New To Forums and NEED HELP and SUPPORT

Hello All:

My name is Ali and I am 37 years old. I live in Gahanna, Ohio which is a Suburb of Columbus, Ohio (Go Buckeyes!) I am new to the boards and am sure will have tons of questions. The reason why I started looking for weight loss procedures is due to a recent visit to my PCP. I had brought a list of "ailments" that I have been complaining of for years in the attempts to start getting these issues addressed. After speaking to him about various pains and problems I was continually having, he suggested Gastric Bypass Surgery. I am overweight, 254 LBS to be exact and am having a very hard time getting the weight off. I have been attempting to lose the weight by doing the Slim Fast Diet, along with taking Adipex and also joining Jazzercise in my area. After a few weeks, nothing is happening still. Also at Jazzercise, I was given a BMI of 45....WOW was I shocked and boy was I woken up the fact of how overweight I must really be.

Anyways to make a long story short, my doctor suggested this surgery, as he believes that my GERD, Barretts Esphogaus, my Joint Pain and Sleep Apnea my be all related to me being overweight and if I take care of "this" problem that I may see improvements in other areas? After doing some individual research, I have come to the conclusion by 100% that I will NOT be getting Gastric Bypass. The mortality rate as far as I am concerned is way to high. Whether this be surgery related or not, a 1 in 50 to a 1 in 200 chance of death is crazy as I have a wonderful family that needs their wife/mother around much longer.

I guess since my last pregnancy I have become very laxed about my eating habits. I used to own my own retail store and 4 internet companies. There was TONS and TONS of stress in my life and I was always on the go, which lead to eating out alot. In previous years before I became overweight, I never seemed to have these problems, so I suppose it makes sense that the extra weight could be contributing to alot of my ailments. Definately the sleep apnea is a major contribution, but I am now learning the GERD is as well. My joint pain may or may not be related as the my doctor feels it is a more connective nerve disorder than arthritis and also fibromyalgia.

Relatively I am a very happy person, with a beatiful family and a healthy outlook to life, but the main area I keep struggling in is my weight. I believe I am finally ready to "take charge" and do something about it. I honestly do not feel I am ready for surgery, I would like it to be my last resort. Has anyone here had success stories of losing weight without surgery, even if they were contemplating surgery at one point?

In my heart I feel I CAN conqore this disease if I focus and realize it is truly a disease and I better get my S*** together. The main reasons why I have had so much trouble in the last few years to lose the weight is due to getting hurt everytime I try and exercise. Almost 4 years ago when I had my son, I went to exercise doing a low impact program. A few minutes after I started, I heard a pop in my left knee and I ended up tearing my tendons and ligaments in my knee in which I needed physical therapy for months. After that, I noticed I started having different kinds of joint pains, sometimes that would not be so bad, but more often than not, they were so bad I could not do much exercising. Then in December of 2005, I was pregnant with my last baby (born Jan 6) and it was Christmas Eve, I coughed and again, a huge pop was heard. This time I broke my rib from coughing... It was horrible. Since all this happened I have gone through a bone scan and found out that I do have osteopenia, which is a step down from osteoporosis. My bones are very weak and it is quite nerve racking when I want to exercise and fear something else may break. After saying all this, I still feel in my heart that I can do this, I really want to stay positive and focused on my weight loss. I truly hope that I continue to stay strong and know that I have continued support from family and friends.

Thank you again for letting me share.

Ali **PS, those of you who have lost weight by programs or counting carbs, how did you start and what methods or programs are you using. I really and truly need guidance. :)

Welcome Ali Congrats on deciding to take charge of your life! WLS or not, you still have a tool to assist you. That tool is knowledge and the great people on the non-op board!  I once explored surgery over 3 years ago. Like you, the fact that death was going to be right in my face scared my crazy. I also knew in my heart that I never gave a lifestyle change a real shot. We like to say lifestyle change here instead of "diet". "diet" is associated with something temporary. None of us consider the changes we've made in our lives to be temporary changes but lifelong adjustments.  There are many amazing success stories on here. To think of some off the top of my head: Andy, Donnamarie, DeeMackie. All have lost over 100 lbs using different methods. They found what worked for them and what was good for their lives and lifestyles. That's the key in my opinion. My highest weight was 293 I'm currently 205 and getting smaller. One of the first steps I did was see a nutritionist. She has helped me discover was I was doing wrong and provided me with knowledge and support. The other step was to realize this wasn't gonna happen overnight and that I needed to not let my setbacks defeat me, but serve as an opportunity to make me more aware of what I am doing and did that day. I make small modifications at a time. For me, to change everything at once would've overwhelmed me and I would have given up. I don't believe in denying yourself what you like unless it's what I like to call a "trigger" food. Trigger foods are those things that you lose all self control with. Mine is krispy kreme donuts (man I can smell them now ) lol. Anyway, I make healthy modifications to the foods I love to eat and still enjoy them. Of course I count calories and workout when I can. I just had a baby 3 months ago so workout, sleep, quiet, etc are all very rare to me. Anyway, I welcome you and wish you much success. Be sure to post any questions or concerns you have. There is someone who will be willing to share their opinion with you. If you ever need an ear, I'm here for ya. However, I'm online like once every week or so due to having 2 small kids and a hubby who is deployed (13 more months to go! ) BTW My husband is from canal winchester, oh. Be Blessed  Cammy

Hi Ali!  Welcome aboard! You surely sound like you're ready to get the show on the road with your health.. and sounds like you have a wonderful family...and a good support system is imperative! I had considered wls... and actually got up to the date of my appointment with the surgeon..and canceled THAT morning.  I tried a couple of different things but got to doing low carb and went from 310 to 225 (I'm fighting some fluid retention right now so I'm fluctuating 10 lbs). Basically I read the first 10 chapters of Atkins and it made sense and I gave it a shot but I cut out more carbs than required so I could safely stop taking insulin. I understand the joint pain...  I have fibromyalgia too as well as peripheral neuropathy.. hands, feet and legs to the knee.  I kept it very simple at first.  I used a lifecycle for the first couple of months.. even if it was just 5 minutes at a time.. anything.. ANYTHING.  I also played WII sports a LOT!  In the beginning, I actually worked up quite a sweat standing up doing the tennis and bowling on that thing.. and it's fun and something the whole family can enjoy! One of the first things folks around here suggested was to begin logging everything I do (food and exercise) in either Fitday or dailyplate.  I would definitely start there.  I would do it right now.. go there and put in what you ate today.  Logging my food takes all of the guesswork out of trying to figure out carbs, calories & fats. Keep coming back here .. keep asking questions and fill us in.  This is a great group of people.. no question I have ever asked has gone unanswered!!! Good Luck and God Bless!!!! Lori