Ok lets hear it!
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*I feel like I'm boring people with this story...I keep telling it. It's interesting to a point. Skip down to the "TL;DR if the length is intimidating*
Almost dying from a diabetic coma pretty much made me come to terms with an entire lifestyle change. I hadn't even known I was diabetic until one day, I noticed that I was extremely dehydrated to the point of my skin being able to stand if I pinched it, and any form of liquid was no help. Then the frequent urinating. Then the lack of an appetite. Then sudden vomiting. The next day after that I felt fatigued, exhausted, weak, and apathetic, along with a sharp stabbing pain in the upper left quadrant of my abdomen. I had the impending sense of literal death coming, and I was willing to accept it, though I didn't really want it. Without any fluid intake, I still had the frequent urinating. I began to notice the darker color of it and the odor was somewhat odd and almost fruity.
I took 2 guesses at that point, I was diabetic and becoming ketoacidotic, or I was experiencing kidney failure due to having diabetes and not knowing it. It was the former. I tried to sleep it off because I had no energy to do anything, and my brother and his gf noticed I was shivering and had aggressive tremors in my sleep. I was rushed to the ER and my blood sugar was so high, it was immeasurable on the glucose meter... It gave an error: glucose level too high for reading. When they flushed out my blood with IVs, it was finally brought down to a number that could be read...the upper 550s [normal is between 60 - 99].
On top of that, I was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. The result is usually death. 80% chance of death to be a little more accurate. After multiple lab tests from bloodwork, I also had a fatty liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, fatty deposits in the blood itself, high uric acid, [extremely] low potassium, [extremely] low CO2, [extremely] low bicarbonate levels, rapid, shallow respiration, and fluctuating rapid HR. I was textbook for the worst case scenario possible. I was supposed to die. I was willing to accept it. I just wasn't quite ready to stop living.
Needless to say, I survived, and after my 9 day stay in the hospital, 4/9 days in the Critical Care Unit, 5/9 in Med-Surg, I decided that it would be a really good time to beat the odds and see if I could reverse any biological, genetic, and physical predispositions that I currently had at the time, that were shortening my lifespan, and take on the ultimate challenge of taking what rightfully belongs to me, and not to life itself.
I'm currently asymptomatic and medication free from any existing health condition that I previously had, and I'm healthier than anyone I know in my family and my circle of friends.
* TL;DR - I almost died. I survived. I'm better now because I made changes. The end.
One of the best stories EVER! From someone who works in healthcare, I know with everything you had going on that you are a walking miracle! Great job!
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Wow, that's an incredible story, thanks for sharing, and huge congratulations on making the changes and your huge weight loss and improved health and quality of life all round.
Thank you. I looked at it objectively. I was very curious to know what it was like to be on the brink of death and survive the ordeal. Now that I've satisfied that curiosity, it's not one I'd like to experience again.
Though, the Dilaudid + Vicodin naps were great for dealing with the severe pain, so it made it a bit surreal, and in hindsight probably made it a bit easier to cope with. 0 -
:flowerforyou: Way to go that is awesome!!!!!!0
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*I feel like I'm boring people with this story...I keep telling it. It's interesting to a point. Skip down to the "TL;DR if the length is intimidating*
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Wow! How could you ever think your story would bore anyone? This is an amazing, eye-opening, and wonderful story! Thank you for sharing.0 -
Last March when my Doctor scared the hell out of me. :frown: I knew I had hit the wall and now was the time to change.0
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When my 5 yr old son told me my reflection looked bad because I was so fat.
Nothing like your children's honesty to cut through you like a knife, but that was THE moment. After that everything changed.0 -
:drinker: Awesome Phil :drinker: I used to care for patients in the hospital and I am so happy for you. It was not an easy task and you did it! What an inspiration for others! :happy:0
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Both my Parents & my Grandparents, one Uncle and one Aunt all dead by 60. I have one uncle left thats it
He's not 60 yet, and already had a heart attack and coded. Yep time for a change. I want to live forever :smokin: 0 -
I got tired of being out of breath just walking across the room. I don't even want to mention how I felt going up the stairs.0
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So at what point did I realize? I have had a hard time dealing with being overweight. I mean I was always skinny now that I look back but I thought I was always fat. So when I did start gaining weight I didn't really notice. Then I had my daughter and I got gestational diabetes and now almost 6 years later I'm a type 2 diabetic. I'm still not used to the fact that I need to watch what I eat and really I don't eat that bad. I do enjoy the bad stuff but I am finally starting to feel guilty after I eat it. I think my real turning point was a few weeks back when I was talking with my daughter who is a skinny minny at 5 years old almost 6 (in 13 days to be exact ) and she was saying how the doctor wants her to "fatten" up a bit because she is tall and skinny and could maybe use a little more meat on her bones but I don't think so. Anyways, she said but mom I don't want to be fat like you. This broke my heart but kids are honest so I couldn't get mad at her for what she notices. The worst part was this was on the way home from Wendy's. She really wanted to eat there as a special treat and of course I couldn't resist. After her comment all I wanted to do was throw up what I had just ate. So I've been trying to find the time to get my butt to the gym but then I also feel gulity leaving my kids to go do this when I leave them all day already to go to work. We only have 3-4 hours at most in the evening and I don't want to loose that. My little guy who's 2 goes to bed around 8 and by then I'm already exhausted from my busy day. I'm torn but I know I need to take care of me. I just have to remind my self that my daughter doesn't want to be fat like me and I don't want to be fat like me either.
I lost 13 pounds last year and I was doing good over the summer but in September I caught pneumonia and didn't work out for months. I feel like when I finally get back into something there is always something there to stop me. It is sooooo frusturating!0 -
There were a lot of red flags thrown over the past two years that I tried to justify. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, 42 inch pants, XL shirts fitting too tightly, not letting anyone take pictures of me. But the last straw came about the week before Christmas just 3 months ago. A close family member had passed away and I had to travel out of town for the funeral. I packed my stuff up and drove 200 miles to be with family. After checking in to the hotel I went to put my suit on I could not button the top button on my dress shirt (it has a 17.5 inch neck). There was just no way I could button it...which meant no tie either. That was it for me. I felt incredibly embarrassed and disrespectful to my family for attending the viewings and funeral without a proper suit and tie.
At that point I made a vow to myself that I will lose the weight and lose it for good. In the past 2 months I've lost 17 pounds, a full inch from my neck and 3.5 inches from my waist. I have a long way to go but I'm getting there. And I don't want to have to do this ever again.0 -
Was going out for a night on the town with my friends for the first time in awhile. Tried to put on 3 different pairs of jeans that all used to fit me perfectly. I ripped them. All three pairs.0
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*I feel like I'm boring people with this story...I keep telling it. It's interesting to a point. Skip down to the "TL;DR if the length is intimidating*
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Wow! How could you ever think your story would bore anyone? This is an amazing, eye-opening, and wonderful story! Thank you for sharing.
Well, I tend to *kitten* myself out on the boards a lot of the time retelling my story. I think it's just the redundancy of it. But, I figure if I spread it around enough, it might start giving anyone that has to deal with difficulty, some sort of positive outlook on their situation.
It all ties in with my advocacy of owning up to the responsibility that people have for themselves and to make life decisions, wise or unwise, but to make sure they're accountable for it. And depending on the end result, to make the choice to deal with it accordingly, but to never waver in that choice. Nothing is really ever as hard as it seems if there's no personally opinionated boundary holding you back. That's just my outlook, and so far it's been working for me. :bigsmile:0 -
my father and grandmother and aunt all died last year, all three to heart-related conditions. I've been heavy my whole life. It's gotten in the way of my photography, of dating, and of just about everything else. All these things have compounded into a firm commitment to change my entire lifestyle and lose it. All of it.0
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The day I had to start shopping in the plus size stores. I cried and cried. I was 180 lbs when I met my ex and ballooned so quickly since I was following his food choices. He was not a skinny guy or anything. He the first bf I ever lived with. I asked for emotional support to come with me to the clothing store as it was really hard for me to walk into the plus size stores for the first time, ofcourse he wouldn't, so I cried some more and I felt so bad about myself, it spiraled down even more from there. I would ask him to do little things, like if you want to eat out, go ahead but don't bring any home for me.. but he always did. I realize it was my choice on what to put in my mouth, but that made it soo hard. We fought alot and it just wasn't a good relationship, so I called it quits. At that time I was 268. I found a plus size store with the most amazing staff. I didn't feel ugly when I went there. There was even one woman that was really slim that worked there and she would be totally honest if something didn't look right on me. So I started to love myself again.
Then years later, I met my husband. He is not a skinny guy either. He has supported me through this whole journey. He loved me despite my weight, but was more than happy to help in any little way he could. He kept food labels for me when he cooked so I knew what I was eating, he gave up his morning cuddles for a while when I was getting up to go running in the early morning, hid the cookies in the house so I wouldn't eat them when I asked him to, he was my personal cheerleader when I would jump on the bed saturday morning waking him up so excited that I had lost another 2 lbs!! and the list goes on.
Oh.. and those same wonderful ladies from the clothing store congratulate me on my weight loss and tell me to come visit them, even when I am too small to shop in thier store. I still bring friends in there, cause I know they are in good hands.
Sorry... I guess that was a little long winded for the question, but it just sorta kept coming lol0 -
I had been feeling uncomfortable with my weight for awhile, but what kicked me into gear was looking at pictures from Christmas. My face just looked so round, and I looked so unhealthy. I knew I'd gained weight, but I was in denial about how bad it had gotten. There weren't any pictures from Christmas that I liked of me except one group shot where I was in the back and I was looking up at the camera so you couldn't see the damage as much. And that's a bummer, because Christmas is such a happy time and it's one of the few times I get to see my whole family together now that both of my sisters live out of state.
The fact of the matter was that between my older sister's wedding on June 10, 2010 and Christmas of 2010, I had gained 28 pounds. I joined MFP on 12/28/10 and haven't looked back!0 -
Okay here is my incredibly embarrassing and TMI "story"
It was when I used the bathroom and realized I had gotten so big I couldn't reach to properly clean myself without a major effort......
I am shaped like an apple....all of my weight is right out in front where I and everyone else can see it.
I went to Disney world and chose rides not based on what I wanted to do but based on whether or not I thought I would fit.
I chose activities in life not based on what I wanted to do but on whether or not my body would be able to do it.
No more.0 -
I knew I was getting into trouble when I used to stand in front of the micro wave and shout " Hurry Hurry".......Hmmm, somethings not right here, lol
I knew it was time when I went to the Big and Tall store for the first time, and saw how much more pants and shirts were for big men as opposed to smaller sizes...........hey, thats discrimination isnt it?
Hmm,,,,that experience and a trip to my Dr office and hearing the concern in my Drs voice...............Lloyd0 -
When I had to get new jeans because my old ones were getting too tight to be comfortable. And I just got new jeans about 6 months earlier for the same reason.
Also, when I tried on my wedding dress four months after I bought it and it was a little tight. And my dress can't be altered to be bigger, the overlay makes it impossible.0 -
When I was bursting out of my trousers, nearly literally. I've always been "a little too big", but that was just the limit, there was NO WAY I was going to buy a bigger size.
Those same trousers are hanging off me now and I'm very very close to a smaller size.0 -
I always knew I was over weight, but I never truly realized how much until I lost 70 lbs and still had a stomach. I remember one day I was riding my bike home from college and this guy yells from his truck, "ride that bike, fat boy" or something similar. I had some retort, but the funny thing about the story is that I would guess the guy was close to my size (280 lbs)!0
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Every year since my divorce, 5 years ago, I have gained weight. For bursts of time each year I would focus and see modest improvement only to fall back off the wagon. This past Christmas I was uncomfortable in my own skin, was experiencing leg pain and fatigue and was avoiding socializing because I didn't want to be the fattest person in the room. When I finally faced the scale, I had put on 54 pounds in the last 5 years. I realized in that moment that if I didn't stop the trend, I was destined to be, not just fat, but on my way to morbidly obese and soon. I am so glad I found MFP and this community.0
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I'ld say an accumulation of things over the course of a year:
Going up to 36" trousers
Finding that my (not very old) 36" trousers were TOO TIGHT
Having someone make (friendly) jokes about 'Moobs' (man boobs) when I was topless - especially as I used to to have a good chest.
My Dad getting diagnosed with diabetes
My Dad loosing a lot of weight to combat diabetes
And last but not least
Great support from my wife - who joined the gym with me at Christmas: its much easier doing this together.0 -
I remember not being able to buy the wedding dress I wanted cause it didn't come in my size ("sweetie, you just have too much back fat for this dress" - salesperson)0 -
I don't think there was one specific "Aha!" moment. I started losing significant noticeable weight without really trying when I became a vegetarian. After that, I realized that clothes shopping was more fun with my new body and that people were responding to my new appearance with a lot of positive words. Now that I actually make a conscientious effort to take care of myself physically, I still have those two joys plus the added thrill of knowing that I have the power to do anything I set my mind to. Seeing how the daily effort I put into self control and determination pays off, when I step on the scale, inspires me to put more positive effort into every other area of my life as well.0
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I developed bad acid reflux, bad knees, and bad back. I was sick all the time with all the crap I was eating. The last straw was when I couldn't button ar zip my jeans and resorted to using a rubber band to expand my waist band to accomodate my growing fat gut.
I have now lost 50 pounds since August of last year and feel great. 20 more to go!0 -
You know, you look down & don't like what you see.
You look in the mirror and don't like what you see.
The cutest clothes, in any size, look horrible on.
(My theory for the longest time was clothes only look good on the hanger)
You bend over and there's stuff hanging.
(And the "stuff" not considered an appendage.)
All of that got me thinking about it. But still, all I did was think.
Then we went on vacation to Jamaica 2 years ago. No one knew me and my honey loves me no matter what, so I braved a two piece. I looked at pictures when we got back... it was a pose with he and I and we were facing each other. I've always known what I saw when I looked down. (I just opted to "not breathe" the whole vacation. (I sucked it in) The problem is, I NEVER knew how WIDE I looked from the side! That did it for me.0
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