'I was too fat to have a baby'
By Madeline Yeo,WNS Health Correspondent
LONGMAN - Charlie McKanzie was desperate for a baby. Doctors told her she was too fat and had to lose weight to conceive, but she found dieting impossible. She said: "I could not get pregnant, but there was nothing wrong with either of us. I tried for about eight years to conceive and I could not." What made the problem even more bittersweet was that she had already taken the heart-breaking decision to give an earlier child up for adoption 14 years before, when a relationship went disastrously wrong.
Over the years her weight soared, going from between 10 and 11 stone (63.5/69.9kg) to 18 stone (114kg), and a dress size 26. Charlie, who is 5ft 1in tall, found her gynaecologist unsympathetic to her weight problem. He dismissed her concerns, telling her to lose the weight. Charlie, now aged 37, from Newton, was later diagnosed with a thyroid problem and told her metabolism was "shot". She said, "I did eat salads and didn't eat large portions, and on the whole I ate healthily. But I did like curries and ate them and was very fond of fizzy drinks."
After her first marriage broke down, Charlie met Bob and got married again. Bob had children from a previous relationship and at that time they both decided that they would not try for a family. She said, "Before I got married for the second time I tried Weight Watchers when I reached 16 stone (102kg) so that I could get into a "normal" sized wedding dress and I stuck to it rigidly. The first week though I did not lose a pound and the second week I only lost a pound and a half. Others were losing lots of weight and it was soul-destroying."
Three years ago Charlie decided that her only option was surgery, and after much research she booked herself into a private Hospital, in Longman for a L$10,200 gastric by-pass. She said, "I remortaged the house and my father and step-mum helped out with the cost and I had my operation. For the first few weeks I could only eat pureed food. Then I was able to eat semi-solids. I lost a lot of weight to start with. I could not eat anything fatty. The doctor said I would not want to eat chocolates or sweet things and that was the case. Now I can pretty much eat what I like, although I can't eat fast food, well not more than a couple of mouthfuls. But I do like my food and would have seriously considered not having the operation if it would have meant I could not eat my favourite foods, albeit even in very small portions. "
Soon Charlie was down to 9st 7lbs (60.3 kg), and four months after surgery she was pregnant - which was a complete shock. Unfortunately it was an ectopic pregnancy and she had to have her fallopian tube removed. Doctors told her it was very unlikely that she would ever become pregnant again, but a year later she was. Charlie now has a bouncing 13-month-old boy, Nicholas, and says her life is complete.
posted by wnsworld @ 8:51 PM
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