Introduction

Hi! I'm Noelle. I'm a single mom to a 5 year old little boy and I am scheduled to have Gastric Bypass surgery on April 25th. I have decided that I want to authentically document this journey. The good, the bad, the ugly. All of it. 

For my entire adult life (and even in my late teens), I have struggled with my weight. I have tried different diets, medications, exercise routines, etc. I ended up with gestational diabetes at the end of my pregnancy with my son and hovered in the pre-diabetic range until October 2023 when my A1C came back as 6.8 and I was diagnosed a type 2 diabetic. 

After oral medication failed, I began insulin therapy on Halloween. I didn't have the best primary care physician in 2023 and they weren't very helpful in helping me navigate diabetes. I was also trying to finish the list of things to complete for my surgeon's office to submit to my insurance for approval for my gastric bypass and they weren't very helpful with that either. The only thing I was lacking was 3 months of weigh ins with my pcp. They had the nerve to tell me that they couldn't weigh me in their office because "my scale doesn't go that high" and that I would need to buy two scales to weigh myself at home, put one foot on each and add the numbers together to get my weight. I felt discouraged and humiliated when I left their office that day. Needless to say, I found another pcp.

I had my first visit with my new pcp on February 6th and she put me on Mounjaro 2.5mg for my blood sugar and to help with weight loss. Two weeks after starting the Mounjaro, I stopped insulin therapy completely. I moved to Mounjaro 5mg at my March 6th visit with my pcp. My A1C on April 3rd was 5.7! Back in pre-diabetic range. I saw my pcp again April 8th and after that visit, my 3 weigh ins were sent over to my surgeon's office. I got the approval letter for surgery from my insurance on April 12th. 

I began January 2024 weighing 422 lbs. The heaviest I've ever been is 426 lbs. As of my pre surgery appt with my surgeon on April 17th, I am at 382 lbs. and I know I will continue to lose weight.