MaryEbeth

In the summer of 2012, I weighed 337 pounds my highest weight. I have been overweight since I was around 10 years old. I have tried dieting in the past but when I saw that scale read 337 I knew I had to change my life. At 33 I was taking blood pressure medicine and I was considered morbidly obese with my 5'4" frame. I felt bad all the time, my thyroid was out of whack and quite honestly I was just miserable with life. I never wanted to do anything and that just isn't me, regardless of my life long struggle with my weight I have always been outgoing, fun loving and excited about life. I had lost myself in those 337 pounds, since 2005 I had gained 137 pounds!!! I was DONE and I told myself "You will get this under control". So in August 2012 I began walking and eating better, of course you know how that goes, you do really well for a month then BOOM! life happens and your emotional eating comes back in full swing. I did lose 23 pounds and got down to 314. My best friend had Lap-Band Surgery in 2008, she did well with it and it encouraged me to look into bariatric surgery. So for 2 years I researched and thought about having the same surgery, she and I have the same frame and her story was identical to mine. So in January of 2013 I began my search again and from there my life was forever changed. I attended a bariatric surgery seminar at Baptist Hospital on March 4, 2013, when I left that seminar I felt determined I was going to have Lap-Band surgery. My mom attended that seminar with me and she had voiced opinion (as mom's often do) "you need to have that gastric sleeve, I think you would benefit more from it." Well of course I shrugged it off and attended my first appointment with Dr. Spaw and guess what he said after reviewing my chart, ""you need to have that gastric sleeve, I think you would benefit more from it. Go home and research it then call me and tell me your decision". So I did and I made the biggest, hardest and most awesome decision of my life. I had gastric sleeve surgery on 9-3-13, I guess mom does know best!! On the day of surgery I weighed 293, today, 4 months later, I am at 235. I was a size 26 just 4 months ago and I am now a size 16, I haven't been this size since high school!!! There were days before surgery and about a month after that I honestly questioned my decision to have this surgery. Did I do the right thing? Can I handle this? The answer was yes. I used Baratric Pal to get me through those hard times. I found encouragement and motivation through the stories, posts and blogs of others. I also attend a support group at my surgery center once a month. I hope that my story encourages someone to take the same leap of faith I took. It will be worth it in the end. I still have 85 pounds to my goal weight and I know I can and will make it. Love, encouragement and hope to you all!!