jimjayhawk
These were my pre-surgery thoughts that I shared with my wife and general practitioner who were both VERY much opposed to me having the surgery:
Losing weight to be healthy and fit is a battleground that I have been well acquainted with for over 40 of my 52 years. I have had periods of tremendous success in losing weight and thinking/feeling that I had finally conquered being overweight for good only to find myself in as heavy a condition (or more often heavier) at a later point with little consciousness of how it happened.
Despite my yo-yoing weight, up to age 40 I had been able to cope with being heavy, then thin, then heavy again with a fair amount of success. I did complete my bachelor’s and master’s degree, convince a beautiful young woman to become my wife and bear our children, been reasonably successful in my career, was able to ride a bicycle and greatly enjoyed the annual “Ride the River” event with my family as well as a variety of other activities and have owned the homes, cars and accoutrements that have made our lives fairly comfortable.
Around my 40th year though, I began to experience ever increasing limitations and debilitations related to my excess weight. Back pain has prevented me from riding a bicycle, canoeing, fishing, rowing, and a myriad of other activities that I once tremendously enjoyed. I have sleep apnea, and although I do use my CPAP religiously, I have not been able to sleep in a bed for over 5 years. Travel via bus, train or plane is a very uncomfortable experience for me and anyone unfortunate enough to have a seat next to me. It is a extremely rare theater seat that is even minimally comfortable.
About 5 years ago, the leg and back pain became unbearable. I was referred to the Genesis Pain Clinic and had two spinal steroid injections that provided a very temporary relief but no long term solution. Next stop was to see a neurologist about potential back surgery. From the CT scan, xray, and MRI results he could not see any particular cause for my trouble and suggested that there was less than a 30% chance that he could provide any relief to me at this point in time. He did refer me to physical therapy and followed my progress there for six months. PT was moderately successful in reducing the leg and back pain to tolerable levels and enabled me to resume working out. I worked out with a personal trainer for six months and now have been working out frequently (3-5x week) at the Eldridge Fitness center since November 2011.
Accompanying this leg and back pain was a sense of hopelessness and resignation. The only thing anyone could ever suggest was losing weight, and it hurt so much to move that losing weight was a very difficult.
In the spring of 2011, my blood pressure was high so Dr. Schreck started me on a medication to bring it down to more acceptable levels. While discussing my desire to lose weight with Dr. Schreck in the spring of 2011, he once again suggested the Bariatric Clinic at Genesis, emphasizing that in addition to the surgery they also worked with people to lose weight. I went to the clinic in May of 2011 and started working through their process. I was able to lose a bit of weight pretty quickly after starting at the Bariatric Clinic, but after a few months hit a plateau.
After 40 years of yo-yo weight-loss followed by gain, I can accept the reality that while I can be successful in losing weight, I am unable to maintain that loss for any lengthy period of time. This acceptance is a key to my decision to pursue a bariatric procedure. As I have contemplated this procedure I have had moments of doubt and fear. These have been overwhelmed by a sense of hope that what I have struggled to do for nearly 42 years could actually be accomplished via the vertical sleeve gastrectomy.
I believe that this surgery will not only result in a bigger weight loss than I am capable of achieving on my own but also will this loss far more effectively than prior weight loss. The potential of eliminating the need for blood pressure medication, minimizing/eliminating leg & back pain, reducing or eliminating sleep apnea and eliminating the risk of type II diabetes more than justifies this decision.
To increase my energy level and be able to do so much that I have not been able to do in recent years is a dream that would likely never have happened trying to accomplish a weight loss on my own. It is my intention to have the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) vertical gastric sleeve bypass in early January of 2013. (Surgeon booked through end of year prevented Plan A from occuring) in December of 2012 right after the Quad City Singer performance. This would allow recovery time prior to the resumption of the Singer’s schedule and before the start of the spring semester at SCC when my responsibilities are greater. Ended up with 1st open date 2.10.13
I RARELY dressed well when obese - I did for the most essential "public image" days when interacting with the power structure or formal events, but otherwise wore what I thought "hid" my morbid obesity.
Once I got down to my goal weight I have made a VERY conscientious effort to totally revise my public image... shaved my beard, new glasses, keep my thinning hair cut neatly, wear a tie almost every day... new shoes (that fit and look stylish), etc., etc., etc.
I had resigned myself to being stuck in the same job until retirement... while that might well still happen, it won't be because of my appearance or a lack of trying to move up or into a more interesting/challenging position - notions that I had truly given up on in my early 40's as my back/hip pain contributed to my overeating and subsequent morbid obesity.
About Me
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
