WLS Support

A little about me: my name is Bridget, I am 5'11", and the time of surgery I was 298 pounds. I am a divorced mom with 2 sons, who were 6 and 9 at the time of my procedure February 4, 2004.

I did not do this surgery for vanity reasons; I never once thought about how fantastic my life would be as a thin person, I never daydreamed about running into an ex and having him eat his hurt out for being so mean to me when I was heavy! If you are a person whose priorities are any of the above, you are not ready for such drastic intervention as Gastric Bypass Surgery. Being thin does not make life any easier - it won’t bring you money, fame or success. It will bring on change, some for the better and some is not.

Why did I have surgery?

Well I looked into it for several years, initially Carnie Wilson's surgery peaked my interest. All in all I interviewed 5 Dr.'s, went to countless informational seminars and I kept getting more and more terrified by the risks and kept giving dieting another try. Then it came to a point where my ankles would falter under my weight, my hips ached, my knees hurt, I leaked urine on exertion, my blood pressure and sugars were creeping up fast, and I had already gotten a blood clot in my leg, sadly enough. I was killing ‘me’!

I met a lady at a nightclub, we had a mutual friend. She shared her story with me about her WLS journey and told me about her doctor. I went to his seminar and I was at peace. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, I was tired at failing at dieting, my mother, father, and grandmother all have heart disease and I knew the constant dieting wasn’t good for my heart, and I felt as though I could have a heart attack at any given time. After meeting Dr. Callery and seeing his systems in place, I knew with absolute certainty I could place my life and well being in his hands. I am so glad I did.

What changes did I face?

Depression

I firmly believe that everyone needs to be in support group pre-operatively and post-operatively. Whether it’s a monthly check-in with a therapist, a local face to face group or one on-line, everyone should do it for life. Recently, I discovered I am codependent. A lot of people say "switch addiction," but the real word for that is CODEPENDANCY. What it is, you allow outside things to determine your mood, satisfaction, and worth. For me, it was food. Food determined my feelings, what I ate and how it made me feel or soothed me. After WLS it was prescription drugs and alcohol. When I saw that I was being self destructive I stopped... I could self-analyze because I know I am codependent. Then it became people - I was hosting parties, going to any and every event possible, I became a support group leader, and I over committed me constantly. Why? Because making people happy meant I was happy. I didn’t want to disappoint people, because I did not want to feel bad. It got so out of control as I stopped saying yes; I was riddled with guilt, and felt worthless because I wasn’t doing for others. I found myself in an outpatient treatment program for depression, and I went out of control! What I discovered was this: I didn’t love myself. This is what I work on every day. Being the change I want to see in my life - that will bring me peace and content.

Right now my vice is caffeine; I have to have it all day. I consume so much it interrupts my sleep patterns to the point of having to take sleeping pills in the evening. I'm working on letting it go, but I must get back into a support group. I moved from San Diego to Lancaster, PA in Jan. 08. I didn’t find a group in Lancaster until recently, and I know I need it to help me cope with me. The art of being me, the art of being you is hard. We are our own worst critic and enemy, but I am living life one day at a time. What I do know is that I have the power of choice and that I have today to be the best person I can be.