Amelie2005
Today I received an e-mail from Obesity Help Services wishing me Happy 4th WLS Anniversary. What an interesting journey this has been. During the last 4 years, I have learned a great deal about myself and my addiction to food especially burying my feelings with food. Thankfully, my surgeon's office offers weekly support group sessions which have helped to keep me on track through this journey. Thank you Renee, Shannon, Elise, Stecey, Angela, Clayton,Donna and countless others for all of your love and support. WLS was not an easy decision for me. My parents, my husband, my primary care physician and many of my friends were against me having the procedure. I spent over a year researching the procedure, convincing my PCP to refer me to a bariatric surgeon and obtaining all of my clearances. It was exhausting to say the least. I had several people tell me that RNY could kill me. Yes, it scared me to death but I had done my homework and was going to die anyway if I kept gaining the weight. I was diabetic, had high blood pressure and sleep apnea. At 5'4.5 inches tall I weighed in at 252 lbs. I had done countless diets. Flunked out of Weigh****chers not once but three times. It was time. I met with the psychologist for my clearance and cried so much that he referred me to a social worker to learn coping skills. I am so glad that he did because the SW that he referred me to had had RNY the year before. She shared her RNY expreience with me and gave me suggestions on how to cope with my feelings in ways that did not involve food. When I awoke from surgery, I was in a fair amount of pain and kept thinking "What the hell have I done?" Warm broth in the middle of the summer, powerade zero and jello. Yuck! When I was released from the hospital, I would stand in front of the open refrigerator and just stare. I ate my fair share of popsicles, jello and plain Greek Yogurt (which I absolutely hated then and have learned to love). It took a while to discover what I could and could not tolerate. To this day, sugar ='s dumping, same with too much fat, pasta and rice are no no's for me. I have lost the ability to vomit. Talk about scary especially when I have a virus or stomach bug. About 1.5 years post op, I started out having pains under my rib cage. Pain so sharp that it would take my breath away. The pain was intermittent so I chalked it up to eating something that did not agree with me. Finally the pain became more constant and my RNY surgeon sent me for an US to check my gallbladder for stones. No stones were found on the US. Still in a great deal of pain. Was sent for a HIDA Scan. Well, the duct to the gall bladder was so blocked with "sludge" that they dye would not even pass through. Next stop emergency surgery to remove gall bladder. After surgery, I awoke to discover that not only was my gall bladder diseased, I also had an intestinal obstruction as well as a hernia. Ouch....recovery was much more painful this go around. Early Spring 2013 I developed a craving for ice. All I wanted was ice, morning noon and night. I ignored this for several months until one of my co-workers suggested I had a disorder called PICA and should have my iron levels checked. When my labs came back, my surgeon asked me how I was able to function with a ferritin level of 4 and H&H levels below 10. I knew I was tired and dragging a bit but was pushing through an extremely busy work schedule. Referred to Hematologist for further testing. At this time, I suffered another intestinal obstruction and again had emergency surgery to to remove obstruction & repair another hernia. After I had recovered, met with Hematologist who ordered feraheme injections to boost my iron levels. The first set of injections lasted 7 months and when I started chewing ice again, got two more doses of feraheme. This will be for the rest of my life as my body does not absorb iron the way it should. Asked if I would do this again, I always say "Yes". It has been the best decision of my life, there have been many bumps along the way, however I am the healthiest I have ever been. I like what I see in the mirror. I have managed to keep most of the weight off although this last year has been more of a struggle. My lowest weight was 120 lbs. My current weight is 140lbs and I am comfortable. I do have some extra/loose skin but not enough to qualify for plastics. I have some extra skin under the arms, around my lower mid section and between my thighs but I am also a 46 year old woman cruising into menopause.