Question of the Day
For me, it was many things, but my health was a big one. I was not able to walk anymore something that I always enjoyed doing. I could not do anything like go shopping. I had diabetes, my dad died in 2004. He was a diabetic who had kidney failure as a result of his diabtetes. I did not want to suffer like he did.
I did not feel well most of the time. I needed to do something to have a life worth living.
It was all about health!! I had been overweight since the onset of puberty and had tried nearly every known to mankind. I never was able to lose enough weight to reach my goal and would get discouraged. When I went off of whatever diet I was on I gained all the weight back, plus some.
I tried to get pregnant for about 3 years, with no luck. I had PCOS and losing weight would greatly increase my fertility. But no matter how much I wanted to get pregnant, I just couldn't lose the weight. Eventually, my partner got pregnant. but she got pre-eclampsia (due to her weight) during the 7th month of her pregnancy and delivered our daughter 6 weeks early.
I had thought of WLS surgery for many years, but was afraid. But, the heavier I got, the worse my health got. By the time I was in my mid-30's, I had hypertension, PCOS, GERD, sleep apnea, insulin resistance, and weight-induced asthma. I had had knee and back surgeries due to my weight.
My partner was NOT interested in WLS, but was suffering a similar list of health issues and also dealing with Lupus. When our daughter was 5, she began experiencing chest pains. She went to our PCP, who ran an EKG, which was abnormal. She was sent to see a cardiologist, who ran a bunch of tests, including an angiogram. He found nothing wrong with her heart and diagnosed her with GERD. He did tell her, however, that if she didn't lose weight she would probably be dead within 5 years. Scared the crap out of us.
We signed up for a WLS seminar and are both at our goal weight and the vast majority of our health issues have been resolved. We now have a much greater chance of seeing our daughter grow up. She is why we both had our surgeries!!
The whole story is on my profile, if you want to take a look at it.
Thanks for the great question, Rachelle.
XOXOXO,
Sharyn
Health - I was at a point where I was constantly in pain from Degenerative Disc Disease and Degenerative Joint Disease. My weight was causing my discs to collapse onto nerves and it was impacting the functionality of my legs more and more. Had gotten to the point where my 4-block walk to work was almost impossible because of the pain and numbness in my legs. Also my blood pressure was getting higher and my blood sugar (although I never did have diabetes) was on the rise.
There were certainly a lot of other factors including the desire to live life again. As I got bigger my life always got a lot smaller... conversely the times I got smaller my life got a lot bigger - and I want a BIG life again!!
Steve
I had fortunate to not have any health problems at 450 but my dr. constantly told me that I was walking on thin ice. Heart problems, High blood pressure and diabetes run in my family and I knew if I didn't do something with my weight, I was next. I tried several diets and they worked but I would gain the weight right back plus more. Everyday living was hard. I couldn't walk, stand for a long period of time or sleep. I was wearing a size 34 clothes and the stores don't make them any bigger than that. Getting in the tub was stressful for me because it was hard to get up and I always thought "what if I get stuck"? I had to sit down to wash dishes and cooking took forever because I had to stop and sit a second to rest my hurting knees and back.
I had NO social life because I was ashamed of how I looked and I was too embarrased to have sex with my partner of 6 years.
8.5 months later... I'm loving life at 245 lbs. I'm healthy, I can walk, I have a social life again, the pain is gone and I can shop almost anywhere wearing a size 20. Oh and lets not forget about the AWESOME sex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kay
450/388/245/175
Like most people here, it was due to health issues. I am only 42 and have had high blood pressure since my early 20's. I have also had GERD for most of my life, to the point where I would wake up almost choking because of all of the acid in my throat. I was diagnosed with diabetes about ten years ago, and although it had been diet controlled for a long time, it started to get worse, and soon was controlled even with increasing amounts of insulin. There was also the hip and knee problems, making it hard for me to do my job every day. I have been overweight almost all of my life and have tried almost every diet invented. I was on prescription pills as a teen and young adult. Nothing worked for long. As Rachelle stated in her post, I feel this is my last chance too.
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