Amy | Weight Loss Surgery

For decades, I tolerated my morbid obesity. I took multiple blood pressure medications. I talked my doctor out of cholesterol-lowering prescriptions.

I dealt with knee pain and would find myself out of breath after simple tasks. I lived day to day but didn’t really give my weight much thought. After all, this was just how my family lived.

As I aged, I began noticing older family members were saddled with arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart attacks, and other weight-related diseases. My mother eventually wound up with a painful compression fracture in her back, caused by osteoporosis and complicated by her weight. Due to the hefty size of her stomach, she was unable to have a simple surgery that would have quickly healed her back. Mom went from the hospital to a physical rehabilitation facility, then to assisted living before she was 70 years old.

I didn’t want to live like that.

I was good at losing 50 pounds. I can’t count how many times I’ve accomplished that feat. But every time, I put that back on. And more. I had been afraid of gastric bypass. The thought of rerouting my digestive track was frightening to me. I had been reading more and more about the LAP-BAND, which is an adjustable belt around the stomach that limits food intake. The thought of an implanted object, which could be adjusted if I were to get sick in my older age, was tolerable to me. I attended an educational seminar sponsored by Central Carolina Surgery to learn more. It still took me several months to decide this was the massive step I needed to get my weight issues under control.

My surgery was in January 2008. I was required to lose weight beforehand due to my excessively large size. I lost more after the surgery. I was taken off all my blood pressure medications within a few months. My cholesterol was soon under control. My knees quit hurting and I eventually was able to walk six miles at a time pain-free. For the first time in my life, I was able to maintain a weight loss and physically felt really good.

That’s not to say this journey has been easy and without its ups and downs. The LAP-BAND is simply a tool that prevents me from eating a lot at one time. It doesn’t make my food choices. It doesn’t force me to the gym or the walking trail. I still struggle daily with food and want to turn to Reese’s Pieces in times of stress. My weight still goes up and down some, but not to the extremes it had in my past.

Overall, I’m about 140 pounds lighter than I was at my heaviest. Even though I technically am considered obese on medical charts today, I’m healthy. I have no medical conditions that are weight related. I haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes or had a heart attack, conditions many of my relatives faced at my age. I feel good every day. My diet is generally healthy, and I am able to exercise daily. I recently had a second surgery without complications to get rid of excess skin due to the weight loss.

Weight loss surgery is personal on so many levels. You have to be in a good head space and ready to lose weight permanently to be successful. There are many rules to follow. You also have to decide which operation will suit your lifestyle. I was fortunate I got to that place before more obesity-related diseases got me. I had reached a point where it was either this surgery or a lifetime of prescription medications, pain and doctor visits. Every day, I am thankful I chose a weight-loss tool that takes some work on my behalf, but also has made my life healthier for decades to come.

Today is the day to start the process of creating a healthier you. Schedule your online or in-person seminar to learn more about your options.