David Nanny
I come from a family with a history of obesity. Everything revolved around food. When we were happy, we ate; sad, we ate; bored, we ate. Needless to say, there is also a family history of heart disease, diabetes and strokes.
When I discovered I was considered morbidly obese, I was shocked. I had honestly never thought of myself as that fat, despite being overweight my whole life and consistently having doctors encourage me to lose weight. My diet-battle began when I was six years old. My mom was attending Diet Center, and they placed me in the program as well. Throughout the remainder of my pre-teen and teen years, I tried all types of diets, including prescription weight-loss drugs and even Phen-Fen. At the age of 18, I began having symptoms of high blood-pressure but the doctors assumed it was nerves and did nothing about it. This continued until I was 25 and doctors finally diagnosed me with high blood pressure and put me on medication. In addition, I was borderline diabetic. However, these are only the physical complications of my obesity. I also suffered from depression and had next-to-no self-esteem.
I joined my sister, who was also obese, in looking into options for losing weight. Having had an aunt who unsuccessfully had her stomach stapled, we did not even consider surgery until the nurse at the school where we worked informed us that she had had a gastric bypass several years earlier. She looked great and her health was next to perfect. She encouraged us to look into the procedure. After some research, my sister was gung-ho and had the operation immediately. I was a little more reluctant. I loved food and was not sure that I wanted to give it up. I prayed about it and went back and forth between whether or not I should have surgery.
Seeing my sister have a very successful operation and recovery made me lean towards having the surgery, but I was still reluctant. After making the decision to have it done, I was scheduled for surgery only two days later! Yes, two days! Having known people who had trouble getting scheduled, I took this as a sign and decided to go for it. That is a decision I have never regretted.
In the beginning, I had minor complications and had to return to the operating room a few weeks after the initial surgery. Even with all of the complications, the changes that resulted made the entire process worth it and I would do it again tomorrow.
Throughout the process, my entire family completely supported me – even those cousins who were jealous that I could have it done. I never heard a discouraging word – they were all truly amazing! The hospital and its staff were also incredible. I had my initial surgery at Main Methodist and the follow-up was at Methodist Specialty and Transplant. I had such a good hospital experience – both hospitals and the care I received at each were wonderful.
This surgery has changed my life in so many ways. My life was given back to me. In a way, I got to start over. The physical changes are obvious. Before the surgery, I weighed 373 lbs. I now weigh 192 lbs, making my total weight loss 180 lbs. A few months after my surgery, I joined a gym and have continued to work out regularly 3-5 times per week. I no longer take medication for high blood pressure and I no longer need the breathing machine I used at night for sleep apnea. Not only am I not on the machine, I no longer snore at all.
The first few weeks after surgery were terribly difficult for me. For so much of my life, I depended on food. When I could no longer depend on it, it almost felt as if I had to deal with the loss of my closest friend. However, as time went by, I became more accustomed to my new way of eating. I began to realize that food was not everything. Before the surgery, I would go out to eat and some friends would just happen to be there. After the surgery, I would go out with friends and we might have something to eat. I still crave sugary foods from time to time, but I now realize that there is more to life than eating.
Of course my eating patterns have changed, but so has everything else. I now have confidence that I never had before. I am no longer afraid to speak up for myself and am more assertive. I feel like a person now. I actually like myself now.
For the most part, my relationships have improved, but there are some relationships that may not be able to be helped. Overweight friends have said that I am a sell-out and act somewhat jealous of my success. I just have to tell myself that I did not do this for them or their approval. I have more fun now with my friends because I actually feel like going out and doing things. I am much more outgoing and make friends easily. I am also now dating – something that I had not done much of before the weight loss.
I have more energy to work. Being a teacher, my job is very active, and I now have the drive to actively participate with my students. I have made some enemies, though, because I now speak up and don’t let coworkers take advantage of me as I once did.
I would have the surgery again in a heartbeat. The only thing I would do differently would be to better prepare myself for the drastic changes in my life that came with weight loss surgery.
I would like to tell prospective patients to follow their hearts. The surgery may not be for everyone, but it saved my life. I am now the happy, healthy person that I always wanted to be.