ran into my old high school boyfriend and we started dating again. He was just like he was back then, sweet, kind and caring and my children adored him and he adored them. He included them in all of our dates and outings, which really scored brownie points with me. He did not have any children but you would never know it with how naturally parenthood came to him. We dated for three years and then we got married.  It was a fairy tale wedding and honeymoon and I thought to myself that finally I had the life I had always wanted.  One year into the marriage it was like a light switch was turned off, he changed just that quickly. I was in total shock at the some of the things I found about him. Not only had I dated him in high school but I had known him and his family for more than 15 years but it's amazing how you can know someone that long and not really KNOW them. It started with finding adult materials stashed in different places in our room and escalating to him having a full-blown addiction. After a while I thought we had that little problem under control only to one day pick up his phone that was beeping a text message and his phone was the kind that displayed the message right on the screen without having to go to your messages and let's just say it was a quite graphic message from a woman. After confronting him with the evidence and him trying to deny then when that didn't work, trying to explain, he and his stuff were shown the door.  Here I was 36 years old with two failed marriages. I felt so bad about myself and my situation that it turned into a pity party where the guest of honor was food, and lots of it. I gained the weight back yet again.

6 months after surgery

By the time our divorce was final I had found much more dirt on this man and let's just say he was living a double life right under my nose. I have always considered myself a very intelligent woman and here I was with 2 men that had fooled me and I didn't see it coming. I had a lot of soul searching to do and I needed to know why I kept choosing men like this. I started counseling and it's probably one of the best decisions I have ever made. I found out a lot about myself and not just about men. I got to the bottom of my eating and food problems and finally started to lose the weight once again.

The next year one of the men I had worked with for years asked me out. I was reluctant at first but decided to give it a try. We both said we were not looking for anything serious and just wanted companionship and friendship. After just a couple of dates I knew this relationship was different than any other I have had. I finally knew what people were talking about when they say they found their soul mate. We had so much in common and after many talks found out our paths had crossed many, many times over the years, even before we worked together. We were married 9 months later and this May we will celebrate our 8th anniversary and our marriage is stronger than ever.  I had taken off all of the weight I had gained and felt and looked amazing. BUT...  life threw me another bump in the road and I had to have a hysterectomy and the effects of the car accident were coming back to haunt me and the pain was becoming unbearable. I had a hard time with the surgery and a slow recovery that kept me home bound and, you guessed it, the weight starting creeping back on. Blah blah blah.

A year ago I went to the doctor for one of my many ailments and was told that if I didn't lose the weight not only would all of my medical problems get worse, I probably wouldn't live to see my precious grandson grow up. I knew I had to do something and my Doctor suggested going to a bariatric surgery seminar. So I did! I sat for the 3 hour talk and all of the information was swimming in my head for days. I talked to my husband and God love him, he said he loved me no matter what I weighed and it was all my decision and he would support me no matter what I chose. So I got to work doing research on all of the bariatric surgery choices and finally decided on the gastric sleeve surgery.
My insurance had a mandatory 6 month waiting period and mandatory monthly weigh ins where I had to lose at least 1 pound a month, which I did. I had to go to 2 psychiatric appointments to make sure I was in the right mind frame for the surgery as well as meet with a dietitian. I also had to go to a bariatric surgery class which was extremely informative and helpful. After all of the waiting and jumping through hoops, I finally had a surgery date, June 18, 2014.

8 months after surgery

My surgery was scheduled for 9 am and I had to be there at 7 am. I was given a gown and an IV was inserted. I went through all of the medical questions and such that they always asked and my surgeon stopped in to talk to me. My husband was right there by my side the entire time.  I laid there on that gurney thinking to myself " what am I doing here" and contemplating telling my hubby to get my clothes and break me out of this place. I actually started to have an anxiety attack. I started to think about what I was giving up and it scared me to death. By almost by instinct my hubby, even though he didn't know what was racing through my head, grabbed my hand and told me he was proud of me for making such a tough decision and sticking with it. Almost immediately I calmed down and at that moment they came to get me for my turn in the operating room.  I remember being wheeled in there and moved to a new table. I remember the doctor telling me to count back from a hundred and the last thought I had was 98 and then nothing.

When I woke up in recovery I had " the shakes" a reaction to the difference in temperatures from the cold operating room to the warmer recovery area. This happens to me after every surgery I have ever had and believe me I have had many. The best they can do for it is warm blankets and pain medication. I cannot tell you how painful it is to wake up with incisions all over your stomach and to be violently and uncontrollably shaking. I remember my mom standing over me and me telling her, " Don't ever do this" and hearing her laugh and telling me it will be ok.

I stayed in the hospital for 2 days and believe me I am glad I did because the pain was immense. The day of surgery all you are allowed is water. The next day it went to clear liquids which included Popsicles. Now one thing about the surgery that can be a problem after is what they call dumping syndrome. This is when you eat something with too much and sometimes any sugar in it and your new stomach reacts violently to it.  Dietary brought me up a Popsicle that I thought was sugar-free, well it turns out they made a mistake and brought a regular one. After just 3 bites I started to feel very ill and nauseated. I got to the bathroom as fast as the incisions and my IV pole would allow and since I had nothing but water in my system, I began to dry heave violently. My surgeon walked in just as this was happening and let me tell you he is the most amazing Doctor I have ever encountered. He stood there in the bathroom with me, bent over the garbage can, rubbing my back as I heaved. He stood there the entire time I was sick. He said I knew the nurses said you were doing too good and knew something would come up.  He told me most people don't do as I good as I was doing and he expected a little set back.

before surgery through 4 months after surgery

From the minute I got to my room after surgery I was determined to do everything I could to lessen the pain and anyone who has had any kind of stomach surgery knows that you have  A LOT of gas after ward and it is painful with a capital P.  I began walking the floor of the ward 5 minutes after I got there and did it continuously to lessen the gas and the pain. All of the nurses remarked how well I was doing and couldn't believe I was walking without having to be told to do it or argue with them, which I guess is the norm!  Other than that one bout with sickness, I had no other problems in the hospital other than pain which they controlled wonderfully.

When I was released to go home I was put on a pureed food only diet. This was the hardest stage for me because nothing tastes good pureed! It was like eating baby food and extremely gross! That lasted about 6 weeks and after that was put on a soft food diet which was much easier to handle. I could now have things like mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs, real food! The weight came off very rapidly and I was totally shocked at my transformation.  2 months later I was on a regular diet with the exceptions of sugar and caffeine. I did not want a repeat of the hospital heaving ever again. I am now 9 months post surgery and I still eat as close to sugar-free as I can and do not touch caffeine ever!

At 9 months I have lost 95 pounds and my BMI (body mass index) has went from a 39 to a 26.  The normal range for women is 24. I am very close to that goal now. I have lost 59% of my body weight. I have went from a size 24W to a size 10-12.  I can now buy my clothes in the regular  women's section and even the juniors department.  My problem now is that I cannot workout due to severe back and leg problems as well as fibromyalgia so I have the loose, flabby skin to contend with. Because I had earlier hernia surgery the extra weight of the skin pulling on that area is causing a problem so I am in the process of getting okayed for a tummy tuck that is planned for July and I can't wait! Getting it done will mean me being able to get into a size of clothing that I have not worn since junior high and that's amazing to me. I am now 44 years old and finally have my life and weight under control.

My 6 year old grandson tells me he can now sit on my lap and not be touching my belly.  YAY!  My daughter hugged me the other day and says wow mom there is nothing to you now! People I haven't seen in awhile are amazed by the transformation but not as much as I am when I look in the mirror!  The surgery changed and saved my life and there is no looking back!