At 49, Was Tired of Yo-yo Dieting That Got Me No Where - Woodbridge, VA

I'm happy to report that I'm down to 130lbs, I haven't seen this on this scale since high school. I have so much energy and still losing weight

I had originally looked at gastric sleeve surgery 3 years before I actually went through with it. My doctor had thought that since I had success in the past with phentermine, she would put me back on it. While I lost almost 50 lbs, it soon came back on and with it along came some irregular heartbeats.

I saw the bariatric surgeon in July of 2015, and my BMI was 39 and although I had sleep apnea, irregular heartbeats, it was not enough for my insurance to cover it. So I did the next logical thing, was to gain another 10lbs, bringing me to 225lbs and at 5'2 it tipped the BMI to over 40.

My insurance only required 3 months of monitored doctor's visits, along with psych eval, nutritional counseling, behavioral counseling, MRI, EEG, and a slew of blood work. I also had to get clearance from my pulmonologist and cardiologist for the surgery. The test revealed that I was badly out of shape and also had a large hiatal hernia, which explained the horrendous heartburn I always felt.

My surgeon had me start a liquid diet 2 weeks prior to surgery, and by the time surgery rolled around, I had already lost 14lbs. A small start but I took it. The hardest part was that the 2 weeks encompassed X-mas and lots of holiday parties, but I stayed on course.

Sure there were some doubts. I had struggled with my weight almost all my life and was worried that I would fail. But I was doing this for myself and my health and I chose not to listen to those nagging feelings.

The day of the surgery is a blur now, but everything went according to plan. He was able to not only perform the sleeve surgery but also repaired the hiatal hernia. It was extremely difficult at first to stay hydrated, but small sips throughout the day helped.

Each day it got easier and I was virtually pain free from the beginning. He had used an implantable lidocaine pain pump that numbed the surgery site. I was back at the office in two weeks with no regrets.

By the end of the first month, I had already lost 30lbs. And it wasn't just the weight that I was loosing, but I was really feeling so much better.

It has now been 9 months since the surgery. I am down to 140lbs, having lost over 80lbs. I have so much more energy and now others are having to keep up with me.