newlifetax
Introduction
Aug 20, 2014
My name is James and I live in the Raleigh, NC area. Currently, my weight is 360lb and I am 5'7" with a BMI of 56.5 and I am 36 years old. I have been overweight my entire life. Now that I have a daughter, I am ready to make a change so that I can be the husband and father that my wife and daughter need me to be. My weight has caused me to miss out on many things in life and I am tired of it. The turning point came for me when I applied for additional life insurance through my employer. I was denied additional coverage because my BMI was too high. On August 14, 2014, I had an initial bariatric consultation with Dr. Paul Enochs and I am currently undergoing the required pre-op testing. I am shooting for a mid-October 2014 surgery date. I am currently deciding between VSG and a new procedure called Sleeve Gastrectomy with Single Anastomosis Duodeno-ileal Bypass (also called loop DS, SADI-S, or SIPS). I would like to lose 180lb to reach my goal weight of 180lb.
I plan to update my progress here and I also plan to start a youtube channel to document my journey. My desire is to raise awareness of the horrible disease that obesity is and hopefully inspire others (especially my friends, family, and co-workers) to beat this disease that robs people of not only years of life but also quality of life. My goal is to always be positive with my blogs and videos, even if the topics themselves are negative. I see so many people blogging/vlogging about their journey and every post or video shows them crying, whining, and generally being negative. I don't want to present that image to those who I am trying to encourage.
My next steps are pre-op testing at the hospital on Friday August 22, sleep study on Sunday August 24, and nutrition appointment on Monday August 25. I have my psych evaluation scheduled for September 10. When I finish those things, I should meet with the GI doctor to go over my upper GI study results. After that, I will meet with my surgeon again, pay my co-insurance, and schedule my surgery. I am hopeful that with surgery and a little hard work and determination, I will lose enough weight to take my daughter to Disney World (and be able to enjoy it) in the spring of 2015.
