Bipolar Chick 2 the Rescue
Share the Vision ~ Join the Mission
Deb Johnson
Author/Speaker/Bipolar Chick
AWAKENINGS
UNDERSTANDING
THE ATTACK PACK PLAN
Copyright 2009 Deborah Johnson, Bipolar Chick 2 the Rescue . All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Statement, Medical Disclaimer & Copyright Statement
Why gastric bypass?  Look below...a picture is worth a 1000 words and my body has
always had a lot to say.  

At birth, I weighed 6.1 lbs by age 35 I weighed 271 lbs. Though it seems that the decision
would have been very easy, it was not.
What is Gastric Bypass?

The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure
involves creating a stomach pouch out of a
small portion of the stomach and attaching it
directly to the small intestine, bypassing a
large part of the stomach and duodenum.
Not only is the stomach pouch too small to
hold large amounts of food, but by skipping
the duodenum, fat absorption is
substantially reduced.

I was diagnosed with Diabetes in 1999 (yes, the same year I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder...it was a long year).  I
was able to mostly ignore my illness for many years.  Truth be told, diabetes was such a painless illness that I really didn't
worry about it until the doctors decided to put me on insulin.  Up until that point, I had considered Weight Loss Surgery but
it was still really dangerous and scary so I wouldn't do more than research it.  Then the insulin shots started and that's
when I made the decision. In August of 2007, I went to the Bariatric surgeon and set the wheels in motion. It would take 10
months before my surgery; some weight loss on my own was involved to show that I was serious, counseling was also a
major part of my presurgery requirements.  I was scared, this was the only the second time I would go into surgery without
a death wish.   I began the journey at 271 lbs and now,  18 months later, I weigh in at 173.  Not my goal weight but I wear a
size 10-14 (depends on who made it). Do I even have a goal weight?  Not sure.  My fractured brain tells me that I want the
numbers on the scale to be 20 or 30 lbs less; I don't know if that's realistic or necessary.  I no longer take insulin or any
other medications for my diabetes.  My A1C blood test shows that I have the blood sugar levels of a normal person. The
next step is getting back to frequent working out which I haven't been doing.  I hope you will join me on the ride to better
physical  health because it's an absolute necessity for my mental health.

Below is my most recent picture.  It's nice to be able to say that I like it.










Why I almost didn't do it:

Fat, Obese, Big Deb, Morbidly Obese ~ all of these adjectives have been used to describe me.  The first time that I found
myself bigger than the "norm", I was 13 years old.   That is such a tough age to begin with and to be bigger than most other
girls just as sexuality is finding it's way into your life is especially difficult.