TDoern

Amanda,

First I have to say you are already making a huge step. You've admitted you have a weight problem and that you might need help losing it.

It's a hard step - I had a long hard fight with myself over WLS. It took forever for me to get over the fact that I couldn't lose weight on my own. I worried I was taking the easy way out. I also worried about what people around me would say, and how they would treat me.

I chose to have the gastric bypass "Roux-en-Y" (RNY). It was the surgery both I, and my surgeon felt would help me the best. There are several different surgery options out there now, as well as surgeons all over the place preforming them. Make sure you look into both your surgeon, and your surgery options before making your choice.

Pre-op I was your typical PCOSer. I was borderline diabetic, insulin resistant, I had really bad excess facial and body hair in the places I wanted none, and thinning hair where I wanted some. I also had severe Irritable Bowel Syndrome (basically non stop trips to the bathroom). Finally I have a spine that is dead set on murdering me, whether I want it to or not, I have degenerative disc disease with my lower lumbar spine fused together, and severe nerve damage in both of my legs from it. My highest weight was 297 pounds, and I'm 5'4ish. I was wearing size 26/28 clothing that was tight and a 48DD/DDD bra.

My main reason for having my WLS was that I want to have kids, adoption is always an option as well, BUT I also wanted to be around to watch my childrens children grow up. Also - my back problems were a major push for the surgery. Having all that extra weight on me was not helping the problems with my spine in any manner.

My surgery was on December 6, 2007 - so less than a year ago. I weighed this morning at 160 pounds. I'm currently wearing size 14 shorts that are falling off of me, and have managed to button size 10 dress pants (not quite small enough to wear them yet, but almost there). I'm also now wearing a 38D bra. My pre-diabetes/IR is gone. Even the ugly brown/black stains on my neck, thighs, and underarms are gone. I did have a period of about two months where my hair fell out - quite a bit - it's a problem some people have post op, however it is now coming in fuller than ever, and healthier than I've ever had it. My extra hair in the wrong places isn't gone, but it is coming in slower and thinner all the time. I'm now also having regular cycles, at about 29 days.

Am I now fertile? I don't know, we aren't trying yet, still have a few months before we're allowed. Now though, I'm having a period all by myself (non-PCOSers don't get what a big deal that is). Pre-op though even with provera they weren't always able to get me to have a cycle, and if I did have one it was very very light and just spotting.

Is my back all better? No. At the same time, in February another disc decided it was giving up, and either ruptured or is bulging (they can't tell due to the metal already in my spine). BUT - in February I was 40ish pounds (at least) down - I can't imagine how much worse the new injury would have been if I still had all that extra weight on me. WLS can't fix my spine, but I know that things will get worse quicker the more weight that I have on me.

Would I go back and have the WLS again? In a heartbeat. I want to grow old with my husband, and hopefully my children. I have a scary family history of heart problems, diabetes, and severe obesity. I hope to avoid those if at all possible.

Feel free to check out the WLS Diva's thread - It's in the Diet/Exercise forum, in the Diet/Exercise Buddy area. We would all be more than happy to share our stories with you, and any info we can help you with. Also - there are all sorts of websites dedicated to WLS. You can also do a google for WLS and diabetes and find a great deal of information. Right now there is strong proof that WLS can eliminate diabetes and a ton of research being done on those topics. The same thing applies for WLS and PCOS. Another site for information is ObesityHelp.com. It's a site dedicated to helping people overcome obesity and the various options. There are forums by state and location where you can read other peoples experiences with various surgeons, surgeries, and hospitals. People there are also more than happy to share their stories with you.

Sorry I rambled so much, hope some of this was useful.
Tammy

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