ObesityHelp

I had not always been overweight, as I was in the 170's when I was in high school. Due to the fact that I had a small tumor on my pituitary glad (that was not diagnosed until I was in my 30's), and the personal problems I endured as a child, I began to gain large amounts of weight. I reached 250 lbs by the time I was 22, and continued to gain more and more. I was up to 285 by the time I met my future wife in 1998. My weight stabilized for a few years, but finally in 2002, I went over the 300 lb mark. And it didn't stop there, as I added an extra 25 lbs within the next year. Eating had become a major part of my life, and I could not seem to stop. It was nothing to eat a large pizza in one sitting, and actually crave more food after that. My appetite was amazing. I knew something had to be done, because both of my knees were getting bad from carrying all the extra weight, and because of the pain, excercising was not working very well.

In March of 2005, I started investigating bypass surgery. I met all the qualifications presented to me, so we decided to pursue the surgery. My ex-wife had the surgery herself 7 years prior, so I had a role model to keep me in line if I decided not to follow any of the rules. To my wonderful surprise, the insurance company approved me immediately, and things were on their way. I had everything all set for a Dec 5th, 2005 surgery.

However, my dreams of having the surgery had a setback. In the months leading up to my surgery, I had a fungus-like rash on my stomach, but none of the doctors who checked me out said anything about it or seemed concerned with it. Dec 5th came, and I was prepped for surgery. We went as far as getting me into the operating room and putting me under anesthesia. But, when I woke up, I was told the surgery could not be performed because of the rash on my stomach, and it would take weeks, maybe even months, before it could clear. I was devastated, not only because of the news, but also because my insurance was set to change on Jan 1st, and the bariatric program assured me that there was no way my new insurance would cover the surgery.

 The rash cleared up in February. My bariatric nurse told me to try to get approval with my insurance anyway, and see what happens. Of course I was denied. But the good news was that I had kept my old insurance as a secondary. So, after the initial denial, we re-submitted with my secondary insurance, and was approved! We were back on, this time for April 3rd.

This time, the surgery was completed. I felt no pain when I woke up, but I was very tired. I was in the hospital for 5 days, and off work for 5 weeks, but I felt great during the whole time. By the time I returned to work, I lad lost 51 lbs, and was already starting to see a difference. I lost 100 lbs right at the end of July, and as of today (October 17), I have lost a total of 126 lbs. I am just 10 lbs away from my goal of 180 lbs, and really, am wondering if I even need to be there. It is so great to buy new clothes, and turn a lot of heads and have a lot of people wondering. This surgery has been a great success for me, especially for the fact that I have not experienced the dumping syndrome, or haven't gotten sick at all.