Weight Loss Surgery Directory

By Location By Map


Photos

Before & After

There are currently no before and after photos for this member.

See these instructions if you wish to submit your own Before & After photos.
Goals

No Public Goals Yet.
View The Goals Page
Latest Surgery Support Comments

No comments posted yet.
Please post yours.

Click here for the surgery support page

Greetings. I am now 41 and and living in Washington DC. As of this writing I have lost almost exactly 200 lbs. It has been a miraculous and wonderful transformation, though I did lose a gallbladder and a  husband along the way. My life has literally never been better.  I had considered a surgical option for a long time and finally got toa point where I knew I need the extra help WLS will provide. Haven't regretted it since.

dogbeau's Blog
dogbeau's Blog


It's all about my penis
on August 30, 2010 5:42 pm
When it comes to big decisions, no one can call me impulsive. I had been thinking of bariatric surgery for years and years before I made the leap. And even once I finally said, “Yes, I want to do this,” it was another 11 month before I got the chop. On Tuesday, August 24th, I had Roux-En-Y gastric bypass, and I feel great. The night before surgery I got a call from the surgeon’s office that Dr. Steinberg was stuck in jury duty and did I want Dr. Rashid to perform the bypass. I had met her once before at the original orientation and she seemed nice enough. Did a couple hours research on here to make sure patients weren’t dropping dead. Did find anything negative so I said yes, go for it. The alternative was to wait weeks for a new date. My partner and I arrive at the hospital and am quickly taken back to a pre-surgical room where I get in the gown, they put on compression socks, and start an IV. I wait about an hour and then its off to the OR. I’m anxious but not scared and just ready to get on with it. The OR is extremely cold and has the distinct smell of meat. Yeah some cutting goes on in here! I move to the surgical table (narrow) and they start strapping me in and laying me out like jesus on the cross. Lots of activity. I’m relived to be there. That was at 2:30pm. At 10:00pm, I came to in the recovery room. Lots of things happening – I’m coming out of the haze. The surgeon arrives at the foot of the bed. Surgery went great she says, but there was a little problem with your catheter. Yadda yadda urethra torn. Yadda yadda catheter in for 6-10 weeks. Enjoy. About then they put me on the phone with my partner, who tells me what time it is and I start freaking out. I was in surgery for 7 hours. My stay in the hospital was relatively pain free. The hose in my penis hurt more than any of the surgery stuff. There was one night – the second night – when I was in extreme gas pain. I had not passed any gas at that point and the pain was a 10. Finally after walking and walking and walking up and down the hallways – the most massive fart ever known. Thank god there were no open flames. It got easier from there and better everyday. I really would have been able to go back to work in a week had it not been for the catheter, which has pretty much immobilizedme at home for now. I find out more on Wednesday.
Be the first to leave a comment.

This really is an adventure...
on July 8, 2010 11:18 am
...and I haven't even had surgery yet.

Ok so finally got all the various materials gathered and delivered to the surgeon's office for approval. The coordinator put the package together to send to CIGNA.. A week went by... denied.

Ok so you can imagine....I wigged out.

It took a few hours to calm down (and a 3-way with Haagen AND Dazs) to realize this is just standard operating procedure for 'da man'. 

After calls and digging, the reason for the denial - which was not an official denial - was I was missing the 6 month diet notes from the doctor. Well that's crap. I was there every month. So I get a copy of the notes from said PCP and they are..... un-fuckin-readable. Like at least Chinese I could run through the Google translator. Not this chicken scratch.

So as I usually end up doing, I am taking matters into my own hands. I am creating, free-of-charge to my doctor, a weight-loss program/prescription form, which will have all the necessary components AND it will be typed, in actually legible characters.

Then I will march down to his office, have him sign them, and fax them myself to CIGNA.

I fully expected to be under the knife at the end of May. I took off from school, canceled all vacations, and generally rearranged my life to make this happen. And here we are July 8, and I'm not even scheduled.

Oh and about that Haagen-Dazs episode - it actually really helped me, as about 1/3 of the way through the pint, I understood exactly what I was doing. I stopped and put it away - at least for a few hours. When I split the rest that night with my other half - it was a very conscious decision.
Be the first to leave a comment.

Half way to launch day
on January 30, 2010 5:14 pm
 ...or thereabouts.

Made it through my halfway point on my 6 month diet. I still feel this look of scorn from my primary care physician. For the most part, I think he's a great guy, but he has been quite unsympathetic to my weight issues. Whatever I say. I am in control - not him.  Just weigh me, fucker.

So I am happy to say I have lost 26 pounds from my heaviest and would like to lose 20-30 more before surgery. 

My outlook is good, my mood has been great. I'm just ready to get on with it.
Be the first to leave a comment.

One month closer
on December 9, 2009 2:21 pm

I officially began my 6 month pre-surgical diet about this time in November. I haven't done much more than the changes I had mode in the last 6 months, but a few pounds have come off. I did have my official one-on-one consultation with my surgeon. I am ready to do this. Just wish it could be sooner, of course. If all goes well, I would think my surgery would be sometime in May - my birthday month. ;)

Meeting a dietician on Tuesday to put together a 5 month diet so this time can be useful before surgery. Continuing to see my therapist every other week - which has help tremendously. And just bought "intuitive Eating" to take on my Christmas cruise. My goal there is to be reasonable, and not swallow the whole ship.

Be the first to leave a comment.

Regaining momentum
on October 13, 2009 11:19 am

For that last several months I have been seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. She's been great and helping to uncover and dig to my core issues. A lot of it turns out to have roots in my early childhood with eating - especially bad habits picked up from my mother.  Also I have discovered I am very much an emotional eater, even when I wanted to belive that I wasn't. All this has helped me to begin relearning good eating habits. I have only had one binge and am much more aware of when the emotional eating stuff. When my subconscious is screaming feed me, stuff me! I can now recognize that emotional response.  It's great. I have on a few occasions felt actual hunger, where my stomach would growl and gurgle. IT was the wierdest feeling - because frankly I haven't been hungry - not physically hungry - in years.

But now I am asking myself - what of the weight loss surgery?

Well I decided this weekend that I will have it. I feel prepared for the procedure, the after effects, and most importantly for me, I feel like I am and will dealing with the underlying issues that got me to this state of morbid obesity. Hopefully keeping me from losing the weight.

So I know CIGNA requires a 6 month medically supervised diet. A stupid requirement since I've been on a bazillion diets in my lifetime. Going to see if I can get around this requirement. I have a couple more bariatric surgeons to interview before I make a selection. But I am excited and ready to get the show on the road.

Be the first to leave a comment.

Browse pages: next >



Archive

Tags
  • None