Latonya Pottain — known for appearing on season 11 of My 600-Lb. Life — has died at age 40.
Pottain reportedly died May 17 at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center in Shreveport, La., TMZ reports. She was hospitalized after having difficulty breathing and later suffered cardiac arrest, her brother told the outlet.
According to the Natchitoches Parish Coroner’s Office, a preliminary autopsy revealed that she died from congestive heart failure. A final autopsy is still pending.
Pottain’s death comes after she created a GoFundMe in February for support, revealing that she was going through “the most challenging time of my life.”
“I currently weigh about 705 pounds and have been bedridden since June 2024 due to severe health issues,” she wrote at the time. “In 2022, I was featured on My 600-lb Life, where I started at 531 pounds and worked hard to get down to 505 pounds. However, after the show aired, I experienced overwhelming backlash, which sent me into a deep depression. My mental health suffered, and I became fearful of undergoing weight loss surgery.”
Latonya Pottain/Facebook
Latonya Pottain on ‘My 600-Lb. Life’
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Pottain explained that she struggled both physically and emotionally and experienced severe sciatica, which is intense pain in the lower back and legs caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve.
“Now, I am completely bedridden and unable to get to the hospital because EMTs say transporting me would be a fire hazard due to my weight,” she said on the fundraising page, asking for financial assistance to help with medical transportation to receive treatment and rehabilitation. “This has been an incredibly difficult journey, and I truly want to fight for my health and my life.”
Pottain’s weight loss was partly documented on TLC’s My 600-Lb. Life, as she struggled to commit to a weight-loss program.
On the show, Dr. Younan Nowzaradan — a Houston-based bariatric surgeon — expressed his concern for her heart health and warned that her life depended on her making significant lifestyle changes.
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