mandymauldin

member photo member photo member photo member photo member photo

Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

I was always a heavy child and teenager but didn't realize just how much my weight affected my life until I got into high school. It caused me to start taking any kind of pills I could to lose weight. I would take all kinds of diet pills and ended up going to the extreme with it. I got addicted to them and became unable to sleep or concentrate. The addiction caused me to sit around and shake because of the effects the pills had on my body.

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

Dealing with the peer pressure from my high school classmates about being so big. Not being able to have a boyfriend because of the snickering and gossiping behind my back.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

Just the fact of being able to be more active with my children.

How did you first find out about bariatric surgery and what were your initial impressions of it?

I heard my friends talking about having it done, but I was going to wait it out and let them have it done first to see what kind of results they had.

Describe your experience with getting insurance approval for surgery. What advice, if any, do you have for other people in this stage?

I just decided to take a chance at it and all the paperwork was taken care of by the staff at the doctor's office.

What was your first visit with your surgeon like? How can people get the most out of this meeting?

It was very informative and helped me to set my mind to what I needed to do. To get the most out of your first meeting you have to go in with an open mind.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

The fact that Dr. Gilman said it would actually help me.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I didn't really have a choice because at the time because the Open RNY was the only procedure that was offered at the time.

What fears did you have about having complications or even dying from from the surgery, and what would you tell other people having the same fears now?

I just thought about it like this: I can die from having this surgery but I can die from staying fat too. Also, if God was going to take me that day it didn't matter whether I was on the table having the surgery, driving my car or school bus, or just sitting around with my family and friends. He was going to take me no matter where I was at. I just made sure that I had all my affairs in order before I climbed up on that operating table.

How did your family and friends react to your decision? Would you have communicated anything differently if you could now? How supportive were they after your surgery?

My family and real friends were there to support me, but my so-called friends sat back and laughed while they called me crazy, stupid, and a lot of other names.

How did your employer/supervisor react to your decision? What did you tell him/her? How long were you out of work?

He was very supportive even though I had it done during the summer. He called me more then one time to see how I was doing and ask if I needed anything.
show more answers

ARE YOU READY TO PAY IT FORWARD & SHARE YOUR JOURNEY? Your journey will help highlight the many ways weight loss surgery improves lives and makes a difference in our families, communities and world. EACH JOURNEY COUNTS as a voice towards greater awareness.

Share Now
×