my weight loss experience ~ almost 14 months out
I have been reading the posts lately on why or why not have it done, and the
different experiences we have had after and I wanted to add my story for those
who are still on the fence:
My highest weight was 479 lbs. I am 5′8″ and at the
time, 35 years old. Married with three girls was wonderful but it wasn’t
easy. I have always been heavy, but after what seemed like a minor car
accident, I hurt my back and had a hard time recovering. My mobility severely
suffered and I was unable to do anything a normal person could. Walking,
sitting, sleeping laying down . . . nothing. The Dr. said I probably had a
bulging disk, but since I was already too big for the MRI machine, I would just
have to live with pain pills and do the best I could. (Until I lost enough
weight to fit into the machine). I went from 340 to 479 in a year and a half.
I went to several Dr.s who told me NOTHING was wrong with me because I had no
other health issues other than my back pain from the accident. NOTHING! Never
mind that I had to sleep sitting up in a chair, couldn’t walk without
tremendous pain, couldn’t be a mom or a wife to my husband . . . they
didn’t see any of that. I was fine. But I wasn’t. My life was nothing. My
husband kept me grounded when days got really bad and he helped me to see there
would someday be a smaller, healthier me, and that this was just temporary. If
it hadn’t been for him, I would have given up and killed myself years ago. The
physical pain, the emotional struggles out in public and the humiliation of not
“fitting” anywhere were too much to bear. I cried every night. I just wanted
to fit; to be normal again. . . . walk without pain, do my own shopping, play
on the floor with the kids. . . lay in bed and sleep next to my
blanket-hogging-husband! I wanted to love what I saw in the mirror instead of
avoiding it altogether.
Having gastic bypass gave “me” back to myself and my family.
I was 469 lbs the morning of surgery. I am happy to say I am now 3 days away
from 14 months out of surgery and I have lost (as of two weeks ago) 244 lbs.
It was a hard road, don’t get me wrong. I had to have it done open because of
my size, and it took 3 months for the insicion to close, but I look back at all
the struggle and adjusting and I wouldn’t change a thing. I went from a size
34+ to a size 20! I have minor back pain still, but I can walk with it and not
feel bothered by it. Infact I joined the YWCA! I fit anywhere I wish, and in
a few places I didn’t think possible, and I LOVE the woman I see in the mirror.
She’s independent again and confident and whole and beautiful and I’m glad to
have her back. It was surgery and a possibility at a healthier life that kept
me going. In my oppinion, not taking that chance would have ment my death.
Take your time, weigh your options and do your homework with
the Surgeon you choose. I wish you all the luck! Take it easy on yourself
until then. It does get better. 
Walking on Clouds~
Dorth.