Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.
Ever since grade school I was overweight. In high school I was in the 250lbs mark. After college and entering the workforce I began the crash diets. Losing 60-80lbs and gaining it back in a few months was a way of life for the next 10 years. Like most overweight people, you name it, i've tried it. Atkins, cabbage, Ioanamin, PhenPhen... they were all part of my life at one point in time. I entered the workforce at an early age in my life. Althought the money was extremely good, it was a very physical and strenuous job. Unfortunately, I suffered a workplace injury. Unable to walk or move for years, the weight piled and piled on. Being home all day with a fully stocked fridge didnt help. My crash diets became few and far between. I always heard of friends of family having WLS and everyone was bragging about how great they felt but was WLS right for me??? Married, with 2 girls (8 &10 at the time) I started to realise something had to be done. That damn scale we got as a shower gift only goes to 300lbs! The Dr's scale says i'm 341?? No way!? That cant be right??! Can it? Hmmm... I started putting all the little clues together. Waking up in the morning to find my wife sleeping in my daughters room with both doors closed and a pillow over her head because of my snoring. Me snore? I dont hear anything? Maybe thats why I feel like total crap when i wake up i the morning. Hmmmm... Ok. Lets look into this Gastric Bypass.
What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?
Because of my back injury, I was in constant pain. I mean CONSTANT. It would take me about 30-45 minutes to get out of bed each morning. I'd wake up feeling like i never even went to bed. Always lethargic. Try walking up stairs weighing 340lbs with a herniated disc. I always felt like I couldnt breathe. Like i was choking. Whenever I caught a cold and would get congested I was so petrified to sleep because I was afraid I was going to suffacate in my sleep. Sure, I got people pointing and laughing... giving me the looks but that didnt bother me so much.
If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?
I play tennis. I play squash. I go for jogs... JOGS!! All things that were unheard of 3 years ago. I cant wait for the summertime. I spend 2-3 hours walking every day. Before surgery, the second I would step outside I would be a pile of sweat. Now I spend most of my days shirtless in my back yard gardening or soaking up the sun
Santino P.
