Javier M.

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I say that with a smirk! 

I returned to work today and did well with the exception of forgeting to drink my water and shakes. I will try to get them all in today before the nights end. Its been one week since surgery and I feel great. The unofficial weight loss is around 30 pounds since last week. I will check with my doctor on Thursday to see if this is normal. 

Heres a recap of last week:

Monday - began the milk of mag
Tuesday - had surgery. walked at night but had pain from the gas they use for lap surgery. no liquids
Wed - began Ice chips. did nothing for me. walked all day. pain gone by afternoon
Thursday- running up and down hall ways. on liquids including broth/jello. discharged at night.
Friday - walked 1 mile in morning. drank liquids. drove my car to get washed.
Saturday- walked 1 mile in morning. went shopping with family. no pain
Sunday - walked 1 mile in morning. went truck browsing with wife. no pain
Monday - walked 1 mile. went to movies with son. took him to the mall to shop.
Tuesday - returned to work.


I write this for those who think the procedure is very painful and for this reason they have chosen not to have it. 

Of course there are those who have pain and should be resting in order to heal correctly, but in my case, I felt no pain. I believe this to be the result of me mentally preparing my self . I was set on returning to work in one week and set myself on not experiencing any pain ( of course having perfectionsit as a surgeon helped ) Anyhow, on Thursday when I have my post-op, Ill probably get yelled at by my surgeon for not staying on bedrest..
Feel free to ask questions if you have any..

1/11/2008 
Ive been away for a while and have been wanting to write. Its been around 5 months and I am down to around 227lbs. Ive been hangin around this weight for about 2-3 weeks. I guess Ive plataued. Although I would like to loose another 40lbs, I would not mind if I stayed my current weight. My eating habits are increasing and I am a little concerned. I am able to eat everything just as before , just smaller portions. My goodness does it hurt if I stuff my self. Anyhow I am going to post a few picsin a minute. There is one picture in particluar that actually made me emotional. I never saw myself that "big".... If you are browsing questioning whether or not you should go through with the WLS, I can truly say I was the biggest chicken before hand. I used to see people write " this was the best descion ever" and I now know how they  feel. I feel like a new man.
Feel free to contact me with questions....
Javier




08/31/2007
Well I am home from surgery and I dont care what anyone says, they is no way you can prepare yourself from what you go through. I will say the actual surgery and recovery was painless with the exception of the gas. Ouch, that hurts.. Fortunately I had family with me and a wonderful wife who stood by my side throughout this ordeal. On 8/27/07 I was 299, this morning I am 288. ... So far today, I have - walked a mile and drank 38 grams of protien and 22oz of water..
08/27/2007
~ Here we go... Ive been AWOL for about 5 months or so as a way of protesting against WLS and my surgeon ( and boy did I teach them). I was originally scheduled for my surgery in March but this was cancelled (one " L" or two ) by my surgeons PA. Who would have imagined they actually want you to loose the weight they ask you too!!! 

Back in December the surgeon gave a WL goal of 20 lbs. As my date came closer I began to say good byes to all the foods I would never see again! I just didnt think I would gain weight as a result. In short, rather than loose the 20 lbs, I put on 8lbs. Talk about a buzzkill when I went to the surgeon the week before my date to hear the PA tell me he was cancelling (two " L"'s or one )the procedure until I lost the 20 plus the additional 8lbs. I thought I would try and rationalize the reason for weight gain ( Ive been working out so it is all muscle, Ive been drinking too many protein shakes, I wore my belt when I weighed, too much water and my favorite one, Its because I dont want to loose too much weight with the surgery so I felt the need to put more on.. haha). I even went into a philosophical debate about how it does not make sense to have to loose weight to get a weight loss surgery.( knock on head ) dee dee dee... HELLO!!! If I could loose 30lbs on my own, I wouldnt be having surgery!

Now after much dieting and driving myself crazy, I finally folded and lost 17 pounds, 11 pounds shy of my goal and I was granted a date from the surgery god. BTW the date is tommorrow!! So why am I writing? I think its helping me right now clear my head. Of course I am doubting myself and struggeling with the sacrifices I will have to make. Its always funny right before everyone looks you in the face and says " your not fat" or " you look good" and the oscar goes to .." I never saw you as being overweight" 
Anyhow, I feel better. Tommorrows my surgery and I hope this all pays off in the end....

Morale of the story: If they tell you to loose weight, loose the weight! 

If not, before you do the initial weigh in, place 20 pounds of weights in your pockets, this way when they tell you to loose 20lbs you can simply remove them from your pockets on the next visit :)..


01/28/2007
~ I came across a picture of me about 3 years ago. I only weighed 230 back then I thought that I was  extremely overweight. Ah what Id give to weigh 230 again. That is the power of mind.

01/22/2007

~For those who care to read my babbles... After much thought I have concluded to have the gastric bypass. I am surprised that this procedure is moving much faster than what I originally thought. I sat around for  weeks up until the BP ( bariatric program) contacted me. They asked if I had completed all my labs/appts. I had to tell them no but today I contacted the psych, and my pcp. By the end of the week everything will be completed. I was even more suprised when the BP informed me that my insurance is "  GOLD " when it comes to this therefore I should be more worried about loosing the recommended 20 pounds, rather than worry about approval. She mentioned, " We can schedule your surgery as soon as you loose the weight. We can get you in as soon as three weeks if you loose the weight. So folks, here it is..... I am 303 and I need to loose 20 pounds.. I am the only one holding me back.. Today I begin my diet. I just hope I can loose the weight quickly...
The result of being overweight..... I just realized, as I was trying to find pictures to post, I have no pictures of me. I never liked to be photographed.... GOAL 1 : after I loose the weight, I am turning into a photographic addict.. Who knows, maybe playgirl :)

01/14/2007

 ~Ok, although I said lapband, I am wondering if I should follow through. I seem to be sensitive to WLS since everywhere I turn, some one I know or meet has had it. I turned to a relative of a friend for support since he is going on 3 years... Yup guess what happened.... I asked him for his opinion since researched all these WLS. I asked, Bypass or Lapband? AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! He said neither, Duodonal Switch. Thats what he had.... And believe me, he was their spokesmodel........ Today saw a show about carnie wilson. She had the bypass and said she gained the weight back... I ll keep searching inside...........

12/29/2006

~ Before I left the bariatric program, I looked up my PCPs address. It has been over 2 years since I seen him and I heard he had moved. To my surprise, they told me they were in the same wing of the bariatric program.. coincidence or divine interverntion? I walked over and scheduled an appt for today.....
Met with my pcp and he questioned my actions. He asked if I wanted to give dieting another chance. I told him Ive tried dieting all my life. We spoke for about 20 minutes and he gave me his support. He gave me referrals for my lab work. He said that prior to writing the letter, he wanted to give me a full physical. Before I left he gave me an EKG..... I hate having beautiful women as medical assistants. It always sucks having someone your age or younger see you with your shirt off...:)
*** Oh yeah, he also suggested the lap band. So after two physicians suggesting it, Lap Band it is!!!!!
 
12/26/2006

 ~ So I met with the bariatric coordinator and discussed my decision. She questioned me about my dedication and commitment to life with a lapband. It seems as if she is wants me to go with the bypass. She is part of the bypass alumni so I get the feeling that she is biased. Nothing wrong with that... I left the meeting calmed and relaxed. She gave me homework to do. First on my list: contact my pcp and get a letter of support.

12/25/2006 

~ Its been a week since Ive heard from the doctors office since I was told they would contact me. Even though I thought I was the only patient they had , it turns out that  they have a very succesul practice and I am not the only one. This means I wait until my file is reviewed........ I got a call later in the afternoon telling me that I did things backwards. Prior to seeing the doctor I needed to contact a bariatric program that manages his caseloads for WLS. *** contacted the program and have an appt tommorrow....

12/18/2006 

~ Was I in for a surprise!!! HAHAHA, prior to my appt,  I had perceived the doctors office to be full of depressed overweight people like myself waiting to see the surgeon. Boy was I wrong!!! I guess a surgeon does more than just bariatric surgeries. Let just say...... there was alot of ...um.... silicone in that waiting room... Even though I had to wait 3 hours, I wasnt upset. I enjoyed the people watching...
                  So heres my delima:
The doctor reviewed my history and it seemed as he wanted me to go the LapBand route. Feels that I am too young and believes I will be successful with it. Even though I was sold on the bypass prior to seeing him, I left more confused as ever: Lap bad or bypass. Lapband seems easy and not as frigtening yet not a gurantee. I blurted out Lapband.
Doc, thanks for the confusion!
I now wait and follow up in two weeks....tick tock tick tock..

 12/16/2006 

~ After many years of contemplation and thousands of dollars spent on fast food, I finally got the cojones to contact the doctors office for a WLS consult. I was surprised to hear that I would be seen in two days. I thought for sure it would take at least  2-3 weeks, this way I would have enough time to sabatoge myself.... Jokes on me, I have an appt 48 hours from today