jatherley

I started gaining weight as soon as I moved out of my parents home. I quickly learned that food cooked at a restaurant always tasted better than what I cooked at home. Then I moved from the Killeen, Tx area to the Austin, Tx area. Austin had so many really good restaurant. You could get what ever kind of food you wanted and my husband and I wanted to try it all. Then we discovered Food TV were I learned to really cook. I discovered so much that I was missing out on. Homemade pasta, soups, BBQ and chicken dishes loaded with butter and cheese. I watched it all and taught my self to cook. In the mean time I became a foodie. Started visiting the upscale supermarkets. Getting the Artisan breads and cheeses and dips. All along my weight was creeping up. Then I had my first child. Add another 30lbs and financial hardship. We stopped being able to have all the fresh produce and yummy cheeses. It was prepackaged boxed crap that was easy to cook and most of all cheap. I still experimented when I could with good wholesome food but it was harder to find the time and money. Several years later baby #2 comes and brings another 40lbs. I had finally reached my highest weight ever. I hurt from head to toe. I couldn't get on the floor and play. I didn't want to go to the park or a bike ride or anything remotely active that kids want and need to do. I had Gestational Diabetes and gave myself shots twice a days with both pregnancies. After my son my blood sugar hovered at the low end of Pre-Diabetes. My cholesterol was high and I never had energy. I knew I was headed to an early grave. The thought of not being here for my kids was overwhelming. Over the years I had done a multitude of crash diets. The grapefruit and tomato juice diet, the cabbage soup diet, the bacon and egg diet, the Adkins diet, the South Beach diet, the Dukan diet, and Weight Watchers just to name a few. I had the most success with Weight Watchers and stayed committed to it the longest. Weight Watchers did teach me that I did not like counting calories, points or anything of the sort. I wanted to be able to eat and not have to worry about how many points I had for that meal. When I was at my highest weight I had a co-worker tell me she was having the lap band done. And that got me thinking. I had looked at WLS several times over the years after every other failed attempt at dieting. I had always thought it was unattainable because of the cost. I knew my husband and I would never be able to afford it. Not to mention I was scared out of my mind at the thought of surgery. But at that moment I remembered that our company started covering WLS as part of their healthy live style incentive. So, I looked into it and found that in fact my employer did cover almost all of the surgery. So, I brought it back up to my husband and his reply was that he has always been for me having WLS that it was always me that was afraid to do it. So, I started researching WLS (I do a lot of research) thinking I was going to have the lap band like my co-worker. But I quickly learned that the band was not for me. I had entirely too much weight to loose and I didn't like the sound of some of the side effects and statistics. I started looking at the Gastric Bypass again. But I was still scared of the thought of rerouting my intestines. Then I stumbled across the Gastric Sleeve. I thought hm if they remove most of my stomach then I will not be able to eat as much and if I cant eat that much then what do I need that huge stomach for anyway. So read everything I could find about the Sleeve. I watched uTube videos. I did my research thoroughly. I knew what to expect, I knew the side effects, I knew everything there was to know about the sleeve when I went to my consult on May 15, 2013. So, my surgeon gave me my list of pre-op testing and the process was started. Because I had well documented records of my time in weight watchers and discussions with my doctor about my weight it only took 2 months to fulfill my insurance requirements. I had my pre-op appointment with my surgeon July 25, 2013. I was told to start my pre-op diet that day and my surgery was scheduled for August 27,2013. I did my research. I joined forums and facebook pages. I read the horror stories. I was sure I knew it all. When I woke up in my room after surgery I quickly learned I knew NOTHING. I hurt. I birthed two babies naturally with out assistance of medication. But that was nothing like the hot knife I felt in my gut every time I moved. I didn't find out until the next day that I had the added bonus of a hernia repair to contend with. I stayed an extra day in the hospital because I could not drink water and I still did not have my pain under control. For the first 4 weeks after I got home I could not eat or drink with out nausea. I stayed on nausea medications. I got dehydrated and had to go in to have IV fluids at week 4. Then it all turned around. I am now 7 weeks out. I can eat regular food, mostly. I can drink my water, mostly. I feel better than I've felt since August 26,2013. I still struggle with my water and I'm finding food that doesn't agree with me. But I'm getting better day by day. I am looking forward to when I watch my kids get married or hold my grandbabies for the first time. I will be able to look back and say this is why I did it. So that I could be here today.