alkaloid
OK, well I see other people giving an ongoing update on their progress, so I thought I'd do the same since I have some things to add!
Found out on Sept 23rd that my insurance (Group and Pension Administrators - self-funded, but uses Healthsmart as a PPO) no longer does business with University Medical Center here in Lubbock. Crap! Anyway, I made an appt. with my regular doctor, who works at Covenant, and spoke with him about my dilemma. I gave him my "laundry list", and he had his office people make almost all my appoints within a day or so! Crazy!
Anyway, here is the rundown of all my tests:
9/24/04 - Had an endoscopy scheduled at UMC - they told me to bring $500 for the copay! I said no way, I'm doing this at Covenant.
10/4/04 - Gallbladder ultrasound at Lubbock Radiology. Could not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before, so I managed to finish the pitcher of beer at 11:45 p.m. :o Such is the life of a musician, but that will be changing to water here in about a month or so. Paid my $20 copay here.
10/4/04 - Yes, two appts in one day. This was for my sleep study with Dr. Dihenia. I was incredibly suprised that I have sleep apnea. NOT! My wife has told me this for years. Anyway, I'm going back on 10/11 for a CPAP machine fitting. I had 555 episodes of apnea from 10:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. - 90 per hour. Everyone keeps telling me that I have headaches and must be tired all day long, and fall asleep at work, but I don't. I must be weird - this apnea hasn't affected me adversely (that I know of) at all yet. Whatever, this whole thing seems kinda quacky to me, because they showed me a video by Respironix, who makes CPAP machines, before my sleep study. I know this will be fixed when I lose all the weight, but until then I have to play by the rules I suppose. Will pay $350 bucks for this one I think, because I have to meet my yearly $250 deductable.
10/7/04 - Venus Doppler, Cardio specialist whatnot, EKG, echocardiogram from Dr. Jinich at Covenant Cardio Associates. This guy was extremely nice - I really liked him a lot. He said that I am absolutely healthy and has no reservations about approving me for the surgery. Score! $20 copay.
10/11/04 - Pulmonary specialist with Dr. Phy, at UMC's Internal Medicine operation. This guy was extremely nice as well, and another on the long list of docs who basically said I am the healthiest fat dude he's ever met (not in those exact words of course). Nonetheless, he told me that now he will dictate a letter saying that I am an extremely good candidate for WLS. IOW, all my pulmonary is excellent. That reminds me - I had a spirograph (?) also when I was going to Dr. Hall, in September, and was told there that I have the lungs of a linebacker (Howie Long in this case). Their capacity is almost off the chart. Awww yeah. $85 bucks for the spirograph (that Dr. Frezza doesn't require - dang!), and $20 copay for Dr. Phy the pulmonary guy (wonder if he has ever heard that before ).
OK so on 10/13/04 I'm supposed to go to the Lubbock Digestive Disease Association (or something like that) for something (endoscopy and mnemometry?). Hopefully we'll get those over with quick - those seem to be the worse ones for me. On the 21st I go see the head doc to see if I'm crazy or something, then I should be good to go! I can get my chest X-ray at any time (my doc already wrote out the order), but he said to wait until I get closer to the surgery date because they need to be no more than 30 days old or something like that). In any case, that one is super easy.
So far so good...
10/13/04 - Appointment at LDDA went OK - I have the menometry scheduled for this afternoon, and the EGD scheduled for the 1st of Nov. Also this week I go to the head doc. Getting there!
10/25/04 - The menometry was weird - that stuff that they spray to numb the back of your throat is NASTY! I was kinda freakin' out as well cause I couldn't feel myself swallowing, then the nurse put a tube up my nose and stuck it down into my esophagus. Very freaky feeling, I have to say, like I had a lump in my throat. Go figure! I also went and saw the shrink on 10/21 - he told me after the eval that I presented a problem for him because nothing is wrong with me, i.e. he couldn't figure out how to diagnose nothing. So anyway, another shrink came in and asked me if I had ever experienced stress and how I handled it, and what my knowledge was on the post-op diet. I guess I passed, since they printed out a letter to give to Dr. Frezza that says that I am a good candidate for the surgery. The only thing I lack is the EGD, then I'll get my chest X-rayed whenever I have time and everything will be done! Gulp!
1/2/2005 - Just thought I'd write in my first update of the New Year! 2005 will be the year in which I become a normal weight - that's right, my surgery is scheduled for January 19th! I have to go into the doc's office on the 18th for the anesthesiologist eval, then I go get banded the next day! I think it was good that my insurance company took so long to approve the surgery, because I have been able to get through all the mental issues dealing with having surgery for this problem. I've gotten over most of the nervousness and am just looking forward to being 100 lbs. lighter. I think having the EGD scope really helped me out - I had never been under any drugs like that before, and I came out of it with no problems; didn't freak out or anything like that, just felt a little drunk. :D
1/17/2005 - Began the first day of my clear liquid diet today. I can be really focused when I need to be, so this is no big deal. I'm sure I'll be feeling hungry all day long, and maybe even after surgery but, y'know, two and a half weeks out of my life is not much to sacrifice for the chance to live an extra 20 years and see my grandchildren grow up.
Anyhow, I just thought I'd type up some of the instructions I got so that a) I can seal them in my head, and b) I can pass on some info to anyone looking into being banded.
One Week Before Surgery:
Do not take any herbal or dietary supplements and stop all anti-inflammatory medicines including aspirin, ibuprofin (Motrin, Advil, etc.), and naproxen. You may take Tylenol for pain. Notify your doctor if you are taking any blood thinners, steroids, inhalers, Plavix, insulin, or any type of medications used to treat diabetes.
Two Days Before Surgery:
Start clear liquid diet. You may drink decaffeinated coffee, tea, WATER, clear fruit juice, bouillon, Jell-O (NOT red).
Do not eat any sold food or drink milk products.
Do not drink anything that contains caffeine. This includes sodas, coffee, and chocolate.
Day Before Surgery:
Call the scheduling desk between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to find out your arrival time.
Start Phospho-Soda no later than 5:00 p.m., or after you return home from last appointment that day. This can be purchased over the counter. Follow the directions on the bottle.
DO NOT wear or use lotion, creams, mouthwash, lip balm, hairspray, mousse, spritz, gels, nail polish, cologne, body splash, or other products that contain alcohol or are petroleum based on the day of surgery.
DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANTYING after midnight on the night before surgery.
So, that's it! I have a touch of anxiousness, but nothing over the top right now. I'm just looking forward to Thursday (the day after surgery) and the rest of my life. I've been dealing with this problem for almost 20 years now (really serious for the last decade), and I'm ready to go face to face with it and kick it in the butt. I'm done being the jovial fat guy - that's up to the other 5% of Americans that are obese and not doing anything about it now.
It's funny - the scariest part of this whole thing for me is not changing my eating habits, not changing my lifestyle; rather, it is being out of control while under general anasthesia. I just have to look at that and say, "well, people go under all the time, the mortality rate is very low and, although there is always a first time, I don't think my doc has actually lost anyone on the table".
I'm just putting this whole thing in God's hands - may He guide the hands of my surgeon, may He provide grace to the hands working on my body, and may He bless the anasthesiologist and give him clarity of thought and action. I went and saw a movie about St. Theresa last night - really hit home as far as what it takes to be filled with grace and peace. I highly recommend it - http://www.theresemovie.com/.
See y'all on the flipside!
1/21/2005 - Back home from the hospital - I'm banded! Time to get skinny!
1/27/2005 - Wow! Hard to believe a week has already gone by! I've just been drinking clear liquids, and am looking forward to getting some mushies next Thursday! Right now though, I'm not really hungry at all - just trying to get in my water and my protein! All my incisions are healing up nicely and the soreness is almost gone, except for where my port is (pretty large incision). So far so good! As of yesterday I've lost 16 lbs!
2/16/2005 - Dr. Frezza had an emergency in the O.R. today so I didn't get filled. I go back Friday for my first one... No biggie, since I'm still losing. :D Down 29 lbs. in one month! I love the band!
2/18/2005 - Got my first fill today! Dr. Frezza put in 6cc (net 5cc because of the tube) and I have the 10cc Vanguard. I feel really tight, and I can feel water slowly trickling down my throat. Weird... Dr. Frezza requires that we go back on a Phase I diet for a week - clear liquids only after a fill! Then we have a couple days of mushies, then food as can be tolerated. I know that most docs don't require this regimen, but that's OK with me - I know I'll lose a lot of weight on a liquid diet, and that's the reason I had surgery! Anyway, I didn't have to get filled under fluoro or x-ray or ultrasound - doc just felt around and found the port, then made stabbing motions with the huge 4" 18 gauge needle until he found it. Not really painful, just incredibly funky feeling. I was lucky - my port stayed aligned correctly apparently!
3/23/2005 - I am pumped! One of my good friends had a birthday party a couple weeks ago, and all of my family came back to town for spring break, so the weekend before last was a rough weekend for me. I think I drank 20 beers over the weekend in all (luckily, I can only drink one every 45 min or so because of the carbonation). I was pretty bummed last week when I only lost 2/10ths of a pound, but apparantly I was just retaining fluids on account of the alcohol. This week 8 lbs melted off! Zoiks! I think I've finally got it through my head that if I eat and drink like a skinny person, I'll BE a skinny person. Skinny people don't sit down all day and drink a 30 pack of Miller Lite, last time I checked (well, SOME do, but they need to go to AA usually). I would only do that when we were having parties or BBQs, but it was still way too much. In addition, drinking makes me want to snack, and I guess the alcohol numbs the "fullness sensor" or whatever it is down there, because I just snack and snack and snack. I do make better choices though, and I guess my body forgave me this time. So... this weekend a buddy of mine from high school is coming to town, and I haven't seen him or his family since WLS, so it should be interesting. I'm looking forward to some more NSVs!!! Tschuess!
4/4/2005 - Just got back from Las Vegas for a conference, so I'm anxiously awaiting Wednesday's weigh-in! Should be verrrry interesting. I did a lot of walking around the strip and up and down stairs while I was there, and couldn't eat much at the two buffets I went to, so hopefully things were a wash...
4/18/2005 - Well, last night I finally tried a bread product. I was actually able to eat a very small piece of pizza with no problem. Of course, I'm only half full in my band (5cc in a 10cc Vanguard band), so I imagine that will change if and when I get another fill. I'm thinking that I will probably get another fill this summer if my weight loss slows down considerable. As it stands right now, however, weight loss has been a consistant 5 lbs. a week, so I'm happy with that. I'd like to not have to have another fill because it feels really freaky. Anyway, I've got to hit the diet hard for the next six weeks because I'm going to Germany on May 29th and haven't seen all my German friends since, well, that picture down at the bottom of the page. I already look like I've lost quite a bit of weight, but I'd like to be even skinnier so everyone really freaks out. Non-scale victories are always a nice boost to the ego, although I seldom need any more boosting (at least according to my wife). :D
Anyway, things are going well - I've learned that chips and jalapeno cheese dip out of a can make my stomach very upset. Not a nice feeling. For the time being, I'm taking advantage of getting full pretty fast and have been replacing one or two meals a day with protein bars. Those bars usually have between 200 and 300 calories with 20g of protein, so they keep me full a long time with minimal impact on my caloric intake. I've tried to stay below 1200 calories a day, but know that I have failed in that capacity. Because I've been able to eat more, I've started walking again four to five times a week. I walk for about an hour, or three miles. Also have been working out with free weights sporadically and my arms are really sore right now. I have lost a lot of strength since high school, but right now I'm looking at just melting the fat off so that I can actually see a muscle or two. ;)
I have to say, I wish I would have had this Lap-Band implanted a loooooong time ago. It has been a real blessing. If anyone is reading this and still considering whether or not to go ahead with WLS, just do it! It is the best decision I've ever made!
6/22/2005 - Well, I'm going in today for my second fill. My restriction is pretty much gone. I am able to eat pretty normally, which helped out greatly during my vacation in Germany. I'm sure I've gained some weight back since I've been out of the country for three weeks and have been drinking _plenty_ of German beer. :D
In any case, I knew my restriction was going, that's why I made the appointment with Dr. Frezza before I left the country. Time to get back on track. It's weird to look at this as a vacation from my dieting, but that's what it came to I suppose. Now I have the rest of the year to lose the other 70 lbs that I want to lose. Shouldn't be bad after this fill... Actually, I'm looking forward to busting my butt in the gym and eating almost nothing again, because I've already experienced results and am ready and willing to experience more! I know this thing works as long as I follow the rules, so 225 lbs., here I come.
7/1/2005 - Awwww dirty. That's all I've got to say. Just kidding, I'm never so short-winded. It's been 1.5 weeks since my second fill and MAN, what a fill! I'm back to only being able to eat one enchilada and maybe a few forkfuls of refried beans. I've been on soup and mushies this week and this morning I stepped on the scale - BAM! 284 lbs.! I thought my eyes were not yet fully awake when I saw that and it took me a minute to adjust. That means I am officially down 80 lbs. in 5.5 months with no end in sight! I actually thought I was kind of bad this week because I was in Chicago on business and that usually means poor eating habits. I guess the several days of clear liquids and couple days of full liquids purged my body of all the bad junk that was weighing me down (literally). So, that means I have only 34 more lbs. to go to get to my doc's goal, and somwhere around 60 lbs. to get to my personal goal. Awesome. I love this thing.
10/11/2005 - Man, I cannot seem to get below 275! It seems my second fill has leaked out, because I have very little restriction. I thought I was going to be able to get over the hump, but it looks like I need to go ahead and get another couple cc's put in. My weight is wavering between 275 and 280, but I'm not complaining! I weigh less now than I did when I was 19!
12/21/2005 - Here's a hint - if you have the lab band, get a fill when you need it! I neglected to get a fill in September when I should have (because I had no restriction), but I waited until today. Gained 20 lbs! I'm sure that part of that is bloating from all the beer I've been drinking lately, but still! Anyway, this liquid diet for the next few days should help jump start me back into losing.
8/21/2006 - Holy crap is all I have to say. Been a while! I've had no restriction for about 14 months now. Been into the doc's office two times to get fills, and according to the charts I should have 14ccs or so in my band, which is impossible. After pretty much maintaining my weight between 280-290 for over a year, I'm ready to get poked and prodded and do what I need to do to get the rest of this weight off.
I have an appointment with Dr. Frezza himself on the 6th of September at which point he'll decide if he needs to inject me with barium under fluoro to see if (and where) I'm leaking fluid out, and if I need to go back under to get my port replaced or what. The wife thinks I should just diet like I always used to do, but it obviously doesn't work. I haven't fallen completely back into old habits, but I'm getting there, and I have this tool in me already, so why not use it? I lost 80 lbs in six months, if I do that again I will weigh less than I did in high school.
This was the first (and only) surgery I've ever had, so it has taken me a year to get up the gumption to go back and do it again. Takes me a long time to make medical decisions, I know. So, until my next update...
10/11/2006 - OK, the verdict is not good. After my appt. on 9/6 it looks like it is for sure that my band is leaking. However, Dr. Frezza injected 2.5 ccs into my band and I felt it closing around my stomach, which was encouraging. He told me that if I lost restriction in 7-10 days that he would go ahead and inject the contrast under fluoro. I got to thinking, however, that I don't want another surgery until they take this band out. Since I get restriction for a couple of weeks, why not just get a fill per month? A hundred bucks for a fill is a lot cheaper than surgery, so I think that's the route I'm going to take. In the meantime, I've lost 23 lbs. Yay me! :) Next fill is scheduled for November the 17th I think. I'll just ride this monthly filling schedule out until I get to target weight, which, by the way, is only 18 lbs away now. Then I'll ride this out until I hit 198... :)
01/19/2005 - 364 (day before surgery)
01/26/2005 - 348
02/02/2005 - 342
02/09/2005 - 341 (Doh! Plateau already?!?! Oh well, fill next Wed.!)
02/16/2005 - 335
02/23/2005 - 329
03/02/2005 - 327
03/09/2005 - 322
03/16/2005 - 322
03/23/2005 - 314 (50 lbs. in two months!!!)
03/30/2005 - 313
04/06/2005 - 312
04/13/2005 - 304 (60 lbs down, only four more until short term goal #1!)
04/20/2005 - 302 (but my scale at home says 298.8! Aaaaaah! Oh this is fully clothed with heavy shoes too, so should I count this as reaching goal #1? I dunno...)
04/27/2005 - 303 (oops! Guess not! 35% body fat) (got a new scale)
05/04/2005 - 294 (sweet! 33.8% body fat, means I'm gaining muscle)
05/11/2005 - 291
06/19/2005 - 298 (304 according to doc's scale. Grrrr.)
07/01/2005 - 284 (back on track after fill #2 - 80 lbs. in 5.5 months, even with vacation!)
07/08/2005 - 285 (heh, July 4th weekend) :D
07/13/2005 - 278
07/20/2005 - bad
07/27/2005 - bad
08/05/2005 - bad
08/12/2005 - 281 (back on track after a rough few weeks of summer)
10/04/2005 - 278
10/12/2005 - 275
12/21/2005 - 297
10/11/2006 - 268 (my lowest yet, four more 'til 100 lbs lost!)
Short term goal #1: 300 (-64, no longer morbidly obese)
Short term goal #2: 275 (-89, less than I've weighed in 8-9 years)
Short term goal #3: 264 (-100, loss of 100 lbs)
Short term goal #4: 250 (-114, what my doc says I should get to)
Final goal: 225 (-139, less than I weighed in high school)
Ultimate Final goal: 198 (-166, no longer overweight!)
