About me; Chapter 3

At the age of 21 I had a stroke of sorts. I have a heart condition too that I didn’t know existed until then. It’s called ventricular tachycardia. For 6 months while I debated having a procedure to get rid of the cells causing the irregular heartbeat, I sat on my couch under the medication of two blood pressure lowering medicines. The resultant cocktail left me with no energy. Going to the bathroom was difficult as I just didn’t want to move. I gained quite a bit of weight then.

I decided when I was 22 to have the procedure as I couldn’t live my life like this. I had a very successful RF Ablation (this definition of it is used as an example of getting rid of cancer. However it can and often is used to treat this specific condition as well) which took care of most of the problem. I still have arrhythmia, but I’ll take it if I never have to have a stroke again.

By the time I was 24 my husband and I no longer even hugged. After having gone through what I went through medically we were financially strapped and emotionally tapped. Our marriage was failing but still we held on, the idea of divorce too much for us then.

I met a friend who turned me on to pot. She assured me it would help me relax. Strange isn’t it, the things we do? For 3 years I smoked Pot with a few friends. It took me all of those 3 years to get my eating while under the influence under control. I gained over 100 pounds during those years.

Depression, drugs, increased eating continued until I was 30. By then, I no longer had any semblance of the person I had been. I was withdrawn, obese, in a failed marriage, and going no where professionally. I finally decided I had to take some action. I quit smoking pot, and smoking cigarettes; I did this cold turkey and was successful. But in doing so I gained more weight (this time about 30 pounds).