BEFORE & AFTER GALLERY

Peggy M

Procedure: Gastric Sleeve

Overweight and stricken with health issues at 50 my golden years looked bleak at best that is if I didn’t die before they started.

High blood pressure, pre diabetes, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, possible Lupus, nerve pain, migraines, medication side effects and hypothyroidism are in the top of the list of conditions that I carried from doctor to doctor.

How I got to my highest weight can be summed up to say, stress was killing me. Our details of stress can be different but what it does to our body is the same.

My stress started in childhood and so did my bad relationship with food. As the stressful situations changed as I got older the food relationship only got worse. I believe I had tried every diet and not one had long lasting results and I was always left heavier and emotionally drained.

As my physical and emotional roller coaster spiraled out of control the stresses of life only got worse. A sick child, the death of a child, my husbands heart attack was the final stressor that started the shutting down of my body. The previous few years before his heart attack I tried to eat right. I made better food choices and went gluten free. However the portion sizes I was eating could have fed a family of 3. When the reality of death became clear I realized I needed to do something different.

I couldn’t get out of bed most days, I couldn’t cook for my family, I couldn’t walk to the mailbox to get the mail, I was in so much pain every day. When my husband had his heart attack and could not return to work because of the damage to his heart was too great to go back to work, I applied for disability.

I’m not sure when I had the conscious thought to have bariatric surgery but I am so glad I did. After much research DFW Bariatrics were my choice and the best decision I ever made. Their staff is amazing! I was most impressed that some of the staff were Bariatric patients too. This spoke volumes to me. What I experience every time I go there is a family environment, caring understanding and helpful. In addition, yes there is more. The support group community is one of a kind and out of this world amazing. I may have made the best choice to have WLS, but choosing DFW Bariatrics was the best decision of my life… The sleeve they gave me is a tool. I got more than a tool. I got a support family that has been with me every day and every step of the way.

My WLS journey for the last 10 months has been amazing. Eating the right food, the right amount, not drinking and eating within 30 minutes of each other and following the book the doctors gave me along with exercise gave me results. I was never alone. I have to date lost 97 lbs and that alone would be worth having the surgery, but I am not done sharing my success just yet.

Remember my list of diseases and health problems I started with? Well I am happy to report that I am no longer suffering from pre-diabetes, I am in a very low dose of blood pressure medicine (start 160’s/96 to 128/80), I no longer snore or suffer from sleep apnea, I have not had a migraine since surgery and the joint pain for my fibromyalgia is better with all the weight gone. I have never been so active or felt so good.

My life is still stressful but how I manage it is so different. I now exercise when stressed. You can find me daily in the KBI support group cheering on and being cheered for. I am now looking forward to my amazing golden years.

Thank you to DFW Bariatrics staff and support group. I admire, respect and love you all.