Is Losing Weight A Life Or Death Situation? Could Be.

I had a wake up call this week. 
(Caution: This post discusses "lady issues." If you're uncomfortable with such topics, I suggest you not read any further.)


I've been on the road to being healthy for about two months now. I've been looking ahead to days of feeling and looking better and being more active and healthy. This week my past caught up with me. Turns out all the years of not doing anything about my obesity have had far worse consequences than I ever imagined- some that I'll have to live with for the rest of my life.


I started this week on cloud nine! Sunday was an amazing day in church, we were also able to visit a nursing home and minister to some elderly people in song. That's the first time my husband and I have done anything like that together. I was excited also because I was getting my nieces and nephew that night to spend the whole week with me.  But before I can go ahead I must go back:
     In September of 2011 I began to lose blood. It wasn't a normal monthly thing, it was a non-stop horrible ordeal. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and I'd seen the doctor about it before. I was diagnosed with Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome aka PCOS which is a condition in which a woman has an imbalance of a female sex hormones. It can lead to menstrual cycle changes, cysts in the ovaries, trouble getting pregnant, and other health changes. The bleeding was a result of the PCOS and it continued all the way up until about three weeks ago with one break that lasted a week back in February. The thing about PCOS is that the hormonal imbalance makes it easy to gain weight, and the more you gain, the worse the symptoms become. 
     Like I said, about three weeks ago after I lost about 12 pounds, the bleeding stopped. A few years ago I was having the same problem, and when I lost the weight, the bleeding stopped, and my body went back to normal cycles. 


So Sunday afternoon I began to bleed again. I assumed it would be a normal cycle. By the time I made it home Sunday night I was in severe pain. I went to bed and woke up hurting still Monday morning. Around eleven that morning I had some of the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life. I called my husband to come take me to the ER. After hours of testing and exams the doctor concluded that the pain was all from having a really bad period.


Turns out the pain was the least of my worries. When they were running routine blood tests the doctors found that because of the months on end of heavy bleeding, I'd become anemic. My hemoglobin counts were at a six, and my life was in danger. Hemoglobin is a protein molecule that carries the oxygen in your blood throughout the rest of your body to your vital organs. I was admitted to the hospital around four, and by about eight o'clock I was having a blood transfusion to try to bring up my counts. The next morning my blood count had come up to a 7.5 which is still very low, and the bleeding hadn't slowed or responded at all to the hormone treatments I'd received the night before. At that point the doctor wanted to do a D&C. It's a very minor surgery where my cervix is fully dilated and the doctor goes in and scrapes all the lining from my uterus in an effort to slow or stop the bleeding. 

So around one thirty in the afternoon on Tuesday I went into the OR and ten minutes later I was out after a successful D&C. My blood and oxygen levels dropped too low during surgery which earned me another night in the hospital. By Wednesday afternoon the bleeding had slowed enough that my hemoglobin levels were finally able to stabilize. I was discharged from the hospital today with a still very low hemoglobin count of 8 (a healthy count is 12 to 16) and a very moderate blood flow. I had to start a birth control pill in hopes of stopping the bleeding completely. 


So where does that leave me? Well I have anemia and a constant flow of blood loss. Obviously I can't live with both. I could go in for a blood transfusion and a couple of days in the hospital probably once a month for the rest of my life, or I can eliminate the problem. I can't eliminate the anemia, but I can eliminate the bleeding. Ultimately, I would have to have a hysterectomy if I cannot control the bleeding by way of weight loss and hormone therapy. I want to be a mother. I want my husband to be a father. I want to lead a normal healthy life. The anemia can be managed with a good diet and mineral supplements. The bleeding has to stop!


Now more than ever I know I have to get this weight off and take better care of my body. I always worried about having the typical problems that come with obesity such as diabetes, or cholesterol problems and so on. I never thought I'd have to deal with something of this magnitude. I know that I have what it takes to get the victory over this thing. 


I have a supportive family. I have the know how and the determination. Most of all I have a loving God that will give me strength daily to face whatever life throws at me. I know I brought this on myself, and I'm the only one that can do anything about it. I'm am a little afraid, but I know I'll overcome this obstacle. 

It's so important to remember that every decision we make has some type of consequence. Some decisions carry heavier consequences than others. We only have one body to carry us through this life. Make choices everyday that will benefit your body and your quality of life. You don't want to have to live with something knowing you could have done something about it, and you chose not to.