“Physically I felt like I was falling apart at the seams and mentally I was.”
Life was becoming increasingly miserable before I had weight loss surgery. I had been struggling with my weight yo-yo dieting and gaining weight since my early twenties. My sense of self was so unhealthy and toxic I would mentally terrorize myself with extreme diets and restrictions to the point I would miss major life events like weddings, baby showers, birthdays, social outings with friends. Then I would break and binge eat missing out on vital social connections and gaining the weight back and much more. I would internalize it as a moral failing each time and comfort eat to self soothe. In the past five years I just gave up trying to attempt anymore diets out of fear I would put more weight on, I was 273lbs at that point. This insidious cycle was directly linked to several undiagnosed untreated conditions. I was suffering from Hypothyroidism, Anemia, Pre-Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, High Blood Pressure, Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Inattentive ADHD. Physically I felt like I was falling apart at the seams and mentally I was. These conditions were causing me to miss out on living life.
I started thinking about weight loss surgery two years before I made the decision. The reason I waited so long was because of my relationship with food. I knew my weight was a problem but food was the only tool I had to deal with life. The idea of not being able to use it in a self medicating capacity was terrifying. A sudden major life event happened and I lost someone very close to me and I had no tools to deal with it. I needed to get mental help. Eventually I sought out a mental health professional and I got an assessment for ADHD and started Trauma Therapy
two months before I made the call to OWLS for my first appointment with Dr. Patterson. I establish and saw a Primary Care Provider and got a general health check up and started taking medication to treat my hypothyroidism at the same time. I actually started feelings better. Once I started getting tools to take care of myself physically and mentally I knew it was time to take control of my health completely. I realized you only have so much time in your life and it’s not guaranteed how long any of us will be here, and I didn’t want to miss any more of it.
I am no longer bothered by heat and I can work however long I like outside!
Pre-Surgery I wasn’t able to go outside and garden. I would get very winded in a short period of time and if
the weather was too warm it would be unbearable. I am no longer bothered by heat and I can work
however long I like outside! In fact all the yard landscaping I’ve been doing on my six acres have sculpted
my arms in a way they’ve never looked before. They look beautiful, I’ve never been able to say that about
myself. I have never been in better shape in my life.
* Please note – Results and individual symptoms may vary.