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I want to offer a special thanks to
Christina King for sharing her honesty and success with us.
Here is her story:
Dear Barbara,
My name is Christina King. I'm 36 and about 15 months
post-op. Though I am still new to this whole thing, I feel
like a huge success, most days.
I, like many
others, was very thin when I was young. I was sexually
molested by my great uncle from the age of 4 until I was 12.
When this finally came out in the open, I had to deal with
the shame, and the weight gain that followed.
I weighed
about 140 to 150 lbs. all through middle school and was made
fun of all the time. High school
was harder, but I still never weighed more then 170 lbs. I
spent my college years gaining and losing, mostly gaining.
I met my
husband Kevin in 1996 when I weighed 177 lbs. Kevin had 2
children from a previous marriage. I always wanted a child
of my own, so we decided to start a family. I was gaining so
much weight that I wasn't ovulating properly. I would
menstruate for 6 to 8 months solid. The days of it finally
coming to an end were wonderful, except I would only stop my
period for a few days, and it would start all over again. It
was horrible to deal with, and I felt like a failure. I
finally decided to do something about it.
My health
wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst. I just wanted to
avoid the worst as soon as possible. So, I made my
appointments and started my weight loss surgery journey. I
elected to have the standard RNY gastric bypass. It was the
best option for me because of my horrendous sweet tooth.
My highest
weight was 298 lbs, with a BMI of 51. I was instructed to
lose some weight before surgery, and at the final weigh-in
prior to my surgery, my weight was 272 lbs.
The day after
surgery, I noticed a pain in my back that wasn't there
before. I mentioned it, and they stated that it should go
away, and that it was probably just gas. It wasn't gas. I
had to be referred to a pain
clinic, and was given strong narcotics to help ease
the pain. Now I have exchanged my addiction for food to pain
pills. However, I do know that it is not uncommon for other
addictions to rear their ugly heads, such as gambling, sex,
or shopping. Mine is pain killers. I do admit my faults. I
am open about my addiction, so that others dealing with
their own addictions will not feel ashamed about what has
happened to them. I struggle with this still. I still have
back pain, and go to a different
pain clinic. The addiction is there, but not as
intense as it once was. I have good days and bad days.
Within a few
months after surgery, I was still adjusting, and was finally
getting the hang of how much I could eat. I did have to be
treated for an ulcer. So far that is the only complications
I had.
Here are my
humble words of advice. If you want to just lose weight
fine, but if you want to be healthier and more productive as
a result of your weight loss, follow your doctor’s orders,
don't just blow them off. I started off very badly. I did
not see my bariatric surgeon like I should have, I did not
eat like I should have, I did not take all my vitamins like
I should have, and I am paying the price for it now. I am
anemic, low iron, so I now suffer from
restless leg syndrome due to
a lack of iron. When I take my iron though, my legs do not
hurt, and I can sleep normally. I have a Vitamin D
deficiency. I have to get B-12 shots monthly, because I did
not take my B-12 like I was supposed to, and I took my daily
multi-vitamin when I felt like it, which wasn’t every day. I
didn't exercise due to just being lazy.
I wish I had
taken better care of myself directly after the surgery, but
now that I am seeing that it’s paying off, I do. I take my
vitamins every day, faithfully. I no longer just sit around;
I walk a lot, and do much more physical activity.
The reason I
had my surgery was simple: to ovulate and to try to start a
family. I have recently noticed a pattern,
I am ovulating properly
now! This was the reason for my surgery, to
be able to have a family.
I am now 15
months post-op and I weigh 155 lbs. I feel great, and I have
energy I never knew was there. So, with that being said, I
feel I am a success story. I ovulate!!!!
My bariatric
team and I never discussed a weight goal, but I made a
personal goal of 170 lbs. When I hit that mark, I was
thrilled. Also, when I hit the 177 lb. mark, I was over the
moon. That is what I weighed when I met my husband for the
first time. So, that weight goal of 177 lbs. meant more to
me then the personal goal of 170 lbs.
To date I
have lost 143 lbs., and I am a new me. I still see a heavy
girl in the mirror, but I am working on that. I just know
that if I had kept up with what my surgeon told me from the
first day, I would be much better off now. But I am happy
with where I am, and with who I am.
Some people
really thought I was taking the easy road, and I have proven
them wrong on more than one occasion. They see that I drool
for food that I can only take a few bites of, they see me
cook for hours and see me take a few bites of it, and they
see me in agony while I dump. They all say, "Look at what
the surgery has done to you!" I tell them "I do see, and I
wouldn't change a thing! I can sit normally. I can take
those few bites and realize I don't need any more of it. I
can fit into normal people's clothes. I am a healthier me,
and I wouldn't change a thing. I am a better person than I
was, and I take care of myself better than I ever have. I
love it!" They are taken aback, but after they see all the
good that has come from my surgery, they realize they were
simply misinformed about the procedure, and what it does and
does not do for a person. It is a tool that I did not use
properly in the beginning; I was using it the wrong way.
Thank you for
your newsletter and for letting me share my story.
Christina King
kcking_mi@yahoo.com
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Congratulations Christina |
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Eat foods that are rich in B12 and folic acid. Foods rich
in B12 include meats, fish, poultry and dairy. Foods rich in folic
acid include beans and greens. Good choices would be chili, a
burrito made with beans plus chicken or beef, or a spinach salad
topped with grilled chicken or salmon.
