update

I don’t want to talk much about my mental health in this post because I’m not entirely sure what to say but I did want to post an update on my appointment with the obesity doctor I had yesterday.

Let me just start by saying she was absolutely amazing and so easy to talk to about difficult things. We went through my history and it was comforting to not feel judged by anything relating to my weight.

We came up with some adjustments. She wants me to eat at least 115g of protein a day and I can still eat carbs but I’m supposed to watch how much. She gave me some really easy exercises that will also help–and no, she didn’t recommend getting an expensive gym membership. She prescribed me a once weekly injection of a medication called Ozempic which apparently has some yucky side effects but should help a little bit. Lastly, we talked about surgery.

I’ve honestly never thought about bariatric surgery before but she thinks I’d be a great candidate. I don’t drink or smoke, I thankfully don’t have any obesity-related medical conditions that I’m aware of and I’m still fairly young. It will require some changes but she thinks if I stick to the diet afterwards I’ll lose about 120 lbs without really trying.

I’ve never been thin. I’ve always been the chubby person in the room. I always thought that being a bit heavy was the safest thing for me to avoid attention from anyone. And I know I wouldn’t be doing it so I could be thin but rather so I can give C the best life possible…and I can’t do it the way I am now.

I told her to put in the referral knowing I’d still have months to think about it all. I told my mother and she didn’t sound impressed at all. Why can’t she just be a little more supportive?

So for now I’ll start the new meds and see what other changes I can make while I’m waiting for everything else to come through. I feel a bit excited that there are these options for me.