Docsmama
Well lets see, where to begin. I was heavy my whole life, ever since I was a little girl. Always struggled with my weight like a Yo Yo. In middle school I outweighed most of my teachers and kids picked on me, heck I even had a teacher asked me if I was pregnant one time, HOW embarrassing for a 12 year old. High school I was overweight, depressed, lonely, alone, ect.... By the time I graduated high school I was over 250 pounds, I tried to diet and exercise but would loose interest very quickly even to have memberships to the gym and never use it. When I was 20 yrs old I was 330 pounds....got married & pregnant only to sky rocket up to 385 pounds with high blood pressure during pregnancy. After having my son I totally gave up on myself and trying to loose weight, I was very sad though. During the next 6-7 yrs I battled my weight issues. I went on Dr. prescribed diet pills for 6 six years on and off never to get below 265 pounds and believe me those darn pills are no good for you. I dieted all the time only to loose a little and gain back alot. During these 6 yrs I did end up getting a divorce...BUT shortly there after I found my next husband....and that's another story! My new man loved me for who I was and when we could we got married in Las Vegas, I was 330 pounds that day, go look in my pics and you'll see one of my wedding pics. After a few yrs had gone by someone I knew had gastric bypass surgery.....OMG that was it!!! I knew then that was what I needed, wanted, and absolutely just had to have that surgery. Sooooo I took the plunge. First thing I did was call my insurance company (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois) and just came right and asked them.." Ok give it me straight...exactly what do I need to have you Approve my surgery" They told me everything I needed, ( 1 yr weight loss records, doctor recommendation, and conditions that make it medically ness.) I have severe Ostio Arthritis, degenerative disk disease, had astma, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and I'm sure there was one or two others as well. So I got my P's and Q's in order, took all my stuff to my dr. and with his help we got it all together. I had my first appt. with the gastric bypass surgeon on May 5th 2005, and On Aug. 4th 2005 I was on the operating table and it only cost me out of pocket 1 grand that had to be paid up front. Prior to surgery i did loose 85 pounds, how did I loose 85 pounds you might be asking well....lol long story short, I was an alcoholic that drank wiskey n coke 7 days a week and I quit drinking cold turkey and I'm still sober more than 6 yrs later!!!!!!!.. So the day of surgery I was 275 pounds and one year later I weighed 135 pounds. The weight came off so fast. And Boy do I mean fast. For a while I had alot of problems eating, it just hurt my pouch...I struggled to get my calories in...and guess what? One day I was driving to the store and I felt dizzy..Ummm next thing I know I woke up with the air bag deployed, smoke all around me, at first I had no idea I had just been involved in an accident caused by ME! I passed out at the wheel while driving and my car traveled one mile till I rear ended an SUV that was sitting at a red light, had it not been for that SUV I would have gone out into the intersection and may not be here today to tell my story. At the time I was living in Baltimore MD and the city streets have ruts in the road so my car just stayed in its lane. I had $6,000.00 worth of front end damage, and I walked away with a bruised shoulder. Take a look in my pics. you can see my car and me the day of the accident. I now know what caused me to pass out, it was my sugar. It dropped so low that I passed out. I now check my sugar often, but I can tell when it's dropping i feel shaky, weak, just plain bad. I also know why it does, It is called Reactive Hypoglycemia, it's caused by eating bad things like high in carbs or sugar, it's also a form of "Dumping" not all the symptoms may mean your gonna crap or vomit...remember that it can hit you hrs after you eat it... I have numerous pictures of my progress you can check out. In the meantime, I'll think of some other things to add later.
