Before & After RNY with Stacey, losing 144 lbs!
April 26, 2016Celebrating Stacey's Journey Before & After RNY!
The first time I realized that I was “fat” was at age 7 when I was in 2nd grade. I remember weighing myself on the bathroom scale at home and it said I weighed 72 pounds. I had no concept of weight or what I should weigh and told a family member that I weighed 72 pounds. The look of concern on their face and the shaking of their head made me feel very ashamed. At that point, I became conscious of my weight and it became an issue for me that I have dealt with all of my life.
I remember in 5th grade that some of my girlfriends were snickering about a heavier girl because she told them she weighed 100 and something pounds. They were shocked and saying things like “Can you believe she weighs over 100 pounds!!” I remember not saying anything and hoping they wouldn’t ask me about my weight because I knew that I also weighed over 100 pounds.
As a college freshman, I weighed approximately 220 pounds and wore a size 18 pants. Over the course of a year, I lost about 60 pounds and got down to around 160 and wore a size 12. I was happy and comfortable at that weight plus I was able to maintain it until I got engaged at age 20. I gained 80 pounds in a year and had regained all the weight I’d lost plus an extra 20 pounds. I yo-yo dieted and would lose back to about 160 pounds, but could never maintain that weight for very long and could never break the barrier of the 160’s.
I tried all kinds of weight loss programs and pills. In my desperation, I even made up my own regimens of food and exercises. Anything from counting points, to HCG drops and injections, to my own “YVT” diet which consisted of Y=Yogurt, V=V8 juice, and T=Tunafish.
I was ordering HCG injections from online pharmaceutical companies overseas. I would lose a lot of weight quickly but such strict fasting and food limitations were no way of life. As soon as I was done with a 45 day “round”, I would begin to gain the weight back. I went through spurts of exercising in an attempt to lose weight. I would be able to stick to an exercise routine for a few days, maybe even a few week, but didn’t find anything that I really enjoyed doing so I wouldn’t keep it up.
Everything I did and tried, I did to the extreme. In my mind, everything was black or white. If I was trying to stick to a super strict diet regimen and then “cheat” by eating a chip or a bite of something, I would figure I’d already blown it for that day so I might as well blow it big and ‘get it out of my system’ by eating whatever I had been craving. I’d make myself sick physically and emotionally, sending myself into a panic where I’d have to purge what I’d eaten or else be consumed with doom. I fought frequent cycles of binging and purging for most of my adulthood.
I began to consider weight loss surgery in the summer of 2013. A friend and I decided to spend the day taking our kids to an amusement park. I didn’t fit into one of the rides and it was the most embarrassing moment in my life. My 4-year-old daughter looked at me perplexed and with worry in her eyes as I had to exit the ride.
I would’ve like to have disappeared in that moment. It was a moment that changed my life.
Before & After RNY WLS
OH Username: Chaychee
Total Weight Loss: 144 pounds
Surgery Type: RNY Gastric Bypass
Surgery Date: October 14, 2013
Surgeon: Dr. Elias Ortiz
Within a week after my amusement park embarrassment, I found a weight loss surgery seminar to attend at a local hospital. I didn’t tell anyone I was going because I was ashamed. After attending, I had hope for a change in my life and began the initial paperwork and insurance approvals.
I quickly found out that my insurance would not pay one cent towards the costs even though my BMI was beyond the requirement. As other reasons to have WLS, I had associated depression with my weight, sleeping struggles and pain due to my weight. I was devastated when I was told the cash price for the surgery was $18,000 and had to be paid up front before starting the process to have the surgery. It might as well have been a million dollars! There was no way I could afford it anytime soon.
I started researching different facilities for weight loss surgery and financing options. I quickly discovered “medical tourism.” I’d never heard the term before and was finding a lot of U.S. citizens who couldn’t afford to pay for WLS and were going across the border to Mexico to have surgery.
At first, I thought going out of the country was absurd but as I began more reading and researching, I became more hopeful that it could be a possibility for me as well.
I decided to take a giant leap of faith and risk it - weight loss surgery in Mexico with Dr. Elias Ortiz of A Lighter Me! I didn’t tell anyone but four immediate family members. My mom accompanied me on the trip to have my surgery. It started by being picked up at the San Diego airport by the driver of A Lighter Me, Abraham. He was friendly, professional and calmed my nerves within the first few minutes. He spoke ENGLISH!!! Well!! He told me he had lived in Tijuana all of his life and so he knew where to go and where NOT to go. That was very encouraging to me.
The hospital was so clean and I loved the smell of the “flash lavender” cleaner they used. I was taken by wheelchair into the operating room and began being hooked up to several monitors and machines. I was surprised at how modern the equipment was. I remember laying there very scared. I couldn’t believe what I was doing and had the urge to jump up off the table and say forget it. Luckily for me, the anesthesia kicked in at just the right second.
Next thing I knew I was waking up and though I had some pain and discomfort, it wasn’t as bad as what I had prepared myself for. The nurses had me up and walking around within an hour. The first 36 hours were rough, but after that, my pain subsided substantially. The more I walked, the quicker the pain left. My heating pad was my new best friend! If I could only give one recommendation it would be to take a heating pad!
I had my surgery on a Monday and was back to work at my desk job the following Monday. I’ve had no surgical complications and have learned what I can eat, and shouldn't eat to avoid having any problems.
My weight loss continued well past the 2-year mark of surgery and I am finally at a stable weight of 117 pounds. I am very active and energetic. I have found that I enjoy walking outside very much and do it daily. I've also discovered that I like circuit training and enjoy the results I can see in my muscles as I push myself with hand weights and resistance training. My body is fun!! It’s enjoyable to get dressed, and to challenge and find new ways to improve my body.
Special Milestones / Non-Scale Victory
I’ve enjoyed many milestones over the course of my weight loss journey:
- Hitting the single digit clothing sizes was a big one for me!
- Getting past my all time low weight as an adult of 160 pounds and into the 150’s, then the 140’s, then the 130’s, 120’s, and now the 110’s has been miraculous and each has been a huge victory along the way.
- I now fit into the smallest size offered at my 2 favorite stores; a size 1/2 pants, and an XS in tops. I never would’ve imagined it as I was used to shopping the plus-size section and a lot of stores were off-limits entirely because I fit nothing they carried.
- I don't remember the last time I was “winded” from walking or climbing stairs.
How has ObesityHelp.com been a part of your journey?
ObesityHelp.com was very helpful to me in the initial process of finding a surgeon. I made a binder with each of the coordinating companies I would come across in my Internet search along with each doctor. I found a lot of great referrals on OH and also some “warnings” which were helpful as well.
Through much research, a lot of which was done on OH, by talking to other members and hearing their experiences and having them answer questions for me, I was able to narrow down the companies and surgeons, little by little and finally found my perfect match with Dr. Elias Ortiz and A Lighter Me. I have since referred many people to them and have had several family and friends enjoy the same benefits and success as I have with Dr. Oritz and A Lighter Me.
Share Your Before & After Success!
Do you have Before & Afters, special milestones and non-scale victories from your journey that you’d like to share? The OH team wants to hear from you! Visit our Before & After Submission page for details.
