January 1, 2013

I thought I'd make the first blog a video blog so you can see me from the beginning.

I AM A REAL WOMAN!

I am Shannon Bailey. I'm currently 39, I live in Northwest Arkansas (just minutes from Wal-Mart Home Offices). I've been sick since about 19 years old. It started slowly with a little heart burn, then severe pain in my chest. I get esophageal spasms so bad that I want to pull my chest apart when they happen. When I watch the Alien movies I know how they feel when the aliens are "born" through the chest. The pain keeps me up most nights.
I also choke on everything! I have been known to choke on water, even my own throat, or air will cause me to go into a choking fit. Not to mention the acid reflux! It's terrible!
I eat less than most people but I have trouble losing weight. I'm 267 pounds. I've tried pills, Weight Watchers, just about everything and nothing has helped with any of my problems. Here's to a last ditch effort.

SO, enough complaining. I just wanted to give you a picture of why I'm doing this. I want other women (or men), who suffer like I do, to hopefully see there is help. (At least, I hope there is help).

This is my journey to find the help that is necessary to feel great and hopefully a side effect will help me to look great too!

I've got an appointment to see a Dr. Roller in Fayetteville, AR this week. He is the doctor who would perform the Gastric Bypass. My primary care physician has told me that the Gastric Bypass will more than likely help with 90% of my health problems, including the weight loss, reflux, and spasms.

Next week I have an appointment to get an EGD. It's a scope to see what's up with everything in my upper GI tract to the beginning of my lower GI. I don't know what to hope for. I hope I'm OK  but I also hope what ever they find will help the insurance pay for the Gastric Bypass surgery. I'm ready to get healthy!