Well, I'm not sure how to go about the introduction her so I'll just say some stuff.
Hello, I'm Cameron, 25 years old and a professional photographer/videographer for two years now and I love it. Being creative is really my passion.
My hobbies include cars, video games, and don't laugh too hard... Live Action Roleplay!
My starting weight was my highest ever recorded weight of 327 lbs
I lost 25 lbs during my presurgery workup and am now on a one week full liquid diet (losing more than 5% before this time got me out of two weeks) with 1 day of clear liquids on 3/11/18. I'm just finishing up my third day of full liquids. I feel a bit tired, but nothing I can't handle.
A little background about me:
I started considering WLS when I was 22, two years before I had lost 86 lbs through calorie restriction diets and had now gained 100 lbs since the weight loss. I want to blame the stress of college and the freedom of living alone. Really though I just didn't seem to care. I ate bad for every meal, I didn't kid myself by sprinkling in some nice conscious eating. Bad move me... So anyway I went to an information sat through the whole business and the other people there really put me off. People complaining about giving up caffeine, not smoking, all their pain and what not. At the time, I felt young and spry even if I was 285 lbs I didn't feel unhealthy I just felt large. So I decided not to do it, I did a lots of short fad diets and every time I finished I would "reward" myself with a large meal, which just turned into every meal. So I gain 42 lbs over the next 2 years. An average day of eating for me was two cheeseburgers and a large fry from Mcdonald's and then a big deep fried burrito with various snacks between. Sometimes I "just" ate a family size pizza for a day.
Well, I started to feel bad, like really bad. Chronic headaches, my back, knees, shoulders, elbows EVERYTHING hurt. Personal hygiene had gotten difficult I had to shower twice a day so I didn't smell like a horse. So I contacted the bariatric surgery center at my hospital here in Salem, Oregon and got started. I did some online info session (yay, no people to put me off) and attended some support groups with people pre-op and post-op (some people were still off putting, big complainers IMO but I don't want to seem like a jerk or rude.) I met with my surgeon and he had me get a GP. I hadn't seen a doctor besides my dentist and optometrist in 6 years. I had labs done and all sorts of checkups, like we all do, and it turned out I have stage 2 hypertension, vitamin D deficiency, and a low amount of good cholesterol. Most of which explained why I felt like crap! I am scared senseless by surgery and even the smallest idea of a complication makes me nervous, and I almost opted again to not do this. I continued my workups because I have some great insurance, and my initial weight loss diet stalled at 305 lbs. After a month of being 305 I decided, the sleeve was the tool for me. So I became set on getting this surgery and starting my new healthier life. Everyone at my surgery center are great, but there is one thing I still can't seem to get over. Everyone is always asking me if I'm excited for my surgery.
The answer is no, I'm soooo scared, I want to be put on the table and it to be done. I'm mad at myself for getting to where I am and to be excited about the surgery feels wrong to me. I'm not excited that I need surgical intervention to get healthier, but I am happy that I have the chance to be in control of my life afterward and I am happy I got as lucky as I did with only having minor health issues.
Sorry if this was too long for an introduction, but this is obviously a major thing for all of us. I hope I can be helpful in this community in the future.
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