Kurt_1957
I'm 61 years old (male) and have been overweight all of my life. I've been on the weight loss/weightgain roller coaster more times than I care to recall. I was approaching 400 pounds (394) and, being 5'11" tall I, was had an epiphany that set me an the path to better health. My highest BMI was over 50. My doctor had warned me over the past 20 years that I needed to lose weight or I would develop serious health issues. Eventually I did develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obstructive sleep apnea, just to hit the highlights.
I did try to lose weight (many times) and always put even more back on. My Doctor referred my name to the Richmond Bariatric program about 3½ years ago and in January 2018 I was invited to an orientaion session. I signed up after the meeting and started on the path to a RNY bypass procedure. It's not an easy path to follow and you really must be committed to making the changes, developing the new habits and showing that you are a good candidate for bariatric surgey. I received my surgery on July 31, 2018 and went home 2 days later. The surgery went well and I believe that I am adapting to the lifestyle changes well. My heaviest weight was 394; I was at 354 for my initial weigh in. I had lost 40 pounds through diet and exercise at a medically supervised exercise clinic (Livewell). They do great work and educate you about how to exercise. They also provide nutritional counselling.
I set a goal for myself that most everyone thought was somewhat unrealistic - I wanted to get down to 300 pounds by the time I had surgery, On the date of surgery (July 31, 2018) I weighed 293! Even though I lost over 100 pounds without surgery, I knew that I could not sustain that kind of weight loss indefinately. I was going to the gym 5-6 days per week for between 1 and 3 hours; including running intervals for 60 minutes and doing an assortment of core exercises. By surgey I had injured my back and was walking with crutches, the result of too much exercise too soon. I have never had a back problem in my life and it's somewhat ironic that I injured it after I had lost 100 pound. The Surgeon (Dr. Yorke) was great and made sure that I would be able to be up and walking around after surgery so she didn't have to cancel.
Surgery went well and by the time I was released 2 days later I weighed 298 pounds, the result of bag after bag of fluids being pumped into my body along with other stuff like magnesium and potassium. They want to make sure you have as close to perfect blood chemistry as possible by the time you leave the hospital and they will check it again through blood tests at the three month mark to make sure you are getting all the minerals and vitamins needed, along with protein.
So here I am today (August 24, 2018) and I am at 265 pounds. I haven't weighed that little in more than 15 years! I've lost 33 pounds since leaving the hospital 22 days ago. My back is slowly getting better and I am doing physio fo it. I had my three week check up with Dr. Yorke and have been cleared for normal exercise and activities. The incisions are healing nicely and the two smallest ones are practicall gone already. When I woke up after surgery my abdomen looked like they had made a cycloptic happy face with the bandages!
I'm looking forward to being able to resume working out ... I really miss it.
The 2½ year wait is long, i'll admit, but it's worth it. The Richmomd program is great and has outstanding support at each step of the way.