Why I Chose the Gastric Sleeve

Obesity resides in the gene pool of my family, but while most of my family gained their weight later in life I was always overweight, even as a child. In my childhood I struggled with my obesity mainly in the socio-emotional world, always worrying about what others thought of me and how that caused me to interact with the world around me. As an adult, though, I began to have different kinds of struggles.

How obesity affected me

The struggles I had with obesity in my adulthood ran deeper than my earlier fears and worries as a child. As I got older and bigger my body began to hurt. My knees hurt and my ankles and feet would hurt if I was standing or walking for very long. Being in my early 20s and already having pain in my joints that I would normally associate with aging bothered me.

The larger I got the less energy and endurance I seemed to have. I would sleep in late if I could or I would often need to nap, sometimes multiple times a day. A "normal" daytime schedule didn’t really accommodate my need for rest and so it began to become a real struggle to make it to the end of the day. I would count the minutes before bedtime and beg the clock to go a little faster.

I just couldn't take it anymore

At this point I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and I was at my heaviest weight. This was the first real health issue that I had that could be attributed to my weight. I figured out that it wouldn’t be long before I would have more even more serious health issues pop up because of my weight no matter how young I was.

Add in to the mix that I was a single mother during this time and my weight made life HARD. Chasing after 2 small children while being obese was like trying to run a race that you aren’t prepared for. All of the problems I had, plus being a mother, created within my body the perfect storm and one day I just couldn’t take being obese anymore.

Losing weight is tough

Through the guidance of my doctor, I did all the things to try and lose weight. I worked out more, I ate better, and I even tried phentermine as a diet pill. I lost some weight, but it was never very significant, and I would yo-yo back and forth. Part of the reason I struggled was the hypothyroidism, but I also struggled because despite eating better, my portion sizes were still much too large to have a significant calorie deficiency.

After about a year of trying to lose a significant amount of weight, my doctor and I discussed the potential for bariatric surgery. Since I had decent insurance at the time, I called and found a surgeon nearby that was in network and began to get the ball rolling for surgery.

I learned more about surgical options

I knew nothing about bariatric surgery going into my first appointment with my surgeon other than what some of coworkers shared after getting it done. I had learned a lot though before the surgery itself. The biggest take away for me is that the surgery itself is nothing but a tool to add to your collection of knowledge for losing weight.

While yes, initially you’ll lose weight due to the gastric sleeve or bypass, if you don’t do the other things you need, like eat right and try to exercise, the weight won’t stay off.

The gastric sleeve was the best decision I could make for myself

I chose the gastric sleeve. And I would choose to do the sleeve again and again. It was the best decision I could make for myself given the hand of cards I’d been dealt. I lost a total of 120 pounds from my highest weight of 320 pounds.

Yes, that means that I’m still technically overweight at 200 pounds, but I’m content with where I’m at right now because I’m still down 120 pounds 10 years later. Many people start to gain weight back well before they reach this point. While I’ve allowed some bad habits back into my life, I’m still really pleased with the results I’ve had over the years.

Losing the extra weight allowed me to raise my older kiddos with some added pep in my step and it’s since allowed me to have 3 more kids and manage to keep up with them as well. Parenting itself is tough, parenting while dealing with obesity and its problems can be even tougher. At least for me it always has been.

Consider all the options

If you’ve been struggling with your weight and have been considering whether or not to pursue gastric surgery, I believe it can be worthwhile to talk to a doctor about your options. In my experience, it was the only option at the time that would give me the results I needed so that my life would change in the drastic ways it needed to. It might not be for you, but it can be helpful start digging around and figuring out what it is that you need and want from your body.