Tawni_K

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 Hi everyone   I'm going to use this first entry to introduce myself and explain how I happened upon the gastric bypass path.  I am 24 years old, and live in South Africa. My dad was Dr Fetter's (A well known south african bariatric surgeon) first gastric bypass patient, five years ago, so I have seen gastric bypass from the outside. He lost a lot of weight (about 120pounds). He has since gained a quite a lot of weight back, but that is purely due to bad habits and not following the rules.    I have been slowly putting on weight since I can remember, probably around the age of 9. I have never been able to loose weight, apart from a loss of about 40pounds in 2009 when I had gall stone, and a gall bladder removal, and was ill for along time, and physically couldn't keep anything down. I am 5.5ft (I think, I am sitting here using a converter changing from cm's and kg's to feet and pounds, so I apologise if my number, or the way I say it is incorrect) and weigh 252 pounds, which makes my BMI around 42ish I think.    So, having seen my dad go through gastric bypass (RNY) it has always been in the back of my mind that I may have to one day resort to that, but it has never been a clear vision, and I also never thought of asking my parents to pay for it. As far as I know, the surgery here is about R120 000 if medical aid/insurance doesn't cover it. So, its alot to fork out.   However, the surgery became more of a reality to me this year, in October. I have been suffering from daily nausea. No matter what I eat, or when I eat it, or how much I eat, I would feel terribly ill and have to lie down. It would be even worse if I didn't eat. I had been to gastroentorologists, dietitians, a normal general practitioner (I think would you guys over seas would call a PCP?), lactose intolerance tests, and had had no luck in discovering what it was. Finally, after having had to swallow a camera again, they discovered that the doctor who did my gall bladder removal surgery did a shoddy job and now the bile is collecting my stomach. Without being too graphic, the photos the doc took of my insides have this bright yellow glow from all the bile. So, having discovered that my tummy is full up with bile, I was put on a series of vile medication which did nothing. Finally I went back to my PCP and asked for a new anti-nausea medication (the type they give to chemo patients to just ease it for a bit) and he told me that a family member of his, had had the same bile problem, and had had RNY surgery, which stops the bile from collecting the stomach (it doesn't go anywhere near the pouch) and will not allow for the bile to reflux up, which is what is making me feel so grotty. And so...off to the endocrinologists I went.    Thank goodness I went, because they feel that I am an excellent candidate :) I obviously need to loose the weight, but the mandatory blood tests also highlighted a number of health reasons why RNY will be good for me, conditions I was not aware of, namely:  - Pre-diabates  - High cholesterol  - Underactive thyroid  - Fatty Liver Disease The endocrinologists also explained that the specific psychiatric medication I take ( I am Bipolar Type II), in well known for interfering with the part of the brain that regulates satiety. So basically, it messes up the chemical processes in my brain that tell my body I'm full, as well as which signal to the body that it has enough nutrients and can burn the excess fat (That is how I understood what she explained)   So basically, to sum it up - I have MANY MANY reasons why this surgery will be good for me, and also, very little hope of loosing the weight on my own!    So, I hope this entry wasn't too terribly boring, I just thought it would be good to explain my situation and how I got to where I am now :) My surgery will be 15 February 2012 and I can't wait for this new chapter in my life to begin!