roselady
I had been overweight all of my life. I tried several kinds of weight loss programs, diets and would lose a little just to gain it back plus more. I had my surgery, duodenal switch, on August 20, 1996 at age 43. On the day of the surgery I weighed 377 lbs. After a year and a half I weighed 173 and that's when the weight loss stopped. I will gain or lose 10-20 lbs. from time to time, which is not a big deal to me. After my surgery and after I'd gone home from the hospital I did not follow doctor's orders regarding moving around and walking, etc. and developed 4 lines of blood clots in my left lung and was taken to the hospital where I was in ICU for a week. I was so sick and struggling to breath and scared terribly as usually pulmonary embolism is a death sentence. The hospital pulled me through and I am fine. Even though I was horribly sick and could have died, I do not regret the surgery. Since my surgery I can shop without having to sit down often like I did before the surgery, I can breath better, I became more attractive and could wear types of clothing that I could never have worn before. I no longer have to worry about becoming a diabetic, developing hypertension and some other serious health problems. I am a mother of 3 and a grandmother of 3 granddaughters.
