All through life my best friend was food. It was comfort when I was mad, sad, happy and lonely. I used it to escape my emotions and feed my inner unhappiness. At 26 years old, I hit my heaviest which was 291 pounds. My wake up call was when I started throwing up at night because I could not breathe. I was soon put on two blood pressure pills and a water pill at 26! Then came the CPAP machine at night to alleviate my extreme sleep disorder. I was so unhappy with myself that I turned to my best friend, food. It seemed like I was stuck in a vicious cycle. I felt like a drug addict that could not stop. I knew I was dying, I knew I was killing myself with each pound I put on, but I could not break my cycle. I tried everything, every diet you can name, I tried it. I was even put on phentermine to curb my appetite. Nothing stuck, nothing could touch my disease for food. My family was so worried about me and pushed me to lose weight. It drove a wedge in our relationship because I felt pressured. I woke up on my own one day and decided my life was worth saving. I had to come to this decision to live healthy on my own. I knew I needed help and I needed drastic help. A co-worker had a wonderful experience with Dr. Yu and I collected his number and changed my life with one phone call. I did all the necessary pre-op procedures and took all the proper steps to get accepted to receive my Gastric Sleeve. Even though I was going through a separation at the time of my surgery, I was not going to veer from my goal. On June 6th, 2011 I woke up from my operation a changed woman. I am not going sugar coat the post-op and tell you it was all rainbows and sunshine. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I lost my best friend and I had no idea what to do with myself. I was going through withdrawals and it was difficult. I found my footing and learned that food was not a crutch and the world is full of wonderful possibilities that I had been too afraid of. A year after the surgery I was still dealing with body issues and how I saw myself. I had lost 100 pounds but I still had so much fat girl embedded in my psyche that I couldn't escape. I was still afraid I wasn't going to fit in rollercoaster rides, or airplane seats. I knew it was a ridiculous notion but I still had fat girl brain. It’s been two years and I am 134 pounds now and I feel wonderful. Life is crazy different being considered ”normal” weight. I could write a book about how fat people are treated versus skinny people. Its amazing! Thats my journey in a nutshell.