Mike A.
Hey Everyone! I have a tendency to ramble so I'll try to keep this short...
I've always been overweight. Even as a small child I was usually the fattest kid in class. Then when I hit 30 I gained 100 pounds in a year. Every year after that I always seemed to gain more and more. By 40 I had hit the 450 pound range. While that's pretty much always bad I am only 5'8". That's a 68.7 BMI!
I finally had health insurance that would cover WLS. I chose the DS because I felt that it had the best long term results and provided a more normal eating style than any other WLS. My family doctor is a great guy but he knew nothing about DS. All he knew about any WLS was that he had a patient who had pretty good results with the RNY. Thankfully he was VERY supportive of my desire for the DS after he and I talked about it. I even printed out information for him to read which he really liked.
Due to insurance coverage I had to go to Omaha (3 hour drive) for the closest doctor our plan accepted. That turned out to be a great experiance as Dr. Forse is such a wonderful doctor.
I did suffer quite a bit of post-op pain. My surgery was done laproscopiclly. This procedure required me to be strapped to the table like I was being crucified. The surgeon would manipulate the table as he needed. For about 2 hours I was in a standing position and leaning forward slightly. This caused a bit of strain on my left shoulder. OK, it really strained the hell out of it! That was the cause of my post-op pain. I had no pain from the incisions or the removal of any tissue.
No worries though. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Before surgery Doc thought I could get down to about 225 pounds. That sounded like an unobtainable dream to me but I trusted him. Now I'm almost 8 months post-op and am at 238 pounds. I still have ten months to lose weight. I'm finally able to excersise and will soon be working a schedule that will allow me to get to a gym. I've revised my goal to get down to 190 pounds. That's about what I weighed when I graduated high school.
My health has improved so much! I was taking meds for edema, cholesterol, stage II hypertension, acid refulx, and diabetes. I had an emergency inhaler for asthma symptoms and was this close >< to going on full time asthma meds. Now all I take are my vitamin supplements. My recent lab work showed cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose to be normal. Even my blood pressure was normal.
I know I still have a life long journay ahead to manage my weight. I'm grateful that I now have the tools to do the job. I look forward to learning from the vets on this board. I want to say "Thanks" in advance for all the things I'm going to learn form them. Have a good life everyone,
Mike.
