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Megan:
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My name is Megan. I'm 29 years old, and I am a registered nurse. I work at Atrium Medical Center on the advanced care unit, which is an ICU step-down/neuro unit.
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Megan:
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My struggle with my weight started in adolescence. I did have some bad eating habits that developed in childhood, and just like a sedentary lifestyle, but it didn't really become an issue until adolescence.
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Megan:
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I was bullied pretty severely in middle school and in high school for my weight. And it's affected me my whole life. You have this self worth that you create when you're an adolescence and it follows you throughout adulthood, and I hate to say it, but that does still affect me, and that's something I have to think about every day.
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Megan:
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My weight loss journey started in the summer of 2016. I was 26 years old and I was 358 pounds. I was miserable. I had untreated high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and acid reflex. Things that a normal 26 year old shouldn't have to deal with.
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Megan:
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I made an appointment with my primary care physician who was wonderful, Dr. Stone. He took the time to speak to me and to give me advice on what I can do, and one of the things that he gave to me was a flyer for Dr. Northup's seminars. And it was important to me after leaving the seminar that I had a hundred percent confidence in Dr. Northup and his team, and I absolutely did.
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Megan:
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Well, I had done my research before having the consultation with Dr. Northup, and I also had a friend that had had gastric sleeve surgery and had really great outcomes with that. They're simply taking the stomach and making it small, kind of like the size of a banana, and it just restricts your food intake.
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Megan:
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I see a dietician pretty frequently with Dr. Northup and his team. When I started having the troubles with stress eating coming back into my life, they were actually very wonderful and they've allowed me to have more frequent appointments than you typically do postop to help with accountability and also, so I'm able to see the dietician and make sure I'm still doing the right things.
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Megan:
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I meal prep, so a lot of times I'll eat the same foods for a few days, but that's fine. As long as you're eating something that you enjoy and excites you. As far as working out, I go to the Y three days a week. I go to strength training classes, do cardio. It's just really important to stay active.
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Megan:
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When I meditate, I have my yoga mat and I just sit, and then once my body's relaxed, then I can relax my mind. And just enjoy the quiet, just try to blank things out and it helps a lot with my stress.
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Megan:
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So I've lost a total of 160 pounds. After the surgery, I was able to stop taking my blood pressure meds because I don't have hypertension anymore and I don't have to use my C-PAP anymore because my sleep apnea has gone away. I feel more confident as a nurse, as a nurse leader, my life has just improved 100%.
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Megan:
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I'd like to thank everyone. Dr Northup, his physician assistant, the dieticians, everyone at his office have been amazing, and they've changed my life.
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