Choosing a surgical intervention is not something that people do because it is some how the
“easy way out”. Changing a lifestyle is much easier than undergoing the knife and risking one’s
own life in order to become healthier. Some people have the surgery to have a myriad of
complications afterwards. Some people die. It is never an easy choice and is always treated as
the last resort.
In all honesty, I was initially dead set against GB. My Dad's cousin's wife and his two daughters
got it done and I thought they were crazy. For me, never having surgery before, I was not too
keen to undergo what I considered to be a very radical procedure.
I decided, fed up in 2001-2, that I was going to lose the excess weight without GB so I worked
my butt off like crazy. I joined TOPS, was even their weight recorder!, joined a gym and took it
from there. I ended up losing around 73 lbs and did really well. I felt like a new person.
But the same issue that plagued me in 1994 arose when I got to 202 lbs. I could not budge the
scale past that point. I talked to a personal trainer, and she said that I needed to make cuts to my
diet - for example, only having one piece of toast for breakfast, eating half a sandwich for lunch
etc. I was working out at the gym every other day for 3 hours and the scale would not budge.
Darn it as well, I wasn't just hungry at this point, I was starving! As was the case in 1994, I
struggled and struggled and gained the weight back. After many attempts, I cannot sustain my
weight loss. I think honestly, that my stomach is so stretched out from years of abuse that I have
to literally starve myself to lose weight past that point. I'm tired of the constant yo-yo, I'm tired of
feeling hungry all the time, and I need *help*. I need I needed a tool and I knew that with the
tool of gastric bypass, I could reach my goals. This is where I started to research the surgery due
to my ailing health but I was not yet convinced.
The real clincher was the fact that in 2004, my mother had a massive heart attack. I was told then
that I'm now 2X as likely to suffer the same fate. (After a clotbuster drug, and angioplasty my
Mother did recuperate thank goodness!). At this time as well, I was finding that my
comorbidities (or the problems I had associated with my weight) were starting to make me far
more tired and were now beginning to interfere not only with my day to day life, but rather, with
my job. I was tired, sore and reluctant to do things now with my students (I’m a teacher) because
of my weight.
Being fed up in 2005 with my sore back and aching knees, getting majorly winded just walking
up a flight of stairs, I decide I was at the end of my rope. I couldn't take it any longer but at the
same time, I just knew that I couldn't keep doing the yo-yo thing again. I need a permanent
solution - something that could completely change my life and give me tools do make that
transformation.
Enter gastric bypass.
I bought some books, browsed some websites and began reading about GB.
How did I make my decision about what surgery to have? It is a very personal decision and I
have to stress how important it is to do research. Too many people pick their decision based on
the word only of someone else. Please do your homework and research, research, research! I
chose based on what is best for me. Please do not go by my choice - be informed about your
choices. Find independent research sources, meet with post ops and make the choice based on
what is best for YOUR body and lifestyle.
2 Comments
“easy way out”. Changing a lifestyle is much easier than undergoing the knife and risking one’s
own life in order to become healthier. Some people have the surgery to have a myriad of
complications afterwards. Some people die. It is never an easy choice and is always treated as
the last resort.
In all honesty, I was initially dead set against GB. My Dad's cousin's wife and his two daughters
got it done and I thought they were crazy. For me, never having surgery before, I was not too
keen to undergo what I considered to be a very radical procedure.
I decided, fed up in 2001-2, that I was going to lose the excess weight without GB so I worked
my butt off like crazy. I joined TOPS, was even their weight recorder!, joined a gym and took it
from there. I ended up losing around 73 lbs and did really well. I felt like a new person.
But the same issue that plagued me in 1994 arose when I got to 202 lbs. I could not budge the
scale past that point. I talked to a personal trainer, and she said that I needed to make cuts to my
diet - for example, only having one piece of toast for breakfast, eating half a sandwich for lunch
etc. I was working out at the gym every other day for 3 hours and the scale would not budge.
Darn it as well, I wasn't just hungry at this point, I was starving! As was the case in 1994, I
struggled and struggled and gained the weight back. After many attempts, I cannot sustain my
weight loss. I think honestly, that my stomach is so stretched out from years of abuse that I have
to literally starve myself to lose weight past that point. I'm tired of the constant yo-yo, I'm tired of
feeling hungry all the time, and I need *help*. I need I needed a tool and I knew that with the
tool of gastric bypass, I could reach my goals. This is where I started to research the surgery due
to my ailing health but I was not yet convinced.
The real clincher was the fact that in 2004, my mother had a massive heart attack. I was told then
that I'm now 2X as likely to suffer the same fate. (After a clotbuster drug, and angioplasty my
Mother did recuperate thank goodness!). At this time as well, I was finding that my
comorbidities (or the problems I had associated with my weight) were starting to make me far
more tired and were now beginning to interfere not only with my day to day life, but rather, with
my job. I was tired, sore and reluctant to do things now with my students (I’m a teacher) because
of my weight.
Being fed up in 2005 with my sore back and aching knees, getting majorly winded just walking
up a flight of stairs, I decide I was at the end of my rope. I couldn't take it any longer but at the
same time, I just knew that I couldn't keep doing the yo-yo thing again. I need a permanent
solution - something that could completely change my life and give me tools do make that
transformation.
Enter gastric bypass.
I bought some books, browsed some websites and began reading about GB.
How did I make my decision about what surgery to have? It is a very personal decision and I
have to stress how important it is to do research. Too many people pick their decision based on
the word only of someone else. Please do your homework and research, research, research! I
chose based on what is best for me. Please do not go by my choice - be informed about your
choices. Find independent research sources, meet with post ops and make the choice based on
what is best for YOUR body and lifestyle.