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on February 1, 2007 8:33 pm
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Surgeon Testimonial Gary J. Anthone M.D. Dr. Anthone saved me from SMO. I will always be so grateful to him. I think he definitely one of the very best in the business. Latest Surgery Support Comments
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w8'n no more's Blog
My Story 8/20/05 I have been going through the testing stage before surgery, i.e., cardiologist, pulmonologist, and shrink. I met with the shrink several weeks ago. It was a young girl training with the actual psychologist. She was sweet, but rail thin and I think a little intimidated to be talking to me about being fat. Poor thing! The Pulmonologist has scheduled me for a sleep study. Thinks I have sleep apnea. Other than that, he thinks I'm healthy for a fat girl (not his words, mine). Have the cardiologist next week. I have been overweight off and on all my life. My mother had me on weight watchers at the age of 8. In high school I resorted to taking "speed" to get my weight under control. I am 5'8" and weighed about 129 through high school. I survived on a can of tuna fish and a can of pineapple most of my high school years and can remember being hungry even though I was popping pills to help get through. Needless to say, throughout my adult life I have been all over the place with my weight. I've been thin (never for long) and I've been morbidly obese. Now at 47, I have dieted between 220 and 265 for about 4 years now. Can't take it anymore. Plus, I now have symptoms of obesity, like terrible GERD, inability to sleep at night, high cholesterol and triglicerides, aching feet, knees, etc. I do swim laps at the local YMCA, and have stayed active, but at a price. My achy breaky joints. Meaning I feel crappy and realize that I can't do this anymore. I need major help. Therefore, I'm 90% sure about this surgery. I'm scared - chicken BALK BALK BALK, but desperate. I've been spending a lot of time reading the message boards hoping to be knowledgeable about what to expect after surgery. I know this will be a big change, and I want to be prepared. My husband isn't completely onboard either. He is one of those people who at 43 is in great shape - 44 inch chest, 32 inch waist and eats and drinks anything he wants whenever he wants. Got 2 daughters who are the same as him. I'm the only "fatty" in the house. Thank you GOD for giving the girls his genetics! Anyway, will start posting from time to time. I know that reading other profiles has been a huge source of great information and so I think it only fair that I do the same. Hopefully, someone will be reading this a year from now and I'll be giving them some useful information too. 9/28/05 - I have learned so much from the DS board. I don’t know what I would do with out everyone. Every time I post, I get great responses, like how long is your common channel and what is the new size of your stomach. I had doctors telling me their philosophy on this, and I knew the biology of what they were talking about, but not what was “standard” and I wanted to compare the numbers to the profiles and success of the individuals posting. I admit it, I used to be scientist and I have a tendency to research and research until I can draw my own conclusions. I’ve noticed that there are a few others like me in the DS group and find that comforting for several reasons. The other thing I have found is that DS doctors will actually e-mail you and talk to you by phone before you are even their patient, even the most renowned in the field. And they are happy to carry on an intellectual and philosophical conversation without being compensated. I couldn’t get to my RNY doctor from the local hospital when I was having my “heart attack” trauma. Two weeks ago I ended up in the ER because I was having horrible chest pains. Thought it was a heart attack. Turns out to be a gallbladder. How ironic that the dumb organ couldn’t behave a few more weeks when it will get trashed with the surgery. Anyway, I’ve been “using” my RNY doctor to get the rest of my pre-op tests completed since I had this procedure ¾ completed before changing my mind and deciding that the DS is the ONLY way to go. So far, I’ve actually passed the shrink (a big surprise to those who live with me hehe), been officially diagnosed with sleep apnea (but gave me a thumbs up because my oxygen sat never went below 90), and made it through the stress test with a “BIG” heart (abnormally normal for us morbidly obese people). I had a full upper body ultrasound yesterday and will get the results on Friday. Gee, I wonder if I have a fatty liver and bad gallbladder? I’ve spoken with Dr. Alverdy at UofChicago who is the closest in proximity to where I live, and found him excellent to talk to, very informative, but way out of my price range. Over $50K for self-pay. YIKES! I have also spoken with Dr. Anthone in Iowa, and have an appointment with him on October 12. I also have surgery scheduled with Dr. Marchesini in Brazil for November 3. One of these two surgeons will end up being the “ONE.” Marchesini is cheaper and definitely one of the most skilled DS surgeons out there, but SOOO far away. I have a blood clotting disorder called sticky platelet syndrome so that long plane ride is a big risk. Dr. Anthone is more expensive, about $29K, and also one of the best. It will depend on how long the wait is for Dr. Anthone because I have to be back in commission by December. I own a company with about 75 employees. Two of my very key assistants are BOTH due to have babies in December. I would have been slipping them birth control in the coffee if I had known they would be doing this at the exact same time (LOL). I’m really happy for them both. They are in their 30’s and this is the first for both. But it is gonna be a nightmare for me - WHA!!! I am currently struggling to loose some weight before the surgery. Every doctor has told me that the risk of blood clots goes down with weight loss. Unfortunately, I’ve gained 5 lbs in the past month because of the stress of setting up this surgery. Stress=eat. Gaining weight=stress. Vicious circle. I definitely need to find some other means of coping. By the way, the reason I am self-pay is because BC/BS will NOT pay for DS because it is experimental and I do not have the time or energy to fight that battle. Many others are trying and it is a long, hard, and frustrating ordeal. I really admire all the pioneers out there who are trying to get them to change their views, but I’ve got way too many other things on my plate right now to fight the insurance nazis. I feel very blessed that I do have the money to get this surgery. There but for the Grace of God go I. I find myself often thinking lately about starting some type of charitable organization to help fund obesity surgery for those in need. Perhaps it will be something I can manage in the future. 10/20/05 12/16/05 First, I made it! I remember waking up thinking “I’m alive.” Thank you God for bringing me through. But not without complications. I was a frothing barfer. Woke up in the recovery room puking, and pretty much puked my way through 6 weeks post-op. Don’t want to scare the pre-ops, just gonna tell it like it was. I know that part of the problem was I got dehydrated. While I had my J-tube the first 10 days, I used it to take liquid pain medication and to get in water because everything was coming back up. Two weeks after surgery, the insertion site of the J-tube got very nasty and Dr. A had to pull it. That is when I started a real down hill trend. I couldn’t get in very many liquids, and when I did manage to get some things down back up they came, and thus a vicious cycle. The strange part of all this is that I would “froth” like a St. Bernard. That started day one after surgery and is much more common in people who have the RNY. I tried numerous anti-nausea meds, even combining them. But they made me so very tired, especially on top of the pain pills, and still the constant nausea and barfing. Finally, I started pushing SF Popsicles. I ate them nonstop from the time I got up until I went to bed if I wasn’t actually eating something (eggs, cottage cheese, protein drinks, etc.). If they came back up, so be it. At 5 ½ weeks out, I woke up nausea free. From that point forward the improvements were significant. (I still couldn’t watch an episode of Fear Factor though.) Now, at 8 weeks post-op, things are getting so much better. I’m back to work 6 hours a day. I can eat, although if I push too much in, it comes right back up. I responded to a post from LeaAnn with the following and it says how my tummy is now. I've got a little bitty tummy and it is very sensitive (just like me HEHE). I take Prilosec and I take Prevacid now and I think they have helped more than all the antinausea pills combined. I think part of my problem is that I had problems BEFORE the surgery with my busted gallbladder and GERD. So although things got much worse (after the surgery), they are actually now better than before the surgery. No more phantom heart attack pains. When I over eat though, up it comes right now, so my incentive to not fill 'er to the top is high. I'm getting in about 100 grams of protein a day by cheating and drinking 2 protein shakes per day on top of my food, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! I've got an incision that is iffy (read Darcy's earlier post), but all in all I'm getting on board with being a happy DSer. Put me in Onederland and I'll be dancing around like friggin' Mary Poppins! The reference to the incision is that I’ve had a bad reaction to the sutures that are suppose to be dissolvable. Yes, there is an itchy rash, I have a couple of spots that keep scabbing, opening and draining clear liquid, then scabbing back over. Then a few days ago, the sutures that look just like fishing line, started poking out of my incision. I actually have a knotted end sticking out of my belly button. I was told to go ahead and pull on them with tweezers, then snip off the part above the skin with scissors. Haven’t actually gotten brave enough to perform this task yet, but I’m working myself up to it! Turns out another gal, Darcy, posted about the same problem. Many others posted back saying they too had problems from the sutures. I’m trying to only weigh myself once a week on Monday’s. I will weigh this coming Monday plus on the 21st which will be my 2 month anniversary. As of this past Monday, I was down 40 pounds to 229. I’ve lost 40 lbs. a gazillion times in my life. The hopeful part now is that that 40 pounds is gone forever, never to be regained again. I’m not in fear of loosing control and cheating only to gain everything back, plus some. I’m just looking forward to loosing more weight. My big goal right now is ONEDERLAND! 1/9/06 I scratched at my nasty incision and felt something sticky and sharp. Ran to the bathroom to get a closer look and had about an inch of what looked like fishing line sticking out. Started pulling it with tweezers and it became 3 inches with goop and gunk stuck to it. Kept pulling until it was almost a foot long. Then it all popped free. YUK!!! Gross out!!! It turns out it was an anchor stitch. However, I thought it was funny that my PCP was freaked out by the episode and insisted I call Dr. A to make sure I hadn’t “pulled something that was holding something together.”
This is a picture of Linda (my angel) and I and her two dogs Molly and Sophie doing our Paris and Nicole imitation. We are wearing fur coats because we were drinking protein shakes and I was FREEZING like we do after the DS. The coat she is wearing is one that her mom wore and she got choked up because her mom's scarf and gloves were still in the pockets (and because 1 year ago, she never would have fit into it). The one I'm wearing is now way to big for Linda. She is a little bitty thing now. 1/23/06 – well this is my 3 month update, and it is 2 days late, but figuring out the picture part (taking them and posting them) caused the stall. I am officially down 56 lbs. I had my 3 month appointment (2 weeks early) with Dr. A on Friday the 13th. I moved it up so I could be in Omaha when Elaine 2tuxedokatz had her surgery. She was there in October to hold my hand, so I thought I should return the favor. My blood work was perfect. I have lost 40% of my excess body weight already. I am back to swimming laps at a fast pace, and do all three strokes (free, back, breast). I feel actually better now than before surgery. Funny how getting rid of the giant size of dog food bag can make you have more energy. This is a reference to me trying to get the 50 lb. bag of Pedigree up my stairs. Couldn’t do it without dragging it. But I’ve lost more weight than that now. How amazing. I still have some issues with eating meat. I can eat hamburger, fajitas, tacos, etc., but have a very hard time with just a grilled chicken breast or a pork chop fried in a pan. I’m doing great with water and I drink at least 2 protein shakes (35 grams protein) per day. I do OK with processed lunch meats, and fish goes down very easy. I had a bit of a sweet tooth for awhile around x-mas, but cured that by getting myself disgustingly sick by eating a whole bag of microwave carmel corn (it tasted so good going down). I barfed and had the runs for almost 2 days. I was really sick, almost like having the flu. Sweet stuff now does not hold as big of an appeal. My family and I went out for the “birthdays” yesterday and I was content to eat 2 bites of birthday cake. I miss my desire and enjoyment of food sometimes. It is a strange feeling to not get a rush from eating. And the fact that everyone else in the family was drinking and eating to excess and enjoying the heck out of it made me a little sad. The head thing with the DS is just as big and important to deal with as the actual weight loss. So here’s my new pics 2/21 4 month update Well, I've been stalled at 200 lbs for over a week. It is driving me nutty since I thought for sure I would celebrate my 4 month in Onderland. Not to be. I threatened on a post to eat a stick of butter just to get things moving again. I saw a group of people that I haven't seen since before surgery. No one seemed to notice the weight loss. A few said, "you look good" but no big exclamations. I lost 70 lbs. and no one really has notice. I feel so different. Guess reality isn't really the same. Well, here's my 4 month pictures: WOW! It has been a wild ride this past year. Testing, investigating, finding this board, and finding some of the most wonderful people ever. This board, and Linda my Angel, who in so many ways made my DS with Dr. Anthone a reality. The past five months? There have been ups and there have been downs. The being sick sucked! The loosing weight Rocks! I like the attention since I have lost so much weight, but sometimes it annoys me. I think there is as much going on with me mentally now as there is physically. I couldn't quit arguing with someone about what size I wore last week. I insisted I was at least an extra large. They said no, and finally I tried the Large. It fit perfectly. ME - A LARGE? I am extremely grateful for the NORMAL part of things. Sit in any chair, don't stick out in a crowd, not afraid of seat belts, stairs, bending over, etc. This is the biggest benefit I've realized from the DS. I feel NORMAL! I've posted a new 5 month photo on my profile. So lab rat data is, I weighed 188 this morning (if I stood on 1 foot like a flamingo I could claim 187 but I may need that pound advantage next month). That is down 81 pounds total and 13 for the month, and I have lost 65% of my excess weight. My BMI says I am only "overweight" now. No longer have the word "obese" tag that has been following me around off and on since I was 3 years old. I have 43 pounds to my goal. About 33 to Dr. Anthone's goal for me. Regardless, either seems very attainable now. Thanks everyone (I mean this so sincerely) for always being there and for being a part of making this new life possible. 5 months 4/18/06 Six month update Official numbers are 269 starting weight. Perfect number for 5'7" is 140, but now I am officially 5'8" (my shoe size also dropped 1 1/2 size ) ). So my ideal weight is 146, which means I had 123 lbs. to loose. I've lost 96 so I have lost 78% of my excess weight. Dr. Anthone was thrilled. I will scew his numbers because of the success, but he felt my muscle mass in my arms and was very impressed. If I would have walked in pale and sickly, he would have been concerned, but that excercise is what has paid off big time for me (need to remember this always on those days when I just want to skip like today, plus swimming with the new binder - can you say EWWWWWW). If I never loose another pound, I'm a success story!!! And it feels SOOOOOOOO good. I've got 27# to loose to get to ideal insurance chart weight, 10# as far as Dr. A is concerned would be a good number. YEAH HA I love each an everyone of you, especially Linda Shafer who is a real walking Angel with just enough little horns to be fabulous! I could have never gotten here without this board. Thank you GOD for my DS!!!!! Six month bathing suit pictures lighter photo 6/11/06 Well, I decided to be brave and post pictures of Hoover preop to my profile. The first is from the "good" side, so you are just seeing skin issues. The second is Hoover and his friends. When I'm standing, Hoover is the standout, but there are several hernias on that side beginning at the very top of the incision and going all the way down that row of muscles. Finally a straight on shot of my beautiful incision and crooked belly button. Seeing this in technicolor just makes walking through the hospital door tomorrow all the less frightening. The real reason is I'm sick of hurting, but the vanity part did flare when I looked at these. Prayers requested, chickens, karma, whatever you guys can spare would be sincerely appreciated. Gotta be there at 6:00 am and it is an hour away. YIKES! Plus I need to take a shower in the morning, but sleep will probably be pretty elusive tonight anyway.
This picture is 18 day post op from the PS and extensive hernia repair. It took 2 doctors 5 hours just to complete the hernia repair (had 3 of them) running pretty much all along the right side of my DS incision. I have very poor blood circulation where the two incisions now meet, so I have lost the skin from my belly botton to the pubic area. It has begun to fill back in the from the sides and top. I have mesh now from my breasts to my hip bones to prevent ever popping another hernia. The area from the breasts to my belly button swells pretty dramatically by the end of the day, as do the hips. In the morning, when this picture was taken, they look much better. I weighed in at 150 this morning. That puts me 9 pounds from my Drs. goal. Time to start adding some carbs! Yipee! 7/6/06 Drum roll please - size 10 junior Tommy Hilfinger black hip hugger jeans with a wide belt. They are so friggin' cute! There are no words to describe how utterly freaked I was. I also got some Polo dressy sweat type suits in medium that I can wear to work and sit in for long periods of time without hurting the still healing tummy. Had the sales girl carry the bag to the car. Coincidence??? I think not!!!! My daughter came home with a Canon Powershot camera. And so there is now a picture on my profile of me in my size 10 Tommy Hilfinger jeans. Gotta love the guitar and poster in the background (taken in her bedroom). I look like a country western singer. Just call me June Carter-Cash (oh to look like Reese). Well, I could have a baby by now but instead shed 124 lbs. The perspective is that I have a 5'4" daughter who weighs in at around 105 lbs. I literally am almost half the girl I used to be. Been hovering between 150 and 145 now. Today was 145, so that's what I'm taking. Only 4 lbs. from Dr. A's goal, but remember I just had 6 lbs. of fat removed from my belly last month, so I kinda cheated. It has been a turbulent year for me. Rewarding and confusing. No, having the DS didn't FIX everything. In fact, it has sent me on a search for who Kathy might be. I can't blame anything on weight anymore. I just have a really great new chasis to move around in. And I CAN move. I can ride a bicycle, fit in airline seats, go to the movies, all the things that at SMO had me fearing fitting. No more sweating, heart racing, red faced girl just from walking up a flight of stairs. I feel a lot more girly and like I fit in with a crowd. I thank God everyday for this board, Dr. Anthone, and my angel Linda. 8/3/06 Tomorrow is Thermage. I am going to try this to maybe avoid surgery for the skin issues. The before pictures are posted below 2 weeks after thermage! 10 MONTHS POSTOP 9/21/06 It has been 11 months since my DS. My official labrat loss is 2 lbs. I was hoping for 0 because I am now 4 lubs below goal. It doesn’t seem possible to me that I have to worry about keeping weight on. At 269#s and after 48 years of dieting, who would have thought this would be an issue? I used to be a lap swimmer, and have given that up temporarily because of the weight. I am sure somewhere down the line I will need to go back to the pool so that I can maintain a healthy weight. Don’t flame me, but I would actually like to gain 5#s back. I’ll pull the swimming card back out when my weight is stable! I now want to start lifting weights because I do have skin issues. I’ve also been experimenting with yoga (thanks LeaAnn). I was heavy a long time, and my skin isn’t what it used to be, that’s for sure! I have an appointment for Thermage of my butt on 10/3, and then each thigh 10/16&10/17. I’m too big of a whimp to do everything all in 1 day. It hurt like *%*#, but I think the results on my arms make it worth it for me. My skin responded well on the arms. Results should continue for another 4 months, although I don't think there is any difference from last months results. The "hole" in my belly is almost healed now, but there is gonna be a strange scar. At least I don't have 2 belly buttons anymore. Pictures are arm 2 months post Thermage, tummy tuck 3 mos postop, and me clothed. I’ll save my “mental” issues for my 1 year post next month (betcha can't wait). What a wild ride this has been, but OH SO WORTH IT! THE SKINNY ON ONE YEAR This is going to be a hodge podge. I had my 1 year postop check with Dr. Anthone last Friday. My labs are perfect. I have lost more than my EWL. I've overshot goal weight (100% EWL for me because I was a light weight and because I exercise a lot). I'm 135, should be 141. I'm on *enzymes, Flagyl*, and have a license to eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Had a Big Mac for lunch yesterday and KFC for supper. LOL! Hope this doesn't come back to bite me in a year. The combination of enzymes and Flagyl really, REALLY does stop the issues with eating carbs. What a year! Barfed and frothed for the first 6 weeks. Had to get the hernia repair (216 stitches to close the hernias, mesh from boobs to hips) and went for the admioplasty (6 1/2 lubs removed) . Had an open wound for 12 weeks after that which had to be packed. And now enzymes. This is a serious life altering event. And I would do it AGAIN in a HEARTBEAT. I would have liked things to have been smoother, but just the day-to-day altering of the quality of my life is amazing. For any preops reading this, know everything you can about any WLS you choose. You will have to follow the "rules," whatever they may be for the rest of your life. And there may be some curve balls, so come here and post. Learn ALL that you can and follow through. I feel like I've earned my first medal, but I know this is for the rest of my life. Hope this post is as positive next year! I can run, jump, buy cloths at Target, buy groceries without worrying what's on the conveyer belt (yeah, I was very self conscience about my weight), my collesteral is normal, no more sleep apnea, no more incontinence (this is a REAL biggie). My blood pressure is 100/70. My hypoglycemia hasn't reared its ugly head since surgery. There have been some "mind games" with family and friends, but I really think much of it is my perspective as much as their perspective. I definitely don't have the "blame it on the weight" card to play anymore. I do still stare at my reflection because I often don't recognize myself I have some definite skin issues. Had Thermage on my thighs on Monday and Tuesday. It was VERY painful. I almost bailed on Tuesday halfway through, and they gave me more drugs. I was looped and it still hurt like *&^%. I hope the results are close to the arms (see my profile pics). The only other cutting surgery I see in the future is the poor, poor boobies. I reserve the right to change that statement. Thanks to everyone on this board who has saved my butt more than once when the going got tough, and for everyone who has been there for the WOW or Holy Crap moments. You guys are PRICELESS! Pictures to follow soon.
Don't see a difference with the legs (Thermage), but it has only been 3 days. Praying . . . . 12/11/06 The first meeting of CADS, the Chicago Area DSers Starry's DH, Starry1st, Me, Big Al
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