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Before my Gastric Bypass operation...
Prior
to surgery, I was a medical and emotional mess!!
 Before
surgery I had a laundry list of medical problems. My knees were giving
out, I could not walk for any length of time because of leg and back
pain. I had high blood pressure and cholesterol, severe sleep apnea,
asthma and high blood pressure, asthma, headaches, fluid retention
problems, muscle tingling and cramps. I would tire easily. I was
lethargic, depressed. The list goes on!! I knew serious heart problems
were next, plus the onset of diabetes. I knew I had to prevent what was
going to happen to me if I stayed morbidly obese. At the time I weighed
352 pounds. I was only 5 foot 8 inches tall!!! I was using two inhalers,
taking two medications for blood pressure, a diuretic, pain medicine,
cholesterol medications. I was probably taking 8 – 10 pills a day!! Not
to mention sleeping every night with a Bi-PAP (Bi-level)
Positive Airway Pressure Machine. Co-workers, friends and family worried about my day to
day life. They could here me breathe from across the room. See me huff
an puff while I walked. They all just waited for me to collapse!! My
daughter most of all was worried. She did not want to see me go to an
early death…I was only 47 years old. It still brings tears to my eyes
when I think of that desperate look in her eyes when she would voice her
concerns over my health. I wanted to spend more time with her and I
knew if I did not change things that would not happen. I had no life
before my surgery and I was a very unhappy person. I would eat and eat
and eat. Park myself on the couch and not leave the house for days at a
time. Looking back, I was experiencing serious clinical depression.
Besides the medical issues, there were the emotional and social issues.
Going on a business trip with, I dealt with embarrassment of having to
beg the flight attendant not to assign me a seat in the middle of two
other passengers and the humiliation of asking for a seatbelt extension
and having to move to the last row of the plane. I could not ride roller
coasters and other fun rides. I always had to sit aside and watch during
most fun activities. I had to change something. Because of my
daughters deep concern for me and the fact two military doctors and my
primary care physician suggested I look into Bariatric Surgery. So I
did.
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