Dragon64

Wow! What a difference! Warmer weather or not, you are rockin the new you.

April 6, 2018 Family Doctor Visit (2 of 6) Stats: Weight: 316.6 BMI: 44.2 Zero if any change, but definitely no gain! Discussion with doctor involved going for some lab work (fasting) to make sure I am not having any issues with my sugar or thyroid. Between the first visit and today's visit, I was all over the scale (down to 308 last week and up to 316 this week). I was frustrated with myself to say the least... but then this is why I am here in the first place, because I do not seem to posses the ability to lose the weight on my own. On a finer note; because I have a history of blood clotting, and I have a sedentary job (and life style), I had my doctor write me a note to get an elevated desk lift for my keyboard, mouse & monitors. That way I can stand for a portion of the day while I work my desk job! Next milestone is my first of three visits to my nutritionist, that will be on April 11. And on the 22nd of this month I will report back to my hematologist about my current quest. The hematologist visit is a re-check, as I am on blood thinners due to my clotting issue, but this doctor is also the doctor who recommended I seek weight-loss surgery in the first place...

I'm much better today And still on track. My doctors office called to remind me of my April 6th weigh-in appointment.

Today, has been kind of rough on me with regards to my march to surgery. Sometimes I dwell (or obsess) far to long on a thought. This time it is my alter ego fighting with me; It is telling me not to do it, please don't damage "our" stomach... I'm litterally sitting here fighting a small war within myself; "why am I going to traumatize my stomach... Why are you going to remove 80% of our stomach... WHY?" Deep down, I know why, but my alter is just not up to speed... I know that I am unhealthy and slowly killing myself. But do you really need to mutilate us? Anybody else play these mind games? Gosh, 5 more months of this and I am going to be frazzled!

I was told this by my doctor; sugar addiction is as real as a smokers addiction. To quit smoking, you would not have the occasional cig... likewise, to quit sugar is not to have candy or cakes. Honey is a better option to curb the sweet tooth, but make sure that you get the honey that is harvested locally to take advantage of the local antioxidant properties and natural immunity properties to your surrounding area. I am in the infant stages of the VSG process (insurance requirements etc), and the first thing I cut out was everything to do with sugar. Some items are unavoidable, but for the most part, I do not indulge in anymore processed sweets. Of course I still depend on artificial sweeteners (demons in their own rite), but they will soon be gone as well. Along with honey, I am supplementing the sweet tooth with apples, grapes and strawberries. My mother, a 10-year veteran of gastric bypass, felt that she could a full candy bar if she ate it over 2 or 3 sittings... gaining back 50-pounds of her lost weight, her doctor asked her why? "Why would you give in to those demons and lie to yourself." She cleansed her house of all of the processed carbs that have made their way back into her cupboard (and life), and has since lost 25 of those pounds... If you must give in, at least substitute for a more naturally concurring sugar, and stay away from that processed stuff. I'm not a medical expert, but I am a recovering addict.

If you are like me, and live a sedentary lifestyle, then swelling is inevitable. Walk more (read as walk a lot). Get up and move every 30-minutes or so. I am a CAD designer by day, and sit most of my time staring at a computer. It is not good, so I try to remind myself to get up and walk the halls, or go outside and walk around the building.

I wear diabetic socks everyday. I am not diabetic, I just wear them because they do not cut off circulation as my legs begin to swell. I used to use compression socks... I flat wore them out. When I would pull them off, my legs would itch so bad...ugh!

Edema of the lower legs is one of the prompts that had one of doctor "friends" recommend bariatric surgery. I have had swelling in my legs for years. I first received treatment for swelling in my lower legs after being diagnosed with venous reflux. The treatment had a rather painful recovery, but much of the swelling went away. I still have mild swelling in the ankles, and my doctor friend told me that surgery may be the fix to fix everything that ails me, including the edema. Hopefully after your surgery, you will see vast improvements...

My mother is taking contrave even though she has had gastric bypass surgery.

A buddy of mine had the sleeve surgery last year. He is a desk rider also, and he said he returned after a week at home... but for half days only, as he expended a bunch of energy and became week quickly, even for a desk job. My doctor told me a week and a half should be good enough for light duty work.

A quick update between the first and second of six required doctors visits; I appear to be maintaining rather than losing weight at the moment. Upon the initial visit with my surgeon, he asked that I try to lose some weight over the next 6-months, but most of all he said; "try not to gain anymore weight". Ugh! The temptations are there... I don't know how many times I have told myself that since I will never be able to seat some foods again after surgery, that I should just binge every weekend on the foods I will miss the most. But alas, I know all to well that these kinds of thoughts are setting me up for failure, should I give in. So, for the next five months I will be far more diligent at watching what and how much I eat, so that after surgery, I can thoroughly enjoy the life-style changes I am making now. For the month of April I will have two doctor visits that pertain to my upcoming surgery; on the 6th I have my 2nd of six required visits with my family physician, and on the 11th I will meet with my nutritionist for the 1st of three visits. Seriously though (how am I really doing?) the magic is wearing off, 5-months feels more like 5-years away. My wife rolls her eyes when I bring up the surgery subject, and my kids leave the room... so five months out I feel like I am adrift in space, and losing my focus...

Welcome to the forums, we look forward to reading about your journey. I too planned to have surgery around August, but I procrastinated whilest I did some soul searching...Looks like September or October for me now.

You're having surgery to get healthy, so follow suit and put down the "coffin nails" too!

And good luck to you as well. You are about there now, looking forward to reading of your progress.

February 28 2018 Family Doctor Visit (1 of 6) Stats: Weight: 36.8 BMI: 44.2 Visit was nominal, other than discussing my weight loss goals for the next 6-months. My doctor was pleased to see that I have lost weight since we last met, and I explained it was all part of the big plan to get healthy and take my life back. Small changes I have made: 1) Eating only when hungry (stomach hungry, not head hungry). 2) Eating smaller portions (strictly watching portion size). 3) Removing most all sugars from diet, a very slow and cumbersome process (everything has a sugar of some sort in it). More on this journey as it unfolds, otherwise everything is clear sailing!

So far I have tried the Chocolate, Strawberry and Banana (in that order). The Banana is my least favorite, I did not even care for the smell, as it kind of had a medicinal or chemical undertone. I would like to try the new Peaches and Cookie flavors, however I believe the lactose is going to affect me long term and that is a bummer!

Thanks all, I am really looking forward the time when I can say "finally" A couple days ago I was searching for silverware to use as a bariatric patient. There is some cool stuff coming out of England, but it was kind of pricey to get across the 'big pond', but Amazon had these Bariatric/toddler training untensils. I just got them in today, what do you think: $14 and some change shipped, you get two sets and two carry pouches. They seem well made... and smaller than you think. These are supposed to help with slowing down your eating, and of course eating smaller portions. I will test them out from here on out... probably give them a rest when I start the liquid diet...

February 28 2018 Stress Test Day Stats: Weight: 319 BMI: 44.5 What can I say, stress tests suck! This was much better than my last test in terms of surviving it, but I believe that I good results have been recorded. Now is a good time to get in the list of prerequisites that my insurance requires. This is a 6-month journey per the insurance. his so that I am given the chance to lose weight while under medical supervision. The following list will be updated with each event recorded: Colonoscopy - Done! Blood work - Done! Stress Test - Done! 1st Visit with Primary Care Physician (six consecutive visits required within 180-days) - March 8 1st Visit with Dietician (three recommended, but only the first visit is required) - April 11 The process continues...

February 23, 2018 Initial Consultation Day Stats: Weight: 321lbs BMI: 44.8 My doctor of choice is Dr Todd Foreman of the Alabama Surgical Associates. Dr Foreman has 15 years experience as a bariatric surgeon. 10-years ago he performed gastric bypass on my mother, and the lap band on my sister. After researching a number of the local surgeons, I selected Dr Foreman, and set my appointment. The appoint seemed to take for ever, as this visit also doubled as lab day to get the blood work and H-Pylori test done. To prep for the big day I pulled together 28 questions to ask Dr Foreman. Upon his entry into the room, he answered most all of my questions in the first 20-minutes. He is a straight shooter, telling it like it is. I was afraid he was going to try and sell me the surgery, but instead he informed of the surgery, and talked at length about my options. After nearly an hour together, he confirmed a recommendation of the gastric sleeve being the best option for me. Elizabeth was with me through the whole visit. She is my conscientious objector. At the end of the day, we downloaded our emotions and began our discussion. Much to her dismay, I have decided to proceed with surgery. She stated she will support me all the way, but asked that I please consider her reservations. I agreed, and weekend we had a number of heart to heart conversations, we discussed more in-depth about the journey that lies before us.

From August 2017 to January 2018 I gained 22 pounds. I was meeting with my hematologist, when he recommended that I seek weight loss surgery. For you see, like so many here on the forums, I have edema of the lower legs. I have been meeting with my Hematologist, because he has me on a dose of Xeralto to keep my blood thin. The thinning of the blood over the course of a year will help to inhibit the formation of new clots... but that darned edema of the legs has the doctor concerned for me. He said I need to lose the weight, so I can reduce the edema, so he can take me off the Xeralto. This is when he recommended the weight loss surgery. Admittedly, I had been researching the surgery option, probably going back to 2012. But during this time, I was doing the research and making the inquiries, and I just could not get it in my head... I scared myself away. It is different now, this time a doctor recommended it to me as the best option for the situation at hand. Another week or two goes by, and I decide that I am going to lose the weight on my own. First stop was a visit to my family doctor for a wellness visit, I was on top of the world. At this visit, I topped the scales at my highest weight of all time, 325 lbs! The world deflates below me, and in an instant I decided that I am going to seek surgery. I had concluded in an instant, there is no other way for me.

Question; can I document an entire six months as it happens? The only way I can tell the journey is as it happens. How I got here; Hi! My name is Johnnie, and I am morbidly obese, and I am also a food addict. 27-years ago, I was a dope smokin, cigarette puffin. soon to be alcoholic. This is when god sent me one of his purist angels, we will call her Elizabeth. This angel accepted me for who I was, but loved me for who I am. When my destructive lifestyle began to corrupt her, she gave me an ultimatum; lose the pot, or lose me... I cannot have both. 27-years ago I quit the destructive habit of smoking dope. Elizabeth and I were also married. Retaining the other two bad habits of smoking and drinking, I had also started to pack on the pounds. My married weight some 27-years ago fluctuated between 195 to 200 lbs. Over thsee years I tried the Atkins diet, which worked initially, but not before the steadily gaining back the weight. Fast forward to 2002, my weight blew up to 260 pounds. This was also the time my doctor started me on my first of many high blood pressure meds. At this time I also wanted to quit smoking, so my doctor prescribed Welbutrin, and within a month I became a non smoker. This about the time that my drinking got worse, and my weight started to soar again. A brief try at Atkins again proved futile, as my metabolism was not as young as it used to be. At 300 +/- pounds in 2008, I quit drinking and started dieting again; this time it was the 1600 calorie diet with a daily dose of Phentermine. I managed a measly 50lb loss, before reversing direction. I tried Phentermine a couple more times, and even tossed in the 1200 calorie diet. Nevertheless, my weight was now getting out of hand. I have been plagued with plantar faciitus, sore knees, accompanied by a (un-)healthy dose of low self esteem, it became clear, I need help. 2017 arrived, and I decided to change occupations. In April I started a new career as a professional truck driver. I do not need to describe a truckers lifestyle, accept to say, 2017 was not my best year for decision making. July I came off the truck with a kidney stone. It took 2-attempts to get the stone out, but that little bugger came out. Three days after the last kidney stone procedure, was rushed to the emergency room and diagnosed with multiple pulmonary emboli (blood clots). It was deduced that I got deep vein thrombosis from the truck driver life style, producing the clots that nested in my lungs. Weight in July and August was 298. I should note here, that through all of the years I also suffered from acid reflux, which I treated with baking soda and water. But the acid reflux became severe about 5-years ago, before I managed to get a grip on it. I have been reflux free for the last 4-years. This was about the time I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea and put on the CPAP machine. If you skipped ahead in this story, just know that I suffer like so many here, with many of the issues surrounding those two nasty words; Morbid Obesity. Elizabeth, has never left my side, she has been my rock, my angel, my best friend for life, even now more than ever! With my background story out of the way, I can begin my journey now...

1) Live Healthier: 2) Live without BP meds 3) Live without the CPAP machine 4) Live without knee pain 5) To ride my bike again 6) To run (maybe even the participate in the Cotton Row Run) 7) Make love to my wife (it has been a long time) 8) Shop in the regular clothes section of any store! 9) Put a seatbelt on without having to lift a butt-cheek 10) Travel (where I can fit in the seat on buses and planes)

I'm new and in the very early stages of the qualification process. My initial consult was Feb 23 with Dr Foreman in Huntsville, AL. I have done the blood work and H-Pylori test, and today (Feb 28) I will be having a stress test done. Next week will begin the 180-day with 6 consecutive visits with my family doctor per the insurance requirements. Luckily, I do not have to have another colonoscopy, as mine has been within the last 10-years. I am predicting that my gastric sleeve surgery will not happen until the September at the earliest.

Don't quit smoking for the surgery, quit smoking for life!

One of the driving factors for me, is having a heart doctor tell me that i do not have type 2 diabetes now, but i will soon enough. I have seen what diabetes does to a person, and I want no part of it... I would rather every hair on my body fall out, then to let diabetes destroy me, one organ at a time. If you can remember to take your meds and monitor your diet to keep your diabetes manged, then you can have the surgery and maintain a healthier life too! Surg on my friend, and get healhty!