kamykami
The story so far...
Having been a fat kid, it was no big surprise that I grew (and grew!) into a fat adult. In fact, most of my family is fat, which made being overweight sort of a "comfort zone". It was just a part of who I was. Every few months someone in the family would start some kind of diet; maybe even lose a few pounds, only to put the weight back on. It was like watching the tides go in and out, comforting in its regularity.
Eventually, my weight had climbed to over 300 lbs. I was constantly exhausted and depressed, and having tried every diet and gimmick known to man, really at a loss as to what I could so. As it turns out, I wouldn’t have much time to think it over.
In June 2005, my father, morbidly obese himself, suffered a massive stroke. He survived, and is still recovering, but the whole thing was a huge wake-up call for me. The day after my dad’s stroke, I was having a routine physical when the doctor discovered that I had a blood pressure reading of 190/130—basically stroke level. So at the age of 27, I suddenly found myself pumped full of medication and scared shitless. At this point, I knew something had to change if I intended to see my 30th birthday, and I started seriously contemplating weight loss surgery.
Several months and a lot of research later, I was committed to pursuing the surgery, but found that Kaiser Southern California wasn’t going to make things easy for me. My PCP, who was supportive of the surgery, left Kaiser rather suddenly, and my new doc was not receptive to the idea at all. Her suggestion was to “try eating right and exercising”. After suppressing the urge to punch her in her smug little face, I decided to cut my losses and switch insurance.
In April 2006, I switched to Blue Cross of California, found a great PCP, an even better surgeon (Milton Owens, Coastal Centers for Obesity). I was approved within 3 weeks and had my surgery on June 16, 2006, two weeks before my 28th birthday.
As of January 1, 2007, I am officially a member of the “Century Club”, down about 105 lbs. I still struggle with a lot of the same issues I had before the surgery, and I’ve still got a ways to go before I reach my ultimate weight goal, but I am so grateful to have been given this tool and this opportunity to change my life.
