The Beginning of My Journey

Ok, so here goes nothing. I have never been a heavyset woman. Growing up, I was always thin and was active. After getting married at 19, I remained very dedicated to my appearance and, as a matter of fact, I became even more concerned about maintaining my appearance. Six years into my marriage, I became pregnant and, due to complications in my second trimester, I was put on bed rest. I went from a steady weight gain of 3-4 lbs a month to an out of this world 6-8lbs a month that ended up yielding a total weight gain of 60 lbs. Immediately after giving birth to my beautiful 7.5lbs baby boy, I lost ONE measly pound! I was horrified. With knowledge of the fact that women in my family all tend to never lose weight gained during pregnancy, I knew that I needed to act quickly to get this weight off. After breastfeeding my son for 3 months, my uterus did, in fact, contract and my tummy was significantly flatter-- however, much to my dismay, I only lost 2lbs making my total postpartum weight loss 3lbs. Panic instantly began to set in. I went into my primary care physician and insisted that I begin weight loss treatment immediately. Although he tried to encourage me to give my body a break since I only had a baby 3 months ago, I remained steadfast and chose to stop breastfeeding and begin phentermine. After a month, phentermine became way too much for me and sent me to the hospital with a blood pressure of 210/108. Obviously-- I had to stop taking Phentermine. Next I tried Alli which literally had me holding my baby while I stayed on the toilet, so it was very unrealistic. I then tried Atkins and Belviq coupled with 6 scheduled appointments with a licensed nutritionist. Atkins did work, but only during phase one and Belviq was insanely expensive and made me feel very agitated (possible serotonin syndrome). And so, here I am. My primary physician will be sending in my predetermination forms to my insurance company and I am hoping for the best. I have 4 more months more of Doctor supervised weight loss treatment and a psychiatric evaluation left and I am on my way to a newer, leaner, healthier me.

So I have got to tell you, things are really looking up and headed in the right direction. After going through months of dieting, I am OFFICIALLY moving forward. I went to a seminar hosted by Dr. Elias Chousleb at Jackson Memorial Hospital North and a seminar hosted by Dr. Jorge Sosa at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah. Both doctors made me feel very comfortable about moving forward with them, the ultimate decision came down to brass tax. That being said-- can I get a drum roll please? I went with Dr. Jorge Sosa! The over all price about $2,500 less. Due to my recent diagnosis of pre-diabetes (my hemoglobin a1c level was 5.4 and 2 months later with metformin, diet and exercise, my weight went down but my hemoglobin a1c went UP to 6.2, YIKES!) I have decided to move forward with the roux en y gastric bypass instead of the vertical sleeve as the gastric bypass has a better potential to correct type 2 diabetes.

Yesterday, I met with Dr. Sosa for my first appointment and he corroborated what I was able to research about correcting my diabetes with gastric bypass. I will be meeting with the nutritionist and psychiatrist later this week and then everything will be submitted to my insurance company for approval. Stay tuned for a surgery date and pre-op photos.

So, I finally got my gastric bypass and I have gotta say, I was definitely not expecting the pain that I experienced. I only had to do a 2 day clear liquid diet and it was not that bad, I lost 7 lbs total during the diet and I felt a little dizzy and spacey, but I got through it. The worst part about the clear liquid Preop diet was that I accidentally soiled myself in the middle Victoria's Secret while shopping for some loose fitting clothes for the hospital. It was horribly embarrassing but the staff at Victoria's Secret in Aventura mall didn't make me feel bad about it-- they were really understanding and more concerned about how I felt and making sure I was comfortable before leaving the store.

When I got to the Palmetto general hospital, I was very calm until they told me that my husband could not wait with me in the holding area because our son was with him and they do not allow children under 12 years old in the holding area. They did let my husband come in by himself five minutes before I was rolled into the OR while someone at the same day surgery front desk watched our 11 month old son. That was very nice of them and I appreciated it. The last thing I remember was counting backwards from 10 and then I woke up in the recovery room with my throat sore from the breathing tube they removed earlier, dizzy, nauseous and so incredibly PAINFUL. I was banging on my bed rails and muttering as loud as I could "Help! Pain! Pain!" It was THAT BAD and mind you, I have had liposuction in the past and I gave birth naturally 11 months ago and I would rather have a baby again any day. Once they got me into the room I was given Demerol which STILL didn't help getting up and walking was the only thing that helped the pain. I am feeling much better now.