melissa_whitener
A great meeting with my WL surgeon...
Jan 06, 2012
I finally got to meet and talk with Dr. Aksade one on one, to discuss surgery options. Turns out I have only one, and it's the one I wanted anyway! I will have an RNY gastric bypass, as soon as I figure out how to pay for it! We had a great talk, Dr. Aksade is a genuinely nice guy and is easy to talk to. He answered most of my questions before I even got a chance to look at my list...
So....now I just have to either get a job, find a new job for hubby, or rob a bank. No problem then, I'm on in!
As I have long suspected I have a fun condition called biliary reflux. This is caused when bile from the gallbladder goes the wrong way, up into the stomach instead of down the small intestine. This is why I have so much stomach pain and discomfort, in spite of all the acid preventative drugs I am taking. The cure for this (drum roll please) gastric bypass, so that the bile will travel in the right direction and can't possibly get back anywhere near the upper stomach and esophagus.
So, this was the first time I've ever been to a doctor's office where the waiting room actually had chairs large enough for people my size and bigger. I usually have to cram my butt into one of those cloth covered chairs with the wooden arms, a tight squeeze on a good day. Dr. A. has several extra wide chairs in his waiting room and office, and a couple of comfy benches as well.
Which brings up my rant! Why is it OK for obese people to be made fun of, mocked, and put down? In our world today, nobody is allowed to call people names or make jokes about their religion or ethnicity, and certainly not about their race. And that is a good thing. Why is it then, OK, to make fun of overweight people?? I suppose the easy answer is that it is our choice to be fat, so therefore we are perfect targets. I think there is something more going on here....
I have thought of myself as a scientist since I was very young, and scientists love to observe phenomena and then try to explain them. We will often create a hypothesis and then figure out a series of tests to either prove or disprove that hypothesis, or to give us ideas for a better hypothesis. So, it seems to me that for all of recorded history, people have been looking around at other people and seeing differences, whether they be racial, cultural, ethnic, or religious, and then using those differences as a basis for bad treatment.
The Irish were discriminated against when they first emigrated to America. Later it was the Poles. Blacks were the brunt of jokes and abuse for decades. In Ireland the Catholics and Protestants happily murdered each other for decades. Jews have been persecuted for what seems like forever. Could it be then, that collectively, we are just a species which must first find someone who is somehow different, and then try to destroy them? Is it possible that it is simply human nature to be full of hate and ugliness which must be projected on a human target?
I was horrified to learn that the KKK has active chapters all over California, a state where there are many black, asian and hispanic folks who do not fit the white-bread definition that KKK subscribes to for the master race. So, my hypothesis:
Humans are a hierarchical species. Humans look at things (including other humans) and sort them into groups based on what they observe. They then decide which groups are good, better, best, bad, worse, worst, and then act accordingly. Humans will find the most minute differences and then use irrational perception filters to exaggerate and make note of these differences. Finally, humans cannot resist this urge to hierarchy, even though as modern animals it does not provide any sort of advantage to the species.
So, now that we live in the age of political correctness, no one can denigrate the color of your skin, your religion, sexual orientation, nationality, culture or heritage. BUT, if you are fat, then you are fair game. It is OK to make fun of obese people. It is OK to refuse to give the heavyweight the job. It is a terrific idea to only show slim people in your television and movies, and never, ever, let fat people feel good about themselves.
I am really blown away by the idea that some folks feel that people who lose weight by surgical means are somehow cheating. That it is good to have a skinny body, a muscular frame, and a healthy body, but that you are only allowed to do so by certain means. If we are fat, that means we are bad, and if we get thinner and healthier with a surgeon's help, we are cheaters. Never mind that WLS requires relearning eating, developing a new way of thinking about food, recognizing ones emotional, mental and physical limitations and then dealing with them all.
As each of us goes on our own journey to a healthier body, we are doing what we know to be the best for us, our families, and trying to live the best life we can live. I long ago gave up trying to figure out what others think of me, let alone caring. For the most part the only opinions that matter are those of my family and a very few close friends. I wonder, though, if I were a muscular 125 pounds, would I have a job right now? If I were slim, how would the last 25 years have gone? I would like to think that the people who bothered to get to know me looked beyond the pudge to see the person, but who knows?
Final question~~who's next? With a rising obese population, who is next on the wheel of derision??
0 comments
So....now I just have to either get a job, find a new job for hubby, or rob a bank. No problem then, I'm on in!
As I have long suspected I have a fun condition called biliary reflux. This is caused when bile from the gallbladder goes the wrong way, up into the stomach instead of down the small intestine. This is why I have so much stomach pain and discomfort, in spite of all the acid preventative drugs I am taking. The cure for this (drum roll please) gastric bypass, so that the bile will travel in the right direction and can't possibly get back anywhere near the upper stomach and esophagus.
So, this was the first time I've ever been to a doctor's office where the waiting room actually had chairs large enough for people my size and bigger. I usually have to cram my butt into one of those cloth covered chairs with the wooden arms, a tight squeeze on a good day. Dr. A. has several extra wide chairs in his waiting room and office, and a couple of comfy benches as well.
Which brings up my rant! Why is it OK for obese people to be made fun of, mocked, and put down? In our world today, nobody is allowed to call people names or make jokes about their religion or ethnicity, and certainly not about their race. And that is a good thing. Why is it then, OK, to make fun of overweight people?? I suppose the easy answer is that it is our choice to be fat, so therefore we are perfect targets. I think there is something more going on here....
I have thought of myself as a scientist since I was very young, and scientists love to observe phenomena and then try to explain them. We will often create a hypothesis and then figure out a series of tests to either prove or disprove that hypothesis, or to give us ideas for a better hypothesis. So, it seems to me that for all of recorded history, people have been looking around at other people and seeing differences, whether they be racial, cultural, ethnic, or religious, and then using those differences as a basis for bad treatment.
The Irish were discriminated against when they first emigrated to America. Later it was the Poles. Blacks were the brunt of jokes and abuse for decades. In Ireland the Catholics and Protestants happily murdered each other for decades. Jews have been persecuted for what seems like forever. Could it be then, that collectively, we are just a species which must first find someone who is somehow different, and then try to destroy them? Is it possible that it is simply human nature to be full of hate and ugliness which must be projected on a human target?
I was horrified to learn that the KKK has active chapters all over California, a state where there are many black, asian and hispanic folks who do not fit the white-bread definition that KKK subscribes to for the master race. So, my hypothesis:
Humans are a hierarchical species. Humans look at things (including other humans) and sort them into groups based on what they observe. They then decide which groups are good, better, best, bad, worse, worst, and then act accordingly. Humans will find the most minute differences and then use irrational perception filters to exaggerate and make note of these differences. Finally, humans cannot resist this urge to hierarchy, even though as modern animals it does not provide any sort of advantage to the species.
So, now that we live in the age of political correctness, no one can denigrate the color of your skin, your religion, sexual orientation, nationality, culture or heritage. BUT, if you are fat, then you are fair game. It is OK to make fun of obese people. It is OK to refuse to give the heavyweight the job. It is a terrific idea to only show slim people in your television and movies, and never, ever, let fat people feel good about themselves.
I am really blown away by the idea that some folks feel that people who lose weight by surgical means are somehow cheating. That it is good to have a skinny body, a muscular frame, and a healthy body, but that you are only allowed to do so by certain means. If we are fat, that means we are bad, and if we get thinner and healthier with a surgeon's help, we are cheaters. Never mind that WLS requires relearning eating, developing a new way of thinking about food, recognizing ones emotional, mental and physical limitations and then dealing with them all.
As each of us goes on our own journey to a healthier body, we are doing what we know to be the best for us, our families, and trying to live the best life we can live. I long ago gave up trying to figure out what others think of me, let alone caring. For the most part the only opinions that matter are those of my family and a very few close friends. I wonder, though, if I were a muscular 125 pounds, would I have a job right now? If I were slim, how would the last 25 years have gone? I would like to think that the people who bothered to get to know me looked beyond the pudge to see the person, but who knows?
Final question~~who's next? With a rising obese population, who is next on the wheel of derision??
One small victory for me....
Jan 02, 2012
one large win for my jeans! Today for the first time in a year I can wear my size 22 womens jeans!! This is a tiny victory, I know, since I am still waaaay fat and still in a "women's size" but this is the first time EVER that I took off weight without a malfunctioning thyroid or breastfeeding baby to do the heavy lifting!!
I have been wearing the same crappy 24W jeans for a year now, and I am so glad to kiss them goodbye forever. Logically I know that this is a very small step in my journey to a healthier body, but emotionally this is HUGE! I am positively elated that I was able to do this, I have never really had my eating under my control until now. Hopefully this victory will be my fuel as I struggle every day to eat less than I want, eat no sweets, eat almost no bread, and walk away from the table hungry after every single meal.
Next, a busy week for me. I have a Pathways to Success class on Wednesday, and my first appointment with Dr. Aksade on Friday. I am working up a list of questions and things to share with him when we meet. I am really looking forward to my class tomorrow, it is a small group and usually lots of good information is shared, as well as encouragement and ideas on how to deal with various pre-surgical issues.
Tomorrow I will also go to the Community Center and get my membership in order, and then hit the pool. My plan is to swim five days per week, in an attempt to keep losing weight. I haven't really exercised in years, so I'm gonna have to start really slowly and then set little goals for myself. Thank goodness I have my 3X swimsuit all ready to go and there's a hot tub adjacent to the indoor pool to soak away my aches and pains.
Today's tiny victory will, I hope, provide fuel for my increase in activity as well as help me push back from the table and say no to my beloved bread and chocolate!
Huzzah for dropping a jeans size!
1 comment
I have been wearing the same crappy 24W jeans for a year now, and I am so glad to kiss them goodbye forever. Logically I know that this is a very small step in my journey to a healthier body, but emotionally this is HUGE! I am positively elated that I was able to do this, I have never really had my eating under my control until now. Hopefully this victory will be my fuel as I struggle every day to eat less than I want, eat no sweets, eat almost no bread, and walk away from the table hungry after every single meal.
Next, a busy week for me. I have a Pathways to Success class on Wednesday, and my first appointment with Dr. Aksade on Friday. I am working up a list of questions and things to share with him when we meet. I am really looking forward to my class tomorrow, it is a small group and usually lots of good information is shared, as well as encouragement and ideas on how to deal with various pre-surgical issues.
Tomorrow I will also go to the Community Center and get my membership in order, and then hit the pool. My plan is to swim five days per week, in an attempt to keep losing weight. I haven't really exercised in years, so I'm gonna have to start really slowly and then set little goals for myself. Thank goodness I have my 3X swimsuit all ready to go and there's a hot tub adjacent to the indoor pool to soak away my aches and pains.
Today's tiny victory will, I hope, provide fuel for my increase in activity as well as help me push back from the table and say no to my beloved bread and chocolate!
Huzzah for dropping a jeans size!
About Me
PA
Location
38.0
BMI
Surgery
12/31/2013
Surgery Date
Nov 30, 2011
Member Since
