macadamia

Depends on perspective. I look on it as both a gift and a tool. Of the millions who want or need the surgery, I was actually able to receive the surgery. It's changed my life and actually given it back. I've very grateful to the tool/gift and team that did the surgery and have been my support along the way.

A gift now? Not a tool?
(I personally think it's a surgical therapy that every obese person should be able to get if there are no contraindications but that opinion doesn't seem to be exactly en vogue.)

Great article! This especially:
I might have to needlepoint a sampler!

@neversaynever I love this article so much and I agree with every word. Thank you for sharing it 🙌🏾

I'm not sure if I said how long my first surgery took back in 1995, but it took 12 hours to complete. I was on an epidural spinal block anesthesia and did not "wake up" for three days. I felt no pain but was completely oblivious to anything around me - I was conscious, but not coherent. My parents brought my son to visit the weekend after I had my surgery, Thursday, April 20, 1995. I do not remember any of them visiting. They finally pulled the spinal block on Sunday and I actually woke up.

Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate them. It was nice that the surgical teams were able to work it out and use the same operating room visit for both sets of procedures. It is saving me money, time off of work time, driving to Utah to have everything done, and especially recovery time.

Thanks again! {{{{{hugs}}}}}

Ok, well, hang in there. Keep up your pre-op phase and keep asking questions. The more you know, as they say... Most everyone here is willing to help and chat and talk about their successes and struggles. I've found it to be pretty open here. I like most of the content too.

Andy, your courage and stamina are beyond comprehension. A lesser person might have just surrendered and given up. I respect your candid and unvarnished story, and feel privileged that you would share it with this group. I hope you stay in the group as we go along, this motley group of strangers-turned-friends by a common cause, finding solice and support and periodic ass-kicking when needed. You are AWESOME. Since you invited Qs, I'm wondering how the foods you can eat will impact the WLS surgery and life going forward.

I just hope the bedside manner of the doctors stay like they are. I do not want to see it become an assembly line.

I just hope the bedside manner of the doctors stay like they are. I do not want to see it become an assembly line.

So glad to hear you're in a less pain. I'm a nurse at VA hospital, i saw a word "Navy" in your first post and followed your progress since. Reading your posts is very inspirational

Looking forward to my VSG!

Thank you very much for the kind words! I appreciate it! I am glad too that they were done laparoscopically. The pain and trauma to my abdomen is much less and hurts much much less.

It takes a bit to get used to it. Once I got used to it, I now cannot sleep without it. It sounds like you are pissed because you think they are just trying to do something that isn't necessary or something where they are just trying to get more money from the insurance company. Many morbidly obese people have some form of apnea. Not everyone but many do. The doctor is experienced with the conditions that lead people to weight loss surgery and is just covering all of the bases. Give it some time and you may see better results. In the beginning, I could not wear it for very long either. It is a weird sensation to have something on your face at night. It does work. I can attest to that.

I see you are very close to your surgery date. Otherwise, I'd also suggest that you get a second opinion on anything that you are thinking they are ordering unnecessarily.

Good luck to you!

It is not about having trouble sleeping, it is about the number of episodes per night you have with breathing. Many times you will not even know that it is happening and your significant other may not notice either. When I had my first sleep study, I felt like I was sleeping well but found out that I had on average 35 episodes per hour. This is very high, so they prescribed C-pap for me. This is the one that a full-face mask was used. I used it for a couple of years then stopped. When I arrived out in Idaho, my gastroenterologist asked me if I had any trouble sleeping and I said not really but I used to use C-pap. He referred me to a sleep doctor and I had the take-home sleep test (wrist monitor). This machine said I had 72 episodes per hour and again, I was given a different machine with newer technology and a nicer humidifier. I got the nasal pillows this time and when I started using it, I slept better than I ever thought I could. I've been using it ever since. I cannot sleep without it.

My son did the sleep study and was given a CPAP machine with the nasal pillow mask. It didn't work for him and he would knock it off of his face while sleeping. He ended up going back for a video taped sleep study and they changed him to a BIPAP machine and a full face mask and the quality of sleep he gets now changed his life according to him. I think if you have a serious problem with sleeping you can work with the sleep Dr. until they get it right. It could be that you sleep fine and they are just doing the typical judging a book by it's cover diagnosis.

I just got a cpap machine and hate it. I don't have issues sleeping but my surgeon is making me use it for 90 days. I don't get it but its just not working for me at all. it was my 3rd night with it last night and i took it off after an hour. I guess this has something to do with insurance approval maybe? I got the nasal pillow too but can't stand wearing it..

I felt the same way when I 1st got mine. I did not think it was really a thing that would work. This was also prescribed by my surgeon during the pre-op process. I had been prescribed a sleep test by my PCP at least 3 times but I did not want to do it. Give it time, it will grow on you and it will more than likely be a benefit. It was for me. I had issues sleeping period. I was lucky to get 4 hours in one night and it was restless. I now sleep sound evry night and get usually 7 hours a night.

That's good its worked for others.. i have no trouble sleeping though. I did the sleep study earlier this week and they gave me the cpap before i even did the study! Like I said I think its an insurance requirement issue.. ugh.

Maybe don't use this one on your dating profile?
So happy to hear they could do everything laparoscopically and that you're having less pain than expected. What a bonus! And even being able to tuck in shirts - it's really about the little things, isn't it?

Thank you very much. That is kind of you to say. The colo-rectal surgeon came in this morning and said he was astonished that he did not have to do his part open. He removed scar tissue on my small intestines in areas where I have had small bowel obstructions in the past and moved the ostomy up to the new location. He also said the bariatric surgeon did the hernia repair on my abdomen (I had assumed it was the colo-rectal surgeon). He is also very happy with my progress so far.

So, apparently, my surgery went very well. The bariatric surgeon did his part of the procedure first and was able to do it laparoscopically. He told me at the pre-op appointment that I had a hiatal hernia and that he would repair it during the surgery. I forgot to ask him if it was repaired. I’ll ask today when I see him or his team.

The colo-rectal surgeon, much to my surprise, was also able to do all of his work laparoscopically. I was expecting it to be an open procedure, which is very painful and takes many months to heal. My pain is virtually nonexistent. The colo-rectal surgeon did have to repair a hernia between my old ostomy site and the new one, and that is where the majority of my pain is. The new ostomy is much higher than I had expected, so I will actually be able to wear shirts with them tucked in. This is huge for me. I think untucked shirts look sloppy and I've had to look sloppy since last August.

I’ve been drinking my Water 60ml (two plastic pill serving cups) at a time, about every 15 minutes. Last night for dinner, I had extremely salty beef broth and SF lime Jello. I had about 3 spoonsful of the broth and half of the jello. I felt full although the sensation of being full was different than what I remember from before the surgery. This morning for Breakfast, I had vegetable broth, which I ate two spoonsful of, and lime jello, which I ate all of it. They also brought me a Protein Shake, which I had the nurse take back because it is not on my phase 1 diet. (-:

I walked two times yesterday and already one time this morning. I walked 0.5 miles on the second walk yesterday and the one today. That is if my Apple Watch workout app is accurate.

Is this a good look for me?

Thank you so much! It's awesome that you've been following my progress and giving me so many hugs. I love it! Here you go, my friend. {{{{{hugs}}}}}

Keep your progress up too and let us know how you are doing, please!

So, I have promised to share my story with anyone who is interested. I’m not simply a bariatric surgery patient. Feel free to ask questions about what I have gone through. I am not shy about talking about my travails and have lots of experience with surgery in general. The photos I am sharing may be disturbing to some people. I am scarred and have an ileostomy. If you are squeamish, you may want to skip the photos.

Here we go… Get your popcorn, this is a very long post.

My name is Andy. I turned 52 in early July. I am single and live alone with my dog. I’ve been heavy most of my life. But, my journey is about my chronic illness and the effects it has had on me and my body.

I have Crohn’s Disease. I started having symptoms when I was 15. It got really bad when I was in the Navy, but it was in 1990 that I was first hospitalized because of it. I was, at first, diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and started on medication. This seemed to help for a while, but it kept getting worse. In 1995, when my doctor said I had to start taking Prednisone again, I opted to have a radical surgery to “cure” me by removing the organ of choice for this autoimmune disease. On April 20, 1995, I had the first of three major abdominal surgeries at Northwestern University Hospital, in Illinois. I had my entire large intestine removed and an internal pouch was made out of my small intestine to take the place of my large intestine. The surgery took almost 12 hours to complete. It was done open incision; laparoscopic surgery of this type was not perfected until the early 2000s. (My youngest brother had this exact surgery performed in 2012 laparoscopically. Crohn’s disease runs in my family.) This pouch was connected to the exit and I had a loop ileostomy for three months while the internal pouch healed. Yes, I pooped into a bag hanging from my stomach for three months back then. Then, after the three months, I went back in for another surgery where they closed the ileostomy and dropped my intestine back inside. Things went well for a couple of years, then I got sick again.

I moved to California and started a new job in 2002. When I found a new gastroenterologist in southern California, he did some tests and said I did not have ulcerative colitis, but Crohn’s Disease. (The difference between these two irritable bowel diseases is ulcerative colitis only attacks the large intestine, but Crohn’s disease can attack any part of the digestive system.) This doctor started me on an infusion medication called Remicade. This was the first medication that ever really worked. I took it for about 14 years until I developed antibodies to it. I kept taking it even though it was not working because the doctor never had me tested for antibodies.

In 2014, I moved to Idaho. I found my current gastroenterologist, who is the best doctor I have ever had. He put me on Humira. This is a self-injectable medication that also worked for a while, this time about two years. When he saw that the Humira was no longer working, he ordered a blood test that would see if I had antibodies to it. This is when I found out that I had antibodies to both Humira and my previous medication, Remicade. I was then switched to Cimzia, which never worked. I just keep getting sicker and sicker. (The worst part of having Crohn’s disease is there are no outward signs that you are sick. I looked fine but felt like crap all the time. No one at work believed I was sick)

One of the side effects of my surgery in 1995 was scar tissue in my small intestines where the ileostomy was. Because of this, I periodically have small bowel obstructions that usually require hospitalization. To date, I have had 17 small bowel obstructions. These usually clear themselves while I am in the hospital, by not eating anything (NPO) and having an NG (Naso-gastral) tube inserted up my nose and down into my stomach, to remove any contents using suction.

Let’s jump ahead to last year – May 2017. I had yet another small bowel obstruction. I was hospitalized as usual, but this time it did not clear. I had been in the hospital for two weeks and then they decided I needed surgery to clear the blockage. When I was talking to the surgeon before the surgery, he said I had a 90% chance that I would come out of surgery with a permanent ileostomy. This was not the case. In this second major open abdominal surgery, the surgeon was able to remove scar tissue strictures from the outside of my small intestine and they immediately inflated and the blockage passed. I got lucky. The surgeon told me that if I had another small bowel obstruction, he would be forced to remove my internal pouch and give me a permanent ileostomy.

In August of 2017, this is exactly what happened. A bit after 4 am on August 21, 2017 (yes, the day of the total solar eclipse – I’ll say more about this in a minute), I went to the emergency room and was admitted about 8:30 am for yet another small bowel obstruction. I had been up all night throwing up and getting sicker, so I was exhausted by the time I got to my room. About 10 am, the nurse came in and asked if I wanted to go out to the parking lot and watch the eclipse. I was so sick and exhausted that I said no and slept through the entire event. (I live in one of the areas where people came to view the event (eastern Idaho) and I missed the entire thing because of this damn disease…) When the surgeon came in later that day, he said that he had scheduled me for surgery on Wednesday, August 23, 2017,, for the removal of my badly diseased internal pouch and give me a permanent end ileostomy. So, again, I poop into a bag.

So, on August 23, 2017, I had the third major open abdominal surgery. One thing to note here is this was the third time I had been opened up in the same place – from just above my belly button, vertically down into my groin. My wound had barely healed from the surgery in May and the surgeon was cutting me open again. This ended up being a long recovery.

There were two issues with this surgery: the first was the placement of the ileostomy. The surgeon placed it in the scar tissue from my ileostomy that I had back in 1995. This has caused issues with the seal on my bag.

The second issue was the surgical wound. While I got much better since the badly diseased part of my small intestine was surgically removed, the wound did not want to heal. I was in the hospital for over three weeks and eventually sent home on with a wound vac. This device keeps constant suction on the wound and removes any blood and body fluids from the wound, preventing infection and speeding healing. The problem with my wound this time is it was not closed properly and it took over four months for it to close enough for me to stop using the wound vac. I was able to finally return to work in January of 2018.

Back to my gastroenterologist. I went to see him in Februar 2018 for a checkup and an intestinal scope, called a sigmoidoscopy. This is basically the same as a colonoscopy, but they use a much smaller device. It is about the same size as an endoscope. When this procedure was over, he said to me that I needed to lose weight. (He basically says this every time I see him, about every three months) This time, I was sick of hearing about it so I asked him for a referral to see a dietician to help me with my weight and my eating.

About a month later, I get an unexpected call from a bariatric surgeon’s office near where I live and was invited to a seminar. I went and after the presentation, I went to ask the surgeon a couple of questions about whether or not I was a candidate based on my surgeries. She said that it was not out of the question, but she would need me to make an appointment to be sure. I was seen in late March 2018. When I met with the surgeon, she asked me to lift my shirt and show her my abdomen. She took one look at my scars and said she could do nothing for me. She referred me to a bariatric surgeon at the University of Utah, who I met with on June 29, 2018. Because I had already started the journey, according to my insurance, back in March, the doctor placed me on the fast-track to get everything done. Since June 29th, I have had 14 appointments in Salt Lake City, about 210 miles south of where I live.

During this first appointment, I also talked to the bariatric surgeon about my other issues and he referred me to a colo-rectal surgeon, also at U of U. I met with him on July 20, 2018. We discussed revision surgery on the placement of my ileostomy and the removal of internal scar tissue around my small intestines on the left side of my abdomen. He said that these things need to be done and that he would coordinate with the bariatric surgeon. The bariatric surgeon was more hesitant and needed much convincing. I finally was able to talk him into performing both sets of procedures during the same operating room visit. I was finally approved for everything and am scheduled for surgery on September 6, 2018.

In early August of this year, I was finally approved for yet another Crohn’s medication – Stelara. This, by the way, is the second most expensive medication in the United States, behind only Harvoni (which is used for hepatitis C). Stelara costs about $20,000 per dose and I have to inject one dose every two months. So far, it is working.

So, to recap – on September 6, 2018, I will be having a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, performed laparoscopically (prepped for open, but he is going to attempt laparoscopically first) by Dr. Volckmann as the first procedure performed. While I am still under and after Dr. Volckmann finishes, Dr. Pickron will come in and perform a revision on the location of my permanent end ileostomy and attempt to remove as much scar tissue from my small intestines as he can. This will be performed open, through the same incision location and scar tissue that has been used now three previous times.

I am also posting photos of what I look like without clothing, with privates blocked out. Since my surgery on August 23, 2018, only my doctors have seen me this way. And the last photo is of my "surgery" haircut. I hate to deal with my hair in the hospital so I just cut it all off before I go in.

If you have made it to this point, thank you for reading my story. I have never written it all down before and as such, have never shared everything with anyone.

and I bet you looked awesome in it!