jeff8ballaz
6-17-06
340 lbs., BMI - 50
I turned 40 yrs old in May/06 and in the few months leading up to that birthday became more and more scared as to where I was headed with respect to my health. I have done yo-yo dieting for years. Both sides of my family have history of hypertension, diabetes and heart attach. To put it honestly, I worry myself sick night and day wondering when the heart-attach is coming.
That said, I decided that I would do what it takes to get the situation under control and increase my odds of living a longer life. I love life and want to live it. Indeed, I want not just to live but to have the higher standard of living that will come with being a physically smaller person.
I first attended a group seminar at Tempe St. Luke's Hospital in early May. The staff and surgeon I met there… well, since I can't remember any of their names, I guess it goes without saying that I wasn't very impressed. To be fair, at the time, I thought they were "OK", but nothing special and certainly not someone I would entrust my life to. I left that day rather dejected and thinking that maybe my hopes were set a bit high. I left thinking perhaps I really was destined to a short life of being morbidly obese and unable to partake in the activities that I really want to do.
After a couple of days of thinking about it and convincing myself that there had to be better and that I needed to retain my high standards, I posted in a local internet bulletin board asking if anyone had any experience with wls. I received two responses and one was a complete surprise and from someone that I had indirect ties to and was aware of already even though I had NO IDEA that she had had wls. (we'll call her "SE" About the same time, my pcp gave me the name of Dr. Alan Newhoff and said he had worked with him in the past and that he is the most experienced physician in the area doing wls and that he is the best - hands down. In my first emails with "SE" I found out that her surgeon was Dr. Simon and she sent me a link to her profile on this site. When I looked up her surgeon (whom she raved about), I found that he is the other surgeon "Arizona Bariatric Surgery". Of course this pleased me and I was hoping I was onto something.
6-1-06 My HIGHEST WEIGHT EVER was first visit with Dr. Newhoff on June 1st. I weighed in at 348 lbs.
I went to Dr. Newhoff's group seminar on June 1st, 2006 and was EXTREMELY impressed with his knowledge, demeanor, honesty, passion, etc… Our session lasted over four hours and I came away feeling ecstatic that I had found the surgeon that I could trust and that I would happily let operate on me. I scheduled a one-on-one with Dr. Newhoff that afternoon. I called the next day to schedule the required psychological evaluation and MMPI II.
6-14-06 340lbs (lost 8lbs over the course of last two weeks)
I had my one-on-one with Dr. Newhoff on June 14th, 2006 and it went really well. He answered a bunch of new questions I had come up with about the procedure and about nutrition. He went over in detail my medical history (it had come into his office only a few days after I requested it from my pcp) and said that with my history of being able to successfully lose weight and with the lack of any other co-morbidities that I would be a great candidate for the surgery and likely have a pretty good time of recovery too. I don't take any medicines currently, my BP is 120/90 (not too bad considering my size). He was also quite pleased that I had already started doing some of the things with respect to food, water and exercise that had resulted in my losing 8 lbs on my own in the two weeks since my group session.
6-15-06
The next day, June 15th, 2006, I met with the psychologist who said my MMPI II test came back all very benign and he definitely thinks that I have the right attitude about the surgery and that I'll utilize it correctly. Dr. Newhoff describes wls as a tool. I intend to keep and follow every bit of his advice. Having said that, I know many others have as well… I have read MANY posts with post-ops describing difficulty adhering to the rules of getting all the protein and liquids required into their bodies. I am a bit high-strung though and maybe even just slightly obsessive/compulsive which should lend itself well to my being able to stay regimented.
I have been keeping dialog open with my new wls friend "SE" and she has been a wealth of knowledge… (oh, by the way, she is as of June about 7 months post-op and at 5 months she was down over 75 lbs) and turned me on to a couple of cool websites for wls patients. I hooked myself up with a BUNCH of samples of protein mixes that should be here in the next few days. My water intake is up, I have begun taking a multi-vitamin and have been eating far more protein than carbs as of late.
I have known since I decided to get serious about wls that my insurance plan has specific exclusions for it. That pisses me off quite a bit - indeed, every time I think of it! But to hell with them - I want to live! I'll be self-paying for the surgery. Obviously, it is an expensive undertaking, but to me, I would rather LIVE $20k poorer than to be buried years earlier.
On Monday, June 19th, 2006, I am going back to Dr. Newhoff's office with my signed "self-pay" documents and check to arrange for surgery date. I have been told that he'll be on vacation for two weeks beginning July 2nd, and that my surgery date will likely be mid-July.
335
6-17-06 335lbs awaiting surgery date front view
335
6-17-06 335lbs awaiting surgery date side view
6-19-06
Surgery is scheduled for July 17th. I gave my check in advance to the doctor - should have plenty of time to clear. Have changed many things already to prepare for surgery and for life afterward. I am eating lots of proteins, taking a multi-vitamin, drinking 64 ounces or more liquids per day and being just a bit more active. WOW - less than a month away ! I am happy and my support group is growing - thats cool and important to me.
7-1-2006 331 lbs (have lost 17 lbs since first visit to Dr. Newhoff on the first of June)
My surgery date was rescheduled to two days later on July 19th. I went to Nutrition and Education with Wendi from Dr. Newhoff's office this past week and got all kinds of good advise. Melanie went with me and sat through the orientation that Dr. Newhoff gives to persons considering the surgery. She isn't considering it, but we both really wanted her to meet him first hand and get to know him and the procedure and what things we would go through together. She thinks he is extremely thorough, knowledgable and makes sure that patients make choices that are right for them. I am glad she was impressed with him.
By the way, I have already been doing some of the things recommended such as taking in LOTS of protein and lots of water and am getting my liver and organs as healthy as possible for the surgery date.
7-18-06 325 lbs. Today is the day before surgery!
Wow, of course a bit nervous. I am content to leave all in God's hands and appreciate well wishes and prayers.
8-17-06 291 lbs. (It's been almost a month since surgery and I have lost 34 lbs.) Well surgery went really well. I was up and walking just hours after the surgery. I had the open version so this is an accomplishment to be sure. I was in hospital on Wed morning for sugery and was released Fri morn. On the day of surgery and the day after, I hit the morphine button for pain just 12 times total. It was on the lowest dosage. You can hit it as often as every 20 mins. On the day after surgery, I was doing walking races with a person who also had WLS (but a day before me). I got along famously with the nursing staff at Phx Memorial. They were very cool.
After I got home, I took it easy for just a couple of days and then on Monday following surgery, the kids and I went to the mall around 7:30 am and walked a full 6 laps around the place. I don't know how far that is, have to look into it. Of course I am on a liquid or at least extremely mushy diet. Still drinking lots of water and doing three protein drinks a day.
During the second week, I found that my new shipment of protein powders hadn't arrived and I basically only had two flavors to choose from. Man, I like the protein powders, but if you only have two to choose from then it REALLY gets to be a chore to drink them. So, advise to anyone going in for surgery... Make sure you have at least four or five or even more flavors on hand.
I could easily have gone back to the office during the second week after surgery, but working at home is way nicer (love being able to crank the tunes!) and so I am "milking" this part of it. Can ya blame me ?
During 3rd week after surgery, I had put some ham chunks in my Magic Bullet with some mayo and eaten just a couple of bites (it was not very tasty) and then a while after that I felt ill. Stomach Cramps. I told my wife about it and she said the ham was too old and she wanted me to throw it away. The cramps got worse and I ended up calling the surgeon a few days later telling him that I either had food poisoning or something was wrong with the stomach pouch. He said it sounded like simply too much stomach acid and to get some Pepsid Complete and chew two a day for a while. Well, I did take one Pepsid Complete that day and the pain nearly instantly vanished. I took another one for good measure later that day and haven't had another cramp. Wow, I had myself all nervous about what could have gone wrong, and all it was was a bit too much stomach acid. I have been taking one Pepsid Complete every day since just to be safe and things are going well. In talking with "SE", she said she had a similar problem at exactly three weeks post surgery too. I wonder if this is fairly common at a certain point post surgery.
Well that brings us to now which is nearly a month post surgery and things are going very well. My weight loss is about 1 lb per day which is I think pretty rapid but typical for a male.
I am going to try to remember to get Melanie to take some new pics of me this weekend in same pose and same room and lighting and I'll post them. I can tell you that my clothes don't fit so well, but luckily I have some other clothes that I outgrew and so I am still ok for a while on that front.
FAST FORWARD (shame on me for not posting more frequently)
2-21-07 (214 lbs.) Things have really been going well. I am just back from a trip to Costa Rica (won it through work in a sales contest) and at my old weight, this would have been nerve wracking and tough in every way. It was the coolest thing in the world to be able to fit into the plane seat without pushing on the people next to me and when I put the tray table down, I even had to slide it towards me to be closer. In the past, I could barely get the thing horizontal for having to have it sit on top of my stomach. In the past I could tell that people were looking at me at the boarding gate hoping they wouldn't have to be the one stuck sitting next to the fat guy or wondering how I would even fit in the seat.
Costa Rica at this time of year is pretty humid and I did lots of hiking into the rain forest and that simply would not have been possible at my old size. I likely would have collapsed from lack of oxygen. I found out that I am not too sensitive to sugars and was able to drink Rum/Diet Coke quite readily. I have never been much of a drinker, but it was cool to be able to throw back a couple with my co-workers on this once in a life-time adventure.
Also, I have not had to eat many Pepcid Completes for the past couple of months, so that minor issue seems to have cleared itself. Everytime someone asks me of my experiences with Gastric Bypass, I have to knock on wood when I tell them that I simply haven't had any problems or complications. I have been so fortunate in my life and things are going extremely well. I have always been liked and fun and my new found smaller size is only making my social life even better.
Here are a couple of pics of the new smaller me in Costa Rica (taken 7 months to the day post surgery)
Photos
here are some taken in March/07 (i am at 207 lbs)
