Jeanette Hagar
My story is not exactly like most that I have heard. I was born somewhat underweight. I was always quite small as a child. I grew up in a very active environment that included training and showing horses, snow skiing and then snowboarding, water skiing, softball, volleyball, and other sports. I was not overweight as a child. I was not overweight as a young adult. It was not until my early 20's, when many put on the 'freshman 15' that I put on the 'freshman 100'. Neither my activity levels (still quite high), nor my eating habits (I have never been a big eater), had changed. The weight continued to pack on with many confused doctors either disbelieving me when I explained how I lived or blaming it on hormone imbalances. I did have PCOS and most doctors are torn between claiming that fat is a symptom or a cause. Of course, the weight did manage to lover my activity levels, as it became harder and harder to do the things I loved. My medical insurance was an unstable thing, so my medical care was spotty at best, though I'd started researching wls a long time ago. At my heaviest, I was around 350. Like most, I lost and gained through this diet or that, though my body never responded in normal ways. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful husband who had known me thinner if not thin and was supportive through weight gain and loss.
My weight was not really that much of a concern. It was preventing me from doing some of the things I loved, and it was preventing me from having a child... something that did concern me greatly. The strain on my joints and back were making life very difficult, but I still likely would not have taken the drastic step of surgery. A bit over three years ago, I even lost around 100 lbs, though I could claim no credit. Again, it looked like my hormones were playing tricks on me, as I'd not changed my eating nor my activity. It was not until last October when I got my first round of Pancreatitis... they still don't know what caused it, but the result was diabetes... something that has left my mother in my care at 63 and my father dead at 55. To make it worse, the hormone imbalances made me incredibly insulin resistant and I could not get my sugars under control. I had another bout of pancreatitis in April of this year... they know no more about the cause. They removed the Gall Bladder. Though I'd only had diabetes for less than a year, I quickly developed complications. I have neuropothy in my feet up to my calves and I have severe retinopathy as well as swelling of the optic nerve. I did more research and spoke to several different specialists and they all agreed that wls was the only effective option, so I began to research and found a surgeon in May. I'm expecting my surgery on October 27 barring complications with my weight.
