My name is Diana Johnson. I am 38 years old , I work two jobs and am the mother of two children. I am also the wife a really terrific, supportive man. I live in Comox, B.C and would be life good if it were not for my declining health problems.
I have struggled with my excessive weight problems for as long as I can remember. For more than 28 years I have tried every “diet”, “health plan” and “life change” suggested by doctors, books, family and friends. I would excitedly start a plan, follow it through for a few months, sometimes, more than a year. I would always lose weight, sometimes massive amounts of weight but I would reach plateau where I would start gaining again. More often than not, I would gain back all the weight plus a few extra pounds. This pattern was terrifying. In my early teens I began diet pills and developed bulimia. I lost most of my excess weight and developed a love for physical activity. I was fortunate that I lived through the abuse I put on my body.
My motivation for weight loss was always varied and new. Not only was I playing tricks on my body, but I was playing on my psyche. To be my best friends Maid of Honor, to get that particular job, more than anything to regain my health and be active again. I was going to be thin again when I was 15, before 28 and then 30. Now I am 38 and the health problems which accompany morbid obesity are creeping into my life.
I am writing to explain why I need Gastric Bypass surgery. My reasons echo the reasons of thousand of other morbidly obese persons who are currently waiting years on waiting lists for the opportunity to “live again”.
I work a full 8-10 hour work day on my feet. I am obese but never could be labeled as lazy. I live with chronic pain at the base of my neck and in my lower back. I endure my arthritis and the fact that at the end of my day by knees, ankles and feet are always swollen and in pain. When I awake in the morning I cringe at the thought that I will be walking at least 5 km on that hard sales floor. Both knees are in constant pain and are popping. I have stress incontinence so that when I laugh, sneeze or move the wrong way I am bound to wet my own pants. Yes, I am 38 years old and have to wear pads every day because God forbid the humility of having to buy Depends at my age. I sweat under the smallest amount of exertion and constantly worry that someone will discover the smell emitted from the fold of my fat rolls. My heart pounds so hard I feel that it will someday burst.
I have been treated for depression and panic disorder. I have panic attacks which I am told are very common among obese people. I worry that if I have to wait another year for this procedure my depression will worsen and I will have to once again be treated with Prozac. I was never depressed when I was normal sized. I believe I have developed this disorder because of the ongoing weight loss/weight gain. In my heart I know I need access to this surgery for the sake of my own sanity. I have tried every diet and nothing has worked at keeping the weight off. As far as I can see there is nothing left for me to do but resign to the fact that this is the way I am and probably the way I will die. There is still a glimmer of hope that underneath this girth and hopelessness, there is a healthy me waiting to emerge.
I began researching obesity on the internet three years ago in order to understand my past failures. I read of the various stages of obesity: obese, severely obese, morbidly or super morbidly obese. People with a body mass index of 40 or greater are considered morbidly obese. Weighing in at 255-260 I have a BMI of 43.
Obesity is a leading factor in heart diseases, cancer, diabetes and with a shortened life expectancy. Death at an earlier age is inevitable. My risk of heart disuse is 208% higher than an average sized woman the same age as myself. Being morbidly obese is a direct threat on my life. In my quest to learn as much as I could about this disease I read an article that the National Institute of Health (US) had recognized that only 2% of people that lose weight through conventional means will keep that weight off after a period of five years. The National Health institute had published papers stating that surgery is the only permanent solution to keep off weight and stave off the co-morbidities associated with obesity. After considering my 30 year diet history, surgery is the only means for me to regain my life.
The cost of obesity is high. Those of us plagued with this have spent billions of dollars on a weight loss industry that become a socially –sanctioned con game. It feeds on our misogynistic culture and a media obsesses with women's bodies and thinness. The cost is higher down the line when all of these attempts at weight loss fail. Surgery will drastically reduce the costs of treating many thousand folks down the line for heart disease, orthopedic surgery and psychotherapy to name only a couple. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and will become a major drain on already fraught health budgets. The reality is that there are not enough Bariatric surgeons and not enough designated OR time to even make a dent in this disease. Change will have to happen soon.
I have poured my heart into this letter and I pray that you will read it and in some small way help change our health care system. For now I wait as I have for the last 19 months for the surgery that will save my life.
