hburns89

I'm Heather!  I'm 29 years old and I'm morbidly obese with Type II Diabetes and Hypertension among other things
I've been pursuing weight loss surgery for almost 4 years now and finally decided to really buckle down and get all pre-op requirements completed about 8 months ago.  It's been a really long and difficult process but on 03/04/2019 I received my approval from the surgical coordinator as well as my surgery date.
I've been overweight basically my entire life.  When I was in my pre-teens I wasn't unhealthy but I was bigger than my peers; I also developed very early which didn't really help.  When I was 15 years old I would say that's when the weight really started piling on, my mother and I were told by my pediatrician that I had high cholesterol and I was about 40 pounds overweight at which point I was put on Jenny Craig.  I stayed on Jenny Craig for about 2 years and actually lost all 40 pounds but I had developed pretty bad eating habits on top of battling my mental illness. 
When I was 18 I started dating my husband and ended up getting off Jenny Craig and then gaining 40+ pounds back.  I ended up yo-yoing between 200-250 pounds for the next 7 years and even shooting up to 280+ around 2012-2013, I joined Weight Watchers around that time and lost about 60-80 pounds. 
In 2014 we decided to try for a family with instant success and I was doing great but ended up developing Gestational Diabetes and opted to control it via diet instead of taking insulin.  I only gained about 10 pounds during my pregnancy but there was arterial notching and signs of Preeclampsia towards the end of my 9 months and the amniotic fluid had significantly increased as well so I was induced ASAP at 39 weeks and my daughter was born the very next day at 11:30AM.  When my blood sugar gained some stability it was almost like a free for all, I ate everything I couldn't have for the second half of my pregnancy and I kept telling myself I'd get back into my healthy eating lifestyle but I underestimated the stress of being a first time mother.  I was adamant about breast feeding but unfortunately there were latching issues and I had to pump and supplement with formula, then pumping became an issue when I developed rashes on my breasts from the suction cups at which point I switched my daughter fully to formula.  I also developed postpartum depression and sadly never sought out the help I should have which led to a 1 year struggle with depression and bonding with my child.  I ate a lot during that first year and by March 2015 only a few months after giving birth I became Pre-Diabetic, I tried to change my eating habits but I didn't have much success. 
Now in 2019 I'm still struggling with my weight and I've hit an all time high of 290+ pounds.  I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes in July 2018 and tried my hardest to finally get back on track and lower my A1c but after a few weeks I fell off again and I spiraled into a depression, accepting my fate that my life would be significantly shortened and I was getting ready to make an appointment with my Endo to get on insulin when I received an email from the surgical coordinator at St. Agnes Hospital Bariatric Center asking me if I was still interested in pursuing weight loss surgery (I had attended the seminar and met with the surgeon the year before but decided to try and lose weight naturally), I took this as a sign and ended up emailing her back and fully dedicating myself to this process.
I've been through so many hardships throughout my life, as most of us do, and I'm ready to move on and become who I'm meant to be.  I've spent so much time trying to do this on my own and now that I'm going to have the tools to actually help push me towards success I feel more confident than I ever have.
I'm doing this for myself and my health but also for my family and especially my daughter, I want to be around for her and be the best version of myself that I can be and that she deserves.