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Goals

Replace fear of going back to old habits with something more positive.

7 People
 in progress, 
0 People
 achieved this

I want to ride my bicycle again...

21 People
 in progress, 
8 People
 achieved this

To buy a suit or tuxedo on my next birthday

1 Person
 in progress, 
0 People
 achieved this

Wear my wedding ring again!

28 People
 in progress, 
75 People
 achieved this
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Surgeon Testimonial

Philip R. Schauer MD
There are so many considerations that go into the eventual decision. Some people do their research, and the pros and cons of each type of weight loss surgery makes their head spin. Others assess all their co-morbidity's and can clearly see what they need to do. My RNY choice was also influenced by the place I eventually had my surgery. I had blood clots in my lung and leg about a year before starting the WLS process. That factor and the fact that I weighed around 500 pounds kept local doctors considering me too high risk to consider for even gall bladder surgery, much less WLS. I had eye surgery at the Cleveland Clinic before, so I went there again. Once again the bariatric staff was very supportive. I looked at the thousands of surgeries performed by my surgeon, Dr. Phillip Schauer, and decided that this was the place to have the operation. I was impressed with Dr. Schauer's credentials as well. He semed confident and reassuring, yet he seemed to talk honestly about what I faced in terms of risk. Like others, I still had my worries and concerns about surviving surgery. But I was confident that they were taking the needed precautions. I wasn't afraid to bring any concerns to him or his nursing staff. To this date, I have had no complications and am losing weight at a good pace. Thanks to the Cleveland Clinic, as well as support from my wife and people on this board, I'm feeling healthier every day.

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Member Interests
  • Dogs - We own a golden retriever. My favorite dog!

Latest Surgery Support Comments

  • Comment by Judi J. on 9/20/09 6:50 pm
    Best of luck with your surgery. Based on what you've done so far, I think you will do great! Don't be a hero though, take the pain medication!!
  • Comment by bebaugh on 9/20/09 10:27 am
    Good luck tomorrow. I am wishing you a speedy and uneventful recovery. I am also sending up prayers for you!
Click here for the surgery support page
Continuing the journey one step at a time..... one day at a time.
                                      
hercules411's Blog
hercules411's Blog


Doc says watch my diet
on August 6, 2011 3:45 am
I received a mailing from my health insurer saying that past medical information indicates that I may have issues with my liver and should see my doctor. I made an immediate appointment. My doc had a more detailed letter from my the insurance company. During my gastric bypass surgery, I volunteered to be part of a test group that allowed liver biopsies to investigate the incidence of fatty livers in people who have been obese for a long time. I never heard the results, so assumed everything was okay. But my doctor says there was apparently indications of cirrhosis.

I went to the lab the next morning for an ultrasound and blood test. The next day, the doctor's nurse told me that the liver, and aorta were all "within tolerances".  I still have those pesky gallstones.

But the doctor told me to avoid fatty foods and lose more weight, because I could still develop cirrhosis... not to mention the gall stone issue.  I guess I was assuming that my gastric bypass would let me eat more fatty foods like steak and hot dogs and such but I am wrong.

I admit, i was kind of bummed out. But my doctor has never been one to mince words. He's always been concerned with my health and tells it like it is. It's a wake up call.
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Do I feel healthy?
on June 20, 2011 5:15 pm
Healthy? HELL YEAH!  I feel so good that it makes it tougher to motivate myself reach my goal weight..... you know the goal weight.. the one on the charts that seem ridiculously low?


My sleep apnea has lessened
My blood pressure is under control
I haven't had any gall bladder attacks lately
I don't have the pain in my arthritic knees  (unless i go overboard on exercise)
I haven't had a repeat episode of a pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis (nearly died)
I have ridden my bicycle more than 900 miles so far this year.
I hit the gym for circuit training three times a week.

I also try to make more health improvements.
I had a eyesight problem corrected with laser surgery.
I just had surgery to hopefully repair a chronic sinus problem.

And I OBEY my doctor.  (Even if I can't ride a bike for TWO WEEKS after my sinus surgery)

Sure.. I'd get a second opinion if I had serious questions about a physician's instruction. But in general, my doctors have had pretty solid advice.
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I used to dread holidays @ 500 plus pounds.
on June 20, 2011 6:32 am
I guess the best way to describe my old attitude toward holidays and special occasions like birthdays would be "avoidance". I hated it when my wife would pressure me to celebrate.  Celebrate? Celebrate what? 

Celebrate that I had to drag myself out of  my Lazy Boy chair and feel the pain in my arthritic knees as I got the house ready for guests?

And I definitely hated "celebrating" when I would assume that friends and relatives who hadn't seen me in a while would be wondering how I had "let myself go", and were probably taking bets on how much more weight I had gained.

I suppose I could have been a better person by embracing "fat acceptance".  There were times in my life where I went to the shore knowing people would be saying.. "Look! A beached whale!"  I only did that because I wanted to grab some parts of life that I couldn't get back. Taking my kids to the beach was something I couldn't put off doing.  They grow up  too fast.

But there are many other special times that my family and I missed because of my morbid obesity.

Thanks mostly to my weight loss surgery, I'm at a weight were I can fit into just about any seat.. Including stadium seats.

So I spent father's day with my eldest son, daughter and her fiancee (my wife snapped the pic) a Progressive field watching a rain delayed, extra innings ball game.  The Tribe beat the Pirates 2 to 5 with a home run on the last play of the game.
I ate a hot dog (some of the bun) and I didn't have the urge to sneak away and get more food. I enjoyed the company of family.  What a great day!


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Back home from surgery.
on June 13, 2011 3:36 pm
I'm home from outpatient sinus surgery this morning.  They gave me 325 mg percocet pills.. Take two tablets every four hours as needed.  I had my surgery this morning and it is now about 6:30PM. I really don't feel a lot of pain. The area around my nostrils are tender to the touch and I feel as if I have a dull sinus headache. They gave me Fentanyl for pain at the hospital.

I'm one of those people who don't like to take a lot of pills. (Pretty funny, considering how many vitamins and minerals we RNY patients take). But I also was sent home with Percocet after my RNY and never took one of them.

I guess I'm looking for feedback from people (especially with sinus surgery experience) if they experienced more pain the night of surgery.. the day after... or days after.

I don't know if I should take one or two just as a precaution before bedtime or just wait for signs of pain. I don't know how long the effects of Percocet takes to kick in.

8 comments | Leave a comment.

WLS.. still the best decision of my life.
on June 8, 2011 7:52 pm
I was riding my bicycle this morning. It was just after the sun came up and was lighting up the farm land along the bike trail. The air smelled so nice. It wasn't too warm yet.  I was wishing I could just stay home today and ride my bike more.
But then I thought how lucky I am to be able to go out for a ride before going to work.  I know what it's like to be out of work. When I lost my job a decade a go and was morbidly obese, I felt really hopeless. Out of work and so fat that no one would hire me. But I eventually found work.

And now that I'm half the man I used to be (weight wise that is).. I find time to indulge my favorite past time (bicycling) and still go to a job that I love.

So on this summer like day, I decided to dress like people used to back in the early part of the last century.
I put on a straw hat and suspenders and went to work. A coworker snapped a photo.


10 comments | Leave a comment.

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My Story

Fat all my life.  I'm the guy who got valentines from classmates with pictures of elephants on them. Yes.. it even hurts a second grader.  I was picked last for baseball by the neighborhood guys because I couldn't run.  In fifth grade, the doctor had me on diet pills.. (speed).  As a senior in high school I experienced my only ideal weight. It didn't last. . Every time I would lose weight. I would gain it back, along with more weight.   Two years ago I weighed more than 500 lbs. The scale would go no higher. I developed high blood pressure, sleep apnea, lymphadema, leg wounds that wouldn't heal, gall stones.. and finally blood clots in my leg and lung. But I was so large.. the local hospital said I was too big for their equipment. I went to the Cleveland Clinic to have my gall bladder removed. Even that doctor said I was too big. He referred me to the bariatric program.  Back in April, I went to the bariatric workshop. I weighed about 450 by then. I had lost some weight over a few months, but was starting to put those pounds back on.  I listened to the surgeon talk about the various weight loss options, and how I would be considered a high risk patient because of my weight and my history of blood clots.  But since doctors couldn't even operate on someone my size.. I figured I was on my way to an early grave unless I did something drastic.

That's partly the reason I chose RNY over Lap band. Besides the fact that my  surgeon felt that I was a better candidate for RNY,  I also don't like the idea of having plastic tubing in me that needs to be refilled every once and a while. And I needed to have my digestive system permanently changed.   I also wanted to have the operation done Laproscopically instead of having a big slice down my stomach.  But to do that, I would have to lose alot of weight.

So Easter Sunday was my last large meal.  From that day until now, I got a free account on fitday dot com and a food scale. I began  a 15 hundred calorie per day diet.  I measured everything, and put everything in my food journal.  Month by month.. I began reducing my daily caloric intake.. From 1500 to 1400.. to 1300. to 1200.. to 1000.

Then two weeks before surgery, the doc put me on a high protein, low carb diet (Slim fast)... which was only about 900 calories per day. I  thought.."900 calories.. how can I live on that?"  But I drank lots of water.. and still went for my daily walk.. I got through it.

From the day of that weight loss surgery workshop in April, when I weighed 450 pounds... I dropped to 323 lbs!  The doctor said he would do my surgery laprascopically.  Some of my friends were saying that I was doing so well on my own, I didn't need the surgery. But I know I did. You see, I went through this process about three years before. I loss weight to qualify for the surgery.. But then I backed out. It was another hospital. I wasn't confident in the doctor. And at the time, my wife wasn't very supportive. But since my increased health problems, this time she was my biggest backer.

Three days before surgery, I was nervous. "Am I doing the right thing?", I asked myself.  "Am I being selfish by risking my life, since I have a wife and family to leave behind if something should happen to me?"   But I knew the alternative without surgery. I would probably die anyway. I had confidence in Dr. Schauer and the bariatric staff at the Cleveland Clinic.  The last thing I remember was just for a couple of minutes after they rolled me into the ER.  The next thing.. I was in my room. I don't even remember the recovery room.

I spent three days in that room.  Before surgery, I remember worrying about the pain from the five small incisions. But they didn't bother me at all.  Although the drainage tube was a pain in the butt. the biggest discomfort was from bloating and gas.  In fact, it took about a month for that to really go away. 

Recovery seemed very slow at the time. But patience is NOT one of my virtues. I keep walking every day, but I felt very tired. I still measured and recorded my nutrition from my food. I found the gas and nausea was reduced by avoiding carbs and eliminating sugars. Plus I ate seven very small (2-3 oz) meals per day. One meal or snack every two hours. In fact it took me three months until I could eat five slightly larger meals every three hours. Which is what I eat today nearly four months after surgery. 

The most surprising aspect of this to me is how little I eat while I am still losing weight.  Every since surgery my daily food intake is as follows:

80 -90 g protein
less than 50 g carbs
15 g of fat
670 Calories

Yes, I live a normal life with on 670 calories a day.  I'll continue that until I get to my goal weight of 189. Then I'll talk to my nutritionist about a maintenance diet. 

I take 15 pills a day.. Most are vitamins, but I still take blood pressure meds.  But my pressure is pretty normal, so I'm hoping the doc will take me off those meds someday. I also drink lots of liquids and water. 

Since surgery on Sept 21, I have lost 63 more pounds.  My pants once had a 74 inch waist. My size 46 pants are now falling off of me.  I used to wear 9XL shirts.. I am about to buy an XL shirt in a store that sells clothes for normal people.  My arthritic knees and hips no longer hurt. I can walk up the stairs, instead of crawl.  I can go shopping without breaking into a sweat and using a shopping cart as a walker.  My wife and I go to the theater together because I now fit into the seat.  We go out to dinner once and a while. I try to pick a place that has food I can eat, and lists the nutrition online. (I still write down all my food).  But I limit those "special occasion" meals to once a month. And that includes holidays. 

I can no longer eat endless amounts of food. I use to eat until food was gone.  Now, if I eat poultry in bites that are too big.. and if I eat to fast.. it can get stuck in my chest. I have to suffer for up for an hour.. almost like I am strangling.. until the meat can flow into my body.  If I eat slowly, and chew for a long time. I'm okay.

I haven't even tried sugary food.  Like I said earlier.. when I was immediately post op... even the small amount of sugar in some yogurts would make me feel nauseous, bloated and tired. I would fall asleep.

I am considered by WLS veterans to be in the honeymoon stage. I don't feel hungry, or even miss various foods. They just don't appeal to me. I eat food as fuel right now. However, my psychologist told me that for most RNY patients, the effects of the pouch only lasts 18 months to two years.  Sometimes it can stretch after that.  So I need to use this time to permanently change my attitudes and habits about eating and exercise.

Weight loss surgery is not magic. It is a tool to be used with other tools such as patience, knowledge and support from others. 


I TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME.. ONE MINUTE AT A TIME.. ONE SECOND AT A TIME IF NEED BE. Dont become overwhelmed.