105 pounds gone forever!!!!

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This is my before and after shot so far. I wish I could figure out to add the pictures in the message, but I can't figure it out. I promise to add more pictures soon.

I started my weight loss journey a year and a half ago due to medical issues. As of today I have lost over 100 pounds. I still have another 120 pounds to go, but I am over the moon about my success so far. Here is my story from my beginning weight of 420 lbs.....

My name is Amanda. I am 23 years old, 420lbs, and 6 feet tall. When I was growing up I always got picked on for my weight and height. In high school it hit me the worst. I acted like it never hurt for people to call me names, but in all reality it hurt. It also didn't help that when I went home I was battling those same hurtful things. My dad always called me fat, my sisters never thought I was pretty. My mother was the only person that really was happy with me. She has always thought I was beautiful the way that I am.

When I moved off to college I stopped eating all the time. I was suffering from an eating disorder. I would go days without eating and the days that I did eat it was barely enough to fill me up. I went from 320 lbs down to 180 lbs. I fell in love with a boy, only to realize that he had his own problems battling alcohol. I was beatin on a daily basis, some days worse than others. I found myself in my friends livingroom begging her not to tell my sisters. That was the day my friend found out not only I wasn't eating, but that I was in an abusive relationship. She said as long as I kept my end of the deal she wouldn't tell them. As long as I stayed away from him and got healthy she wouldn't say a word.

I moved back home after I got better. Something still wasn't right with me. I realized that my confidence and self-eestem were extremely low. I was terrified if anyone tried to hug me. I was cautious with everyone, even my own family. Two friends helped me gain my confidence back and I was happy for once. My parents decided it was time for a change, so we moved to Arizona.

It was then that I realized I was battling compulsive eating. I weighed in at 420lbs. I was rushed from my job one day by ambulance to the local hospital. My blood pressure had shot up to 180/115. As I layed on the hospital bed I realized my battle was just beginning. I found a family doctor in Phoenix that was highly recommended. My first trip in they were extremely nice and they have fought to find medical problems.

I was sent to a cardilogist just to hear the horrifying news that the walls of my heart had thickened due to years of undiganoised high blood pressure. It was a shock. The next words out of his mouth shocked me even more. I was told that I have an 85% chance that I would have to have open heart surgery before the age of 25. He referred me to a dietician because my weight was too much for my heart.

My dietician put me on a high protein diet to speed up my metabolism. It worked wonders. I dropped 35 lbs in no time. Then my health problems increased. My dietician referred me to a sleep doctor for a sleep study. My results were the worst results that he had ever seen. I have sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. I stop breathing 100 times every hour. I was given a CPAP machine that I could possibly have to use for the rest of my life.

Then on my monthly check up I was referred to a digestive doctor because I was suffering from a massive stomach pain that would hurt so bad that I was getting sick. After several tests, ultrasounds, x-rays, and more I was told that my liver is failing. My doctors couldn't tell me why, just that it was failing. They told me that I would lose my gallbladder functions and then my liver would start hardening. I was terrified.

The stomach pain continued to worsen. I can't take pain medications because of my sleep apnea and I can't take anti-inflammatory medications because they attack the liver. The pain was bad enough that I would pass out. I had no choice, but to go back to the digestive doctor. After more tests, my worst fear came true. My gallbladder had shut down. My doctors told me that they had no clue how long it would be before my liver started to harden. The worst about finding everything out was that I had to tell my family that I was one step closer to possibly dying.

I went to my surgeon as I was instructed to do by my digestive doctor. It was then that I was given the insight into just how severe my gallbladder had become. My surgery was scheduled the very next week. I was shocked when I was given the surgery date only a few days away. When my surgery day came along I was nervous as I could be. I was wheeled into the surgery room at 7am and when I woke I realized my 2 hours surgery/recovery turned into a 7 hour stay at the hospital. It was worse than any of the doctor's had imagined. My gallbladder was infected and the infection had spread to my other organs. To top it of my windpipe had collapsed several time in surgery so I couldn't talk without crying.

Once healed by doctors informed me that because of my heart problems I had no chance to ever run again. I had destroyed my body and joints with all the extra weight I was carrying around.

I am happy to say that I am now on no medications and I run/jog whenever I can. I have defeated the medical problems that once controlled my life. I am in control of my life and my happiness. I will continue my weight loss and get down to that goal weight and I will do this the healthy way. Not by starving myself. In the battle of health problems vs. me...I will win!

Weight
Beginning: 420lbs
As of 6/1/2013: 311lbs