abbybeep

In December of 2011, I heard a local radio celebrity, Ted Long on 93Q in Central New York talking about both he and his wife having WLS, and all the success he was having. My primary doctor had mentioned WLS to me once, and I had been horrified to think I was that obese. I vowed to make it work, like I had so many times. Weight Watchers was awesome, for the 15 lbs I lost in the first few weeks. Then I lost nothing for a month. I know we have all been through this. Anyway, I decided to go to a WLS seminar held by Dr. DeSimone and Dr. Cooper in Syracuse, NY, thanks to Ted Long.
Dr. Cooper said something that hit me really hard during the seminar. He told the group that diet and exercise are a wonderful and effective way to lose weight when you have 10, 15, 20 pounds to lose. When you have 50, 75, or 100 pounds to lose, exercise and diet are no longer a realistic way to obtain the weight loss you need. WOW! I had not thought about it that way. I went to the car afterward and cried the whole way home! I knew what I had to do.

This has been the toughest journey I have ever been on. After having Vertical Sleeve surgery on August 6th, I threw up every single day. I didn't deviate from the plan of foods. Some days I couldn't even keep liquid down. Multiple times I ended up going to urgent care to get fluids. My surgeon had no answers. Finally, I sought help from a completely different surgeon and, recognizing the urgency of the situation (I had lost 70 lbs in 4.5 months, and beginning at 252lbs, so 70 is too much too fast!), I had exploratory surgery on 12/17/12. The exploratory surgery quickly turned into a conversion of my Vertical Sleeve to RNY, as the surgeon said there was no way to save my sleeve. I am so happy to be feeling better! I had been standing for months (literally) in order for liquid to drip through my sleeve. Now I'm loving snuggling on the couch with kitties and having ALL liquids stay down!