Hello! My name is Merayna and I am 20 years old. I had the gastric sleeve surgery done in Mexico at Obesity Control Center in Tijuana. I hit my highest weight a month before I had surgery done which was 238 lbs. I made it to 226 lbs for surgery and almost 4 months post-op I have gotten down to 186 lbs. I never knew how big of a difference 50 pounds could make on not only my face and my body but my confidence as well. Thankfully, I haven't experienced any bad side effects from surgery other than the expected hair loss that has recently started. (*knock on wood*) I can say that before surgery I did struggle with Type 2 Diabetes, High Triglycerides, Hypothyroidism, and PCOS. After surgery, my diabetes has gotten a lot better and my doctor is pretty confident that I won't have to take my metformin for much longer but we will see.
Something that I seem to struggle with some days is "reverse" body dysmorphia. When I look at myself in the mirror or in new pictures I still see the exact same girl I was before I started losing weight. In my eyes, my body has always looked the way it does now even when I was 50 lbs heavier. Then I compare the old photos and the new ones and it shocks me because I saw myself as way thinner than how I actually looked at the time.
This surgery has truly changed my life. I wake up with more energy, I love taking photos now and dressing up, I eat better and take care of myself better, and I honestly feel like a brand new person. I am halfway to my goal of 140 lbs and I can't wait to be the healthier version of myself that I have always wanted to become.