SamAnne

Hello! I'm Samantha, 24, nursing student from Florida but am currently living in New England. I have been struggling with my weight and weight related issues for as long as I can remember. It's hard to grow up, especially in Miami Beach, as the 'big girl' or 'the girl with the beautiful face'. My weight struggles eventually turned into depression which then affected everything from my relationship with my family, my academics, to my social life in general. I've let me weight run my life for too long and I am finally take back the control I lost years ago.

In november 2013, I consulted with a back doctor about the chronic pain that developed in my back, and he told me there was nothing he could do for me other than refer me to a bariatric surgeon because my pain was completely weight related. So that's how this whole journey began! The doctor he referred me to was decent, but I felt uncomfortable signing up with his clinic knowing he wasn't 'THE BEST'. For such a major surgery, I decided to go out of town to find the right fit for me, and I found that in Dr. Jones at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here in Boston, MA. I am SO fortunate that I am able to move to be closer to his clinic, and it doesn't hurt that my parents are only a few hours away up in Maine for the summer =].

I picked the VSG over the lap band and the RNY because it really meets my needs well. Being such a young bariatric patient, I am uncomfortable with the thought of living with a malabsorptive system, and the risks of the procedure were too much for me. The lap band seems even scarier to me. I blanche at the concept of keeping a large foreign object in my body forever and again, the complications were too high. Also, the results were not good enough for me. So I chose the compromise between the two. I was so athletic before I started gaining weight. I was on the varsity swim and water polo teams in high school, and was on a varsity crew team as well. Being active without being in pain is something I am SO looking forward to. For me, the VSG is a took to get me to the point where I can be active without pain, so that I can do the rest of the legwork on my own. I just need help getting to that initial point in my recovery.

SO! Here I am, signed up for surgery on the 8th of September. I am VERY excited! I was expecting to feel a lot more fear/nervousness but I feel safe with my doctor and I feel very knowledgeable on the topic of bariatric surgery. Two books I HIGHLY SUGGEST: The Big Book on the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery (an AMAZING cook book for bariatric patients).

Alrighty, that pretty much sums it up for me! I'm so happy to be part of this community. Everyone I have talked to so far is so nice and welcoming and genuinely helpful. I wish everyone here the best in your journeys!


-Samantha-