Chelsey: 102 lbs. Weight Loss

I have never been a skinny person in my whole life! At birth I weighed 9 lb 13.5 oz and was 24 inches long. Neither of my parents are short, skinny, or small-boned, so I just figured that I was meant to be large-boned, tall, and overweight.

Over the years, I tried rabid exercising, starving myself, Nutri-System, Phen-Fen, general dietary restrictions, South Beach, Atkins, and pretty much every formulation of the American Heart Association recommendations in my quest to lose weight. I was sent to a dietitian, but my problem was not my eating, it was my PCOS that was hurting my weight loss options.

I was diagnosed with PCOS at age 26, and had surgery to remove ovarian cysts. After that, I lost nearly 80 lbs in six months. The weight stayed off for nearly five years, but then it crept back on. I figured that having a hysterectomy would do the same thing to my weight that the cyst removal had. I was wrong! Not only did the weight not come off, I continued to gain more.

For me, I reached rock bottom last year while my husband was deployed for six months. During that time, my blood pressure was high enough that I was put on medications, I had chronic pain and numbness in both of my legs, I kept falling down for no reason, and was put on a CPAP for sleep apnea. Due to some of the new medications I was put on for my health conditions, my weight continued to go up and reached the highest it had ever been.

After my neurologist and primary care doctor agreed, I was referred to BMI for consideration for Gastric Bypass. I had the surgery May 3, 2011.

In the eight months since my surgery, I have lost more than 100 lbs and am still losing weight, just more slowly. Even with having a few problems along the way, I would have the surgery again in a heartbeat! I have gained my life back!

Now, I can go hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, off-roading, and all of the other things my husband and I enjoy doing together. He’s had to take the seatbelt straps in on our Baja as they are now too loose and I just bounce around in the seat. I’m off my CPAP, high blood pressure pills, and pretty much everything else. It’s wonderful just having a QUALITY of life again!!!

The wonderful physicians and staff at BMI are so amazing and helpful. They gave me my life back!

If you would be willing to share your weight loss experience, contact us to send your story and pictures.