On November 13, 2007 I had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. This is the story of my journey to health.

Just like everyone else – over-eating and under-exercising is what brought me to morbid obesity. But when I was ready to lose the excess weight, I found I was faced with an insurmountable task that I couldn’t tackle on my own. With a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which created insulin resistance and a hormonal imbalance, my body simply would not allow me to lose the weight I tried so hard to lose. After years of failed dieting, exercise that made little difference and the advice of my ill-informed family doctor to “just try harder,” I was at the end of my rope.

I consulted with Dr. Obeid at Hurley Bariatric Center and realized that with medical intervention I finally had a real option to get healthy. I made the agonizing decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery. The approval process took nearly a year and a half, which gave me plenty of time to be 110% sure it was the right option for me.  Because of the prolonged approval process, I missed the opportunity for Dr. Obeid to perform my surgery, but Dr. Farhan stepped in and did an outstanding job for me.

After a quick recovery from surgery the real work began. Imagine suddenly having the stomach of a newborn infant and needing to learn how to drink, chew and swallow food as if you were a baby. Calling it a lesson in humility and experimentation is an understatement.  Within 6 weeks after surgery I was off all medications for high blood pressure, asthma and allergies. I was finally able to sleep through the night, my chronic back pain vanished and the symptoms of my PCOS were slowing going away too.

To me this journey has always been about more than just losing weight. Being skinny was never the goal. Being healthy and having the opportunity to live a longer, happier life has been my main focus. I have set many other “life goals” that have nothing to do with the number on a scale or how many miles I can walk or what size jeans I can fit into.

Shortly after my surgery I attended Dr. Williams’ 10-week group therapy class, Finishing School.  One aspect of the sessions gave us the opportunity to create our own Comprehensive Holistic Wellness Plan. I set goals that focused not only on my physical health, but also my emotional, spiritual, financial, intellectual and vocational health and the health of my relationships and overall character. Having a written plan for all areas of my life has helped me stay focused on what is really important and what I want to achieve – not only as it relates to my WLS journey, but also for how I want to live my life and how I want to transform the person I am into what I want to be while pursuing my ultimate purpose in life.  I recommend everyone use WLS as the springboard for making all the changes you want to see in your life.

Three months after my surgery I hesitantly signed up for the 20-week Crim Fitness Foundation Training Program which included completing the 10-mile Crim race in Flint and the 13.1 mile Brooksie Way Half-Marathon race held in October. I signed up with a huge doubt hanging over my head. “How can a morbidly obese person ever hope to finish a half marathon?” But even with the doubts, I just put one foot in front of the other and transformed myself into Walker Girl.

I was walking an average of 40-60 miles every month and slowly the hesitation about my ability to walk a half marathon grew into a confidence that the finish line was squarely within my realm of reality. And yes, I crossed both finish lines – the Bricks in downtown Flint and Rochester’s Meadow Brook Hall.

A huge benefit of having weight loss surgery that I never anticipated is the friendships I have developed along the way. I attend three different support group meetings each month where members of the weight loss surgery community gather to help each other through the struggles and celebrate the triumphs of the journey.  After attending the Bay City WLS Support Group for a year and a half, the members asked me to be their new leader, I graciously accepted. Now I’m able to help new surgery patients find their way and encourage the old timers to stay on track. The bonds of friendship are strong in the community and I’m a better person for having these people in my life.

One of the tools that has helped me stay on track and remain accountable is writing. I started an online blog about my weight loss journey on the day I decided to have surgery. Over the last few years I’ve written about the good days and the bad days, the struggles and the victories, the detailed nutritional research I dig up, advice and guidance for those coming behind me, healthy recipes, my exercise challenges, my life goals and the triumphs I’ve experienced along the way. You can visit "Journey to a Healthier Me" at www.pamtremble.blogspot.com.

So here I am almost three years after my surgery, and I’ve maintained my weight loss of 110 pounds.  I never reached my ultimate weight loss goal of losing 140 pounds – not from lack of trying though.  Sometimes our bodies don’t pay attention to what we want and it decides to do whatever the heck it feels like doing. I’ve tried every possible solution for losing the last 30 pounds and I’ve stumped all the doctors on my medical team. It has taken a lot of soul searching and self analysis to finally find a place of peace with what the scale tells me each morning.  I’m healthy and happy and amazed at my 110 pounds and I’m thankful for what RNY has allowed me to do with my life.  I’ve learned to measure my success without the scale playing a key role and I’m a better person for the challenge.

When I look at all the goals I have achieved so far I know that I am a success and life can only get better and better.  RNY has given me the opportunity to change my life and I’m so much happier for the hard work I’ve put into the journey.  I wish you the same happiness.