After many years of hearing this one say, oh, I had a gastric bypass, I would look at
them and think are you crazy!!!
This seemed so scary to me. About 2 years ago my daughter said she was thinking about having one and I said to my
then 29 year old daughter, absolutely not!!! I am afraid for you. Well, because she and her husband were expecting, she
dropped it, golly was I glad. Then I watch both my granddaughters, one is 4 and one is a year old. Guess what guggy
(what my 1st born granddaughter calls me) decided I couldn’t keep up with them. I am soooo tired, I hurt, I am
constantly trying to run after them.
Well, on April 10 2007 I had my gastric, now it took me almost a year to decide to do it and then had to apply and be
approved. I all of a sudden wanted it soooo bad. Thing is I wanted so bad to approved, and so bad to not be approved!!!
Sounds stupid huh? Well after being a prime candidate, all the test showed my heart was in terrific shape, all my tests
came back and wowed the dr.s. then I was really scared! My approval came the last few days of February, my count
down started, I kept thinking, should I or should I not? The only people who knew I was having it done until about 3 days
before was my husband and daughter. I told my small family 3 days before and got a great reaction! I have had such
great support.
I was in surgery for 8 hours, I had a little scar tissue from a gall bladder operation when in was 17 years old. That was
the hold up. When I woke up in the recovery room, all I could see were the feet of people across from me and I thought
to myself, well, they don't have toe tags, I must be alive. Then a nurse spotted me looking around and said, hey, your
awake, everything went great and we were just waiting to take you to your room now that you are alert. When I got to
my room there were my husband (who I couldn't have gotten through this without him) my daughter and my youngest
granddaughter. They were never so happy to see me, and I them. I started crying and saying thank you lord, for letting
me make the right decision and for getting me through this.

Everything went well, I was released 2 days after. Now I just couldn't eat anything, jello, ice, popsickles. All I could do
was drink water, I had the gas bubbles that are expected, and my back hurt!!!! My husband would sit beside me and rub
my back and pat my back like a baby and it really helped. Then after waiting 2 days and showering, I felt like a million
bucks. As the days passed, I still couldn't eat. I neglected to tell you I am diabetic. The assistant dr. To my main dr.
Decided to change my insulin. I asked him 3 times not to change it, I know my body and have had diabetes for 17 years.
He got very indignant, and stated, I am the dr. Not you. So I said, ok. Then after being home for about 10 days I
started throwing up for 25 hours. I called and told the office I was desperately sick, they said come to the emergency
room. I was dizzy, confused, dehydrated, and wasn't aware as to where I was. When I got to the ER. They knew I was
coming, my husband left me off at the door and I went in and sat, I couldn’t sign anything to let them know who I was
then my husband came in and notified them. They took me back and said to my husband get her shirt off stat!! A nurse
pulled my pants off and the quickly laid me back on the cart and started to work on me. My husband told me all of this I
had no memory of anything. I was so dehydrated they couldn't even get any blood out of me. They started I v's and
poured me full of potassium because I didn't hae a readable level. They waited 2 hours on getting me re-hydrated, and
then I came back to and realized what was going on. Then ER doctor came in and was talking with me, and said I was
just minutes from going into diabetic coma.

Talk about scared!! Well I was in intensive care for 5 days, but the day after I was admitted the assistant doctor came in
and I read him the riot act!!! There was nurse in my room at all times for a couple of days and I said it in front of her, I
told him that the main dr told me he was going to graduate in may. Well I informed him he was not going to make a good
dr.

Because he didn't listen to his patients, he was arrogant, and in my opinion from what I had observed, he was prejudiced
against heavy people, and most of all he didn't seem to value a woman’s opinion, in all honesty he was from a foreign
country. He actually stood there and listened to me, and then he looked at me and said I am sorry you were right, turned
and walked out the door and the nurse looked stunned!! She said, no one has ever heard that Doctor say he was sorry
for anything (and he had made boo boos in the past) she said you are my hero. I felt better. Anyhow, after all of that I
came home and started to feel fantastic in about a week after I got my strength back. My birthday is June 1st and I had a
goal, I wanted to lose 50 pounds by then, but I missed it by 2 days, on June 3rd I stepped on the scale and it said 50
pound loss, yahoooooo!!! But then for the next three weeks I didn't lose anything, not one ounce. I was scared and
worried, but a retired nurse explained to me that losing so much weight in only 7 or 8 weeks shocked my body and my
body said oh no, we are staving and we are not going to give any more weight up, which made sense to me. It has been
12 weeks and I have lost a total of 58lbs. It is starting to move again. For being so scared of having the operation, and
never think that I would be the one to do it. I am so glad I have watched my clothes get bigger and we are going to a
wedding tomorrow, and I actually can look in to the mirror and say, hey you aren't done yet, but you are starting to look
ok. I still want to lose about another 70 lbs but now I am riding my bike in a park and I can ride about 2 or 3 miles which
is amazing for me my 4yr old granddaughter keeps right up with me and encourages me to go a little farther guggy!! I
exercise, and walk.
I know I will make it, but I am going to have to work every pound off. I hear of people saying " oh, the weight just fell off
and I didn't even exercise," I just want to slap them. Ha ha. My husband said I will appreciate my weight loss because
I am working hard to accomplish my goal. Even if you think you are thinking about it do it!!! It will change your life for
the better. My sugar readings are about 90 to 120 now. My blood pressure is perfect, my cholesterol is perfect. What a
difference it has made in my life.

Love to you all Luann

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