In Michigan, and probably everywhere, they are really messing with teachers' salary and benefits. In our district, we have always taken very little in the way of a pay increase in order to keep decent benefits. When I heard they might be messing with our benefits, I decided to have a surgery this summer. My initial plan was to have a hysterectomy. I have uterine fibroids that cause me some problems. But then I was worried about the safety of that surgery, with all of my excess weight. Last year I lost 30 pounds doing Weight Watchers, but I was not able to sustain it, and gained 15 back. I made numerous attempts to start up again, but was not able to keep it going. Plus I was really tired this year and not motivated to work out. So then I considered doing what I never thought I would do, bariatric surgery. I have had friends and family who have had a variety of procedures. Some of them had problems with vitamin malabsorption. Some had other problems. But most notably, every single one of them has kept the weight off, and despite any problems they had, every one said that if they could make the choice all of again, that they would do it, and it has changed their life.
When I mentioned it to my regular doctor, he was thrilled and gave me the name of a great surgeon. Then three other people happened to mention his name, so I knew that it a good sign that it was meant to be. So I called and made an appointment. I won't go into a lot of details, because I don't think it's that interesting, but basically I did all of the things I needed to do to get approved (seminar, psych evaluation, physical exam, lab work, etc.).
So quite quickly I was approved for the surgery. I do not have too many health problems. I have no diabetes, high blood pressure (some high readings, but not consistently), sleep apnea, etc. I do have varicose veins in my legs, some arthritis in my feet, an overactive bladder (probably related to the fibroid), and I am tired A LOT. What got me approved so quickly is that my BMI is over 40. I am not prepared to say my weight at this time, but I will say that my BMI is 45 so you could probably figure it out if you really wanted to! :-)
My surgery is set for July 12th at Grosse Pointe Beaumont, formerly Bon Secour. It is a smaller hospital, but it's nice because they have an area set aside just for bariatric patients. The procedure I am having is called vertical sleeve. Basically he is taking my stomach which is a football shape down to a tube shape. I do believe they said they are removing 75% of my stomach, and also taking out a hunger hormone (I believe called Grehlin) that is in the area of the stomach that they are removing. There is no re-routing of anything, so there will be much less, if any, risk of vitamin malabsorption.
By the way, I posted this picture of myself at a wedding one week ago today. I put it on here because I really like it. I want to say that I do not "hate myself" for the way that I look. I have been extremely overweight since I've been about 25, and I am 42 years old right now. At this weight I have worked through my career and furthering my education, buying a house, lots of vacations, having two babies, celebrating births and adoptions in our family, and I would not change any of it. I just want to be able to do more. My main goal is to be able to do MORE with my girls as they are becoming teenagers: bike rides, rides at Cedar Point, maybe roller and ice skating (though they were never my favorite things to do, I'd like the option!), and so much more. This is not so much about looks, but about feeling good, more energy, and getting more out of life. About finally being successful at my attempts to lose weight, one last time, having more assurance that my hard work is going to pay off.
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