Making the decision to have bariatric surgery is very difficult. However, I decided to go with it…and this is why. Growing up I was always a thick child. I was never fat or considered overweight. When I was in middle and high school I started having irregular menstrual cycles. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). There were several times where I would have 2 cycles a year, and some cycles would last for 2-3 months. YIKES! This started a downward spiral of weight gain. In my early 20’s I had to have my first dilation and curettage (D&C) operation and was later told I was a pre-diabetic and was placed on metformin as a precaution.
I tried everything to lose weight (Weight Watchers, B12 shots, Atkins, South Beach, Low Carb, Keto, and other doctor supervised weight loss programs. They all worked, but soon as I stopped, I would gain the weight back plus more. I would even workout up to 5 days a week, and would barely drop weight. My PCOS and pre-diabetes status kept me from losing weight no matter how hard I tried and this led to depression. I found an article about Lap-Band and I started researching it. I found a surgeon in my area and decided to go to a seminar. Two weeks later, on 2/17/2012, I was on an operating table for the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). I did not have surgery to lose weight faster, but as a tool to help push me in the right direction. It has been a rough journey ever since…STAY TUNED