Before & After VSG with Mary, losing 88 pounds!
April 23, 2019Why I Decided to Have WLS
On February 11, 2018, I was 41 years of age with a BMI of 43 and obviously overweight. I was no longer enjoying my life.
I was not always morbidly obese. I was able to go hiking, bike riding around campgrounds and neighborhoods, enjoy camping trips and loved the summers on the boat and winters in the desert riding quads and side by sides. Along with my 41st birthday came a trip to the desert where my harness was so tight, and I realized the limits I had were no longer fun to me. I could not even bring the trash cans up to the driveway without feeling like I ran 3 miles.
Working as a Charge Nurse on a busy step-down unit also became very challenging over the years. Unable to perform CPR on patients for two minutes gave my coworkers more work, getting to the point where I was told just to record (chart what is being done). Making morning rounds on all the patients ended up taking hours because I would need to sit down and rest my knees because they hurt so bad from carrying all of my extra weight. To top it off by the end of my 12 hours I was exhausted because of my sleep apnea so a good night of sleep was rare. The worse part was having to send another staff member to fire drills (or real calls) because I could not do two flights of stairs let alone six flights!
My health was deteriorating because I suffered from sleep apnea, borderline diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, fatty liver, GERD, constant pain and was depressed. I decided that after so many failed weight loss attempts (13 are documented in my medical chart), I decided enough was enough and I needed to gain control and get my life back! I needed to get help, I was ready for the change of bariatric surgery.
Before & After VSG with Mary
Total Weight Loss: 88 pounds
Surgery Type: VSG
Surgery Date: 06/12/2017
Surgeon: Dr. David Suh
My Surgery and Post-Op Life
My daughter dropped me off at the hospital early in the morning (she had to go to work) so I was alone. I was alone and very nervous. The staff at the hospital was so nice and must have recognized my fear because they made me feel so comfortable. Being a nurse, I know that there can be complications as with any surgery, but I was reassured that things were going to be fine and it would be over before I knew it. They were right, I was in my room and recovering before I knew it. I felt great already! I had started my “sips” as soon as I was awake, up and walking that evening.
I will tell you that I was expecting it to be more difficult. I had minimal nausea, I had an aromatherapy peppermint patch that was on my chest and I did have the nausea patch behind my ear but my need for IV nausea medication was only needed for the first 12 hours and that was only when I got my IV pain medication.
After two days, I was able to head home and start my journey with my new tool. I did well getting in all my liquids, but I was still weak. By week five, I started to feel great. I returned to work and let me tell you, I felt so good! I know it was my new attitude, my new tool and the positive remarks from all my coworkers. I was happy and cheerful as I made my patient rounds, I was excited to help my staff as they needed, I felt great and I was only down about 20 pounds!
How has ObesityHelp been a part of your Journey?
On October 5th and 6th I had the opportunity to attend my first ObesityHelp Conference. I should first explain that I have been on OH's Facebook and Instagram, and have been following them since I learned of OH at one of my support group meetings.
I was able to attend the 2018 ObesityHelp National Conference and I'm so thankful I got to go. I learned so much, received lots of valuable information that as a newbie to the WLS world was very helpful as well as all the samples and, most importantly, the relationships I will forever cherish! I have already purchased my ticket for the 2019 ObesityHelp National Conference!
Special Milestones and Non-Scale Victories
I have a very long list that I'm proud of and grateful for.
- Since June, I have lost over 33 inches!
- My labs are now within the normal ranges! It has been a long time since I saw that!
- I'm only 15 pounds away from my goal weight!
- My work life has improved so much, I now can make rounds on every patient in the mornings and sometimes round on a few of them more than once as well as new admits.
- I attend all the drills and am first to run if someone asks for help with a patient.
- My pain has significantly decreased.
- I sleep better at night.
- My depression has slightly improved.
- I bring the trash cans up from the street with no difficulty.
- I find myself wanting to go and do things that I have not done in years.
- I had my first NSV (Non-Scale Victory), Halloween starts our desert's season, I not only felt comfortable in the harness of my side by side, but I had to adjust them to make them smaller to fit me. I got to say I did tear up a bit. I was also able to go on a small hike while we were there.
- I work around the house more, I enjoy the outdoors again.
I am gaining my life back! I have Dr. Suh and the rest of his team for making it possible.
Share Your Before & After Success!
Celebrate your own Before & After WLS Success, milestones, non-scale victories, and inspire others! The OH team wants to hear from you to share your weight loss surgery journey. Visit our Before & After Submission page for details.
