sanguinarythorn

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Obesity & Me

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

Before surgery, my behavior and emotion with weight was like a roller coaster. It was always up and down. One day I hated myself because of the way I looked, and the next day I was trying to find ways to accept who I was and love myself... fat or not. I was always too proud to acknowledge how I really was. In my eyes, I was beautiful and didn't need to change. Eventually, I learned of my high blood pressure and pre-diabetes and new it was time to get a hold of my problem. I knew it was time to do something. I was on the waiting list at portsmouth for about a year and a half when I found out that I was accidentally dropped of the list and that they would only be able to put my back on somewhere in the middle. That's when I decided that I would have to look elsewhere and for a different surgeon. After I went to the initial seminar at Dr. Clark's office, it didn't even take a month before I had a date for surgery. Now, I can proudly say that I am finally on the other side.

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

The worst thing for me about being overweight was my inability to fit in and do things that everyone around me could do. I couldn't fit on certain rides at amusement parks. I couldn't go into the mall and shop like my friends. I couldn't fit into booths at restaraunts... I couldn't ever truly fit in. I was made fun of my entire time growing up in school. The worst thing over all about being overweight was the insensitivity that I experienced from others.

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

Shopping! There's no better feeling than walking into a store, picking something off the shelf, and having it fit beautifully (or even be too big.... can you get me a smaller size please?!?!) I love being able to fit into places I couldn't fit before, and I love not feeling "out of shape" when I want to participate in physical activities. There's a huge difference between being out-of-breath from exercise, and struggling to breathe from being over weight. Imagine your life, carrying another person on your back the whole time, and then one day that person being lifted off. Or just being able to unzip a fat suit and step out of it. Yeah. It's that awesome.

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

My mother first introduced bariatric surgery to me when I was 17. I initially thought she was crazy, and that I could never do such a thing to my own body.

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

My insurance was surprisingly easy. Amazingly, I didn't even have to wait for an approval, as I had all the necessary documents lined up.

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

My first visit with my surgeon was a group seminar. It was informative but impersonal.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I finally decided to have the surgery after seeing my blood pressure rise and doing research on diabetes (which it was fate for me to have, as everyone in my family has it).

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

When I initially went in for my seminar, I didn't know I had a choice. I didn't know there were so many different kinds. After hearing what the surgeon had to say, and describe his procedure, I was comfortable and ready to have a vertical banded gastric bypass.

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?

The biggest fear I had was wondering if the first thing I would think after surgery was "I wish I would have never done this". The only thing I can say to someone pre-op with the same fear is that, unfortunately, my fear came true. The light at the end of the tunnel is that it gets better. I'm finally able to accept it and move on with the decision that I made. It will do nothing but continue to get better.

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 friends were all supportive of my decision.
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Before & After
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