Until I met Dr. Sherman Smith and the Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians (RMAP) team, I could divide my life into three phases. Fat and getting fatter, in the process of losing fat, and trying to keep from getting fat again. I was the biggest baby in the nursery, an adorable pudgy kindergartner, a round rosy faced grade-schooler, and the I bloomed early. Looking back, I was probably just curvy but it sure felt like fat in 7th grade. I moved a lot, had few close friends and was teased and bullied because of my weight.
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I went to college and entered a honeymoon period. While most people were putting on the freshman 15, I lost a freshman 50. It was a battle to keep the weight off, but I had the time and the resources to do it. I graduated, met my husband at an almost normal weight and married. Honeymoon over.
He was and is a great guy, but he was murder on my health. He doesn’t like vegetables, or most fruit. Recipes at his house start with a family sized can of mushroom soup, a container of sour cream, a pound of grated cheese and lots of love. I cooked what he liked and I got fat again. This time it was emotionally devastating, but by then I was pregnant and that was a green light to eat, right?! The next 15 years were rocky and very difficult for many reasons, and I gained 100+ pounds. I started to pull myself out of the funk I was in. I went back to college, got a bachelors and master’s degree and a very rewarding job that I love. Still fat.
Around 2012 my daddy had open heart surgery to replace a heart valve. When the doctor came out to talk to us, he told us the reason my dad would recover was because he cared for his heart and body so well. I was suddenly struck by immense sorrow—if I needed heart surgery or some other major medical intervention, I could give my children no such gift. My body was sick and getting sicker. I talked to my primary care physician who was incredibly supportive and gave me the truth about my current physical state that was hard to hear. The following March, I gave up diet order phentermine online 2014 soda cold turkey as a show of courage to myself. When I was six months “clean”, I reached out to RMAP.
I was blessed to have an insurance carrier who could see I was going to be more expensive without Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass than with it. I was approved with relatively little fight (for which I am grateful) and I had surgery on August 28th, 2013. It is my other birthday.
I was terrified going into surgery, but the nurses and the doctors were so kind. I know many people say that they have very little pain after surgery, and I hope that is the case for most. I was in immense pain, but the nurses worked very hard to help me control it. By the time I went home, I was controlling the pain with minimal narcotics.
If you skip the rest of this and read only one part, read this: Commit to the lifestyle before surgery, and seek a support team. I began a 12 step program for overeaters I worked on my own. I consider the way I eat and behave now sobriety. I exercise my faith, see a therapist, go to support group at RMAP, practice self-talk, and participate actively in the message boards. I am in control of what goes in my mouth, but I am very aware that I need to monitor myself to maintain this.
I wish I could find the words to relay to you the kind of joy this brings me. The tool of Gastric Bypass gave me the ability to hear my body talk to me again. I am not a fat person anymore. I am a runner, a health food nut ,and I’ve given my children the gift of ahealthy mom. I love myself. I fell proud and accomplished because I took difficult steps to get better. It is hard, but you can do it, too.
Best of luck on your journey.
–Anneliese P.
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www.RMAP.com
Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians
801-268-3800
1160 East 3900 South, Suite 4100
SLC, UT 84124