My Gastic Bypass Fiasco

During my lifetime I must have lost and gained 1000 pounds. I succeeded and then failed on every diet imaginable. The weight comes off and then, despite my absolute determination, it comes right back again. I have clothing from a size 6 to a size 20. And I don't want to throw anything away because I never know what size I'm going to be next season. That, coupled with the fact that my weight had caused Type 2 diabetes, led me to have a Roux-N-Y Gastric Bypass.

I was sure this would be the solution to the weight problem and the diabetes. It took a year from the time I began asking my doctors to get an authorization from the insurance company to do this until the surgery actually occurred. It was done laproscopically which means they only cut seven very small holes to do the entire procedure. It went well. That's when I bought the size 6 clothes. I was smaller than I had ever hoped to be or imagined I could be. It was nothing less than amazing. So the fact that the diabetes didn't go away, or even improve, was an acceptable disappointment. And for the next three years I felt good and smiled a lot.

The weight began to creep back on. I figured I would put back a few pounds. That would be ok. Then I entered a very stressful time and was home a lot. And so I ate, as I always had when stressed in the past. More weight came on and I stretched the little pouch they had made my stomach into. I started have heart palpations, severe dizziness, losing my sight and passing out. I would recover feeling tired but fine. I was hospitalized and the diagnosis was Dumping Syndrome. The food was going directly into the intestine without being worked on by the stomach at all so no sugar could be metabolized causing my symptoms. That was three years ago and after many different medications and diet alterations I now must take a monthly shot that costs $2000.00. My insurance is paying most of it. If I ever lose my insurance I will be in real trouble.

I have gained back about 30 pounds. That's a little less than half of the loss which was 70 pounds at its best. Those size 6 things have been hung in the back of the closet. Size 14-16 takes front space. I can't really eat out because I still get sick when I eat if I am not very careful. Business lunches cause me to panic. I've learned to eat very little when I'm out and that seems to be fine.

So before you go for the ultimate diet, the Gastric Bypass, make sure you are ready for complications. Regaining weight is common. And just like every other diet you've failed on, you can fail on this one too. It is not the final fix. And if you have not changed the way you use food you will continue to over eat and the results might be similar to mine.