Anna O'Keefe

Name: Anna O'Keefe

Age: 28

Pre operative weight: 205kg

Date of operation: November 2005

Current weight: 74kg

Before

My name is Anna OKeefe. I am 28 years-old and I weigh 74kg. Before my gastric bypass in November 2005, I weighed 205kg.

Ive only recently stopped losing weight. So, in just over two years, I have lost 131kg.

I know the experience of being overweight is different for everyone but for me, going through life morbidly obese was terrible and I was consumed with depression. I started gaining weight from the age of seven and progressively gained until I had my operation. Only once was I successful in losing any large amount of weight 35kg through Jenny Craig in 2004 but I gained it all back with interest.

I was a compulsive binge eater. I have overheard so many women say, I only have to look at food to gain weight. Not me; I looked at it, sized it up, and then wolfed it down&there was never any mystery as to how the burgers made it on to my thighs. Early in my life I discovered just how mean people could be I was regularly stared at, pointed at and made fun of in public places.

This had a profound impact on my life and how I saw myself.

For as long as I can remember food has been my comfort. Happy, sad, broken-hearted or celebratory food was my refuge and my strength. My life was totally focused on getting food and then about accommodating my huge size.

Life as an obese person is hard on top of the complications of physically moving around, simple things are overwhelmingly difficult. Getting into a car is not always possible I had to have a special adjustment made to my seatbelt so it would fit me. I dreaded going out with friends in case the chairs had arms on them. I would often sit needing to go to the bathroom while having dinner at a restaurant for a long time because I couldnt fit through the gaps around the tables to get to the toilet. Once you actually got to the toilet you then had to worry about the strength of the toilet especially the newer ones that are suspended from the wall.

Before my gastric bypass, I really felt food was everything good in my life and I thought about it constantly. I planned what I would eat from the moment I woke in the morning. Social events were centred round it how much I could get and what was it.

I have always been happy and outgoing but during that time, this was often only a front so people wouldnt know that I was literally dying inside. Suffering from severe depression, work started to be affected not so much in my performance, but my willingness to actually go to the office.

This was part of what made me realise how serious my problem was. My ability to binge eat was dependant on my income and that income was now being threatened.

On top of the depression, the doctor said I was pre-diabetic and would have diabetes within a year. Other than that, I had had no major physical health problems but I had a family history of heart disease so I knew with my weight problem it was only a matter of time.

However, I did have a huge number of minor health problems, such as chafing and aching muscles.

I first heard about the gastric bypass operation from my sister in about June 2004, but I couldnt afford it. A year later with the love and support of friends and family, I realised I couldnt afford not to have it. So, in November 2005, I flew from Christchurch to Wellington to start what was to become a life-changing journey.

The first seven weeks after the bypass were the hardest. I went from eating four or five McDonalds combos in one sitting to eating one rice cracker with a teaspoon of hummus on it. It was such an extreme change and I had nothing else to do but think about it. Because there is no immediate weight change after the operation, it is the time when you have all the pain and discomfort but are yet to feel any of the benefits. In the first two weeks I lost 15kg and once I started feeling the difference in my body and getting used to the different lifestyle everything was a downhill slide.

I have been so much happier since the operation. Every day I am excited to get up in the morning just to put on my clothes! I live every day to the full and try and cram as much into my life as I can. Vastly different to the 205kg girl who waddled to and from work each day and did little else but eat.

I am free now to do anything with my life that I want; no longer restricted by the huge burden of weight I was carrying. As an example I eagerly accepted a chance to work in the Solomon Islands last year and I am now living and working there on a 12 month contract. This would never have been possible before the operation. Aside from not actually being able to fit in the plane seat, the heat and humidity there would have made it impossible for me to move around.

Workwise, I dont need to make job choices based on mobility or location and high energy high excitement jobs invigorate me now rather than terrify me.

My life now is also more social I love to go out and have fun with friends and family. Most people just cant keep up with me!

Food can still be a challenge but it tends to worry my friends and family more than me come on Anna, you havent eaten enough! I struggle to eat rice, bread and red meat, and I do find myself stocking up on breakfast drinks and vegetable juice to keep my health in check.

Im never hungry, so just eat enough to keep the body fueled. I am lucky too that I can still enjoy favourite treats like ice cream and lollies, although in small amounts.

Most people dont recognise me now although if you asked my closest friends and my family they would say that I am the same person I always was. Over the last two and a half years I have happily reintroduced myself to friends and family a number of times as my body has changed.

My health is great too. I take a multivitamin every day (which everyone has to) and I have developed a folic acid and a Vitamin B deficiency post operatively. So I take a folic acid pill each day too and need a Vitamin B injection once a month. Both of these will also be life long. My pre-diabetic blood sugar levels have now returned to normal.

18 months after the operation I developed a hernia along the incision line from my first operation. This was repaired in October 2007 and at the same time I had 3.1kg of excess skin removed from my stomach and abdomen. What a difference! I still have loose/excess skin on my upper arms, thighs and breasts and may consider further operations in the future but right now wear it proudly. Nothing is visible to others while I am dressed.

Would I recommend gastric bypass surgery to other severely obese people? In a second. If you are severely obese and you have not been successful in other weight loss pursuits, this (while extreme) offers you the opportunity to completely change your life for the better. There are risks and some people do have complications after the surgery, but would I do it again? In a second.

The expense is considerable but in the end a small price to pay for the life I now enjoy. Many people would think nothing of spending $26,000 on a car. How much more is your life worth?

The before photo that you see on this website I carry in my wallet wherever I go; just to remind myself of how far I have come on this journey. I dont regret a second of the first 25 years of my life it has made me who I am today. I dont know what the future holds, but I cant wait to find out!