One Year Ago Today! (Pics)

ktharp89
on 3/15/12 1:07 am - Gaithersburg, MD

In December 2010 I decided to have weight loss surgery. I had only been married 3 months, had a new job, and was settling into married life. I knew that this was something I needed to do though so on March 15th I did it! I can't believe it has been a year!!

This picture sums it up for me. I look at this picture and think...WOW I was big. It was not an easy journey for me to say the least. I couldn't eat more than a few hundred calories a day for several months. I was sick. I was hospitalized 6 times for the first 5 weeks. I had a stricture and needed to have several procedures to fix it. I was isolated in my apartment. 2 weeks of sick leave at work became 2 months and it was just overall not a good 2 months. I was one of the unlucky ones with complications. Thankfully they weren't horrible complications but they did affect my life. For a time I even thought I had to get a reversal. OH people helped me figure out that my surgeon was just trying to threaten me to do better.... I guess he thought I wasn't doing what I supposed to...even though I was. Pretty crappy of my surgeon I must say.

The night before surgery....from the side.

I went back to work after 2 months but I wasn't doing well. I called out, left early, and got to hear all day long that I looked so pale and week and sick. I also heard talks of me being let go because I wasn't reliable because I called out all the time. So I quit on as good of terms as possible and decided to take the summer to rest and recover.

The summer wasn't much better. I got a kidney stone in July which was not a fun experience! But then I started to feel better by the start of August. I started feeling more like myself and I could eat a little more without getting sick. I got a job at a bathing suit store and even though I still had difficult times it was soooooooooooo much better!

side

I got my old job back in October and from then on I was doing better than I could have ever imagined. With over 110 lbs lost I felt great!

I FEEL great! I feel like this was the best decision I've ever made. I can now eat basically anything which is both a good and bad thing. I can run up stairs without having another thought about it. I have more energy than ever before. I am more productive, and make healthier choices. I still struggle and don't eat as well as I should all the time. But I am working through my issues with food. With the tool of the surgery it makes it much easier to make better choices.

I am so happy that I had this surgery. I fit in a size 10 pants and a medium shirt. I love to dress up and get my picture taken. I have more confidence than ever before. AND the best thing is, I am at a healthy weight to have a baby which I will hopefully do in the next couple of years! That was the main reason I had the surgery after all! It was not an easy journey but it was more worth it than I could have imagined.

I posted nonstop throughout this time on OH. This place was my safe haven. I am so thankful that everyone was so supportive. People gave me ideas to help through my struggles. I felt like I got to know many people and I am so glad I had the RNY forum. Thank you so much to everyone!

Height - 5'8 - SW - 292/ CW - 177.6 /GW - 150 - BMI - 27.1 - 114.4 lbs lost!
"The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore" Vincent Van Gogh

(deactivated member)
on 3/15/12 1:11 am

RNY on 01/19/10

You've come such a long way, Katie... you should be so proud of yourself. I know you've been having some difficulties lately, but you took responsibility for it by acknowledging it and trying to get support to get back into the groove with your rules. That's the brave and strong thing to do... keep at it! We're all behind you... you look fantastic!

tori