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Ken S. Half past the monkey's butt..., WI, USA Post Op - BMI: 30.5 Surgery Type: RNY Member ID: S1069274650 Surgeon: Thomas Geocaris, M.D. |
Click here for Ken's surgery support page Click here for the 03/2004 Reunion Page Click here to print Ken's cards (You can print your own cards, and if you're good at it, you can help print cards for your friends as well!) |
  I am a 35 year old father of 2 kids. I am also married and have been for the last 9 1/2 years. My weight has been a battle with me for the last 30 years. Had high blood pressure at the age of 10 and started on my dieting history. The history is always the same. Lose a lot of weight and then gain it all back plus 10-15 more. I have an extensive family history of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The history has finally got to the point where it scares the hell out of me. I am tired of making excuses to my kids why I can't do things with them. They know I have a very hard time doing anything due to exhaustion and sore joints. I want more than anything to be able to go out on a moments notice and play tackle football with my son and biking with my daughter. My wife has always been supportive about my battle with my weight and supports me completely now while I explore what I believe may be my last chance to prolong the inevitible that we all face. My Dad passed away this past July with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He had often expressed his concern over my weight. He knew he wasn't going to be around much longer and wanted me to really work on getting off the weight to ensure that I would be around as long as possible for my children. He was absolutely right. We have told the kids about the possibility of the surgery and they understand the risks. Obviously, they are hoping for the best and are looking forward to the day, hopefully this summer when we can bike together and do more outdoor things together. I have my first appointment on Jan. 7, 2004 at Belin Health. I would give anything if it were today, but it's not so I will have to be patient. I fit most of the criteria for the surgery, so all I am waiting for is to see if the insurance will cover it. I will keep you all posted. I would appreciate any input any of you have and any words of support for me. Thanks...Ken  1-9-2004 Hi everyone. Well, I had my first consultation with Tamara Brown at Bellin Health in Green Bay, Wisconsin on 1-7-2004 and everything went great! I was ready to jump on the table that day. I had all my testing done already and just needed to meet with Tamara and have her submit my paperwork to the insurance company. I never thought that day would come. I am still a little nervous that the insurance company will not cover it even though I talked to them and they told me it will be covered as long as it is pre-determined to be medically necessary. It is my nature to expect that the other shoe will drop and hope like hell that it won't. There isn't much else to tell right now except that I appreciate all the wishes of good luck!! I will update when I hear from my insurance company. Please hope and pray for me! Take care and good luck to you all!!!...Ken a.k.a...K-man  1-21-2004 Hi Everybody...I called the ins. co. Monday and found out that they have received the information from Bellin Health in Green Bay, Wi. and that they are waiting for the pre-determination committee to make their decision. I hate waiting!!!! I'll keep you all up to date when I get any kind of response! Take care and good luck to all...Ken a.k.a...K-man  1-26-2004 I called the ins. co. again after being told on the 23rd that they couldn't find my info.. They said it has been located again and that they would put a "heads up" on it and hopefully have an answer for me by the end of this week (1-30-2004), we'll see... I am hoping for a positive resolution to this soon. I have been dealing with the ins. system for over a year and have had just about enough!! I have really worked myself into a tizzy of excitement assuming the surgery will go through. Well, wish me luck!!!!!!  1-28-2004 Hi again all. Just got off the phone with the ins. co. and they still don't have an answer for me but they told me to feel free to call everyday and they assured me they would have an answer just as soon as they can. The woman on the phone asked me what approval I was waiting for and I told her gastric bypass surgery. Guess what...she had it 1 year ago and she has lost 114 lbs. She asked me how long I had been waiting and I told her I had been waiting for over 1 year. She agreed that that was way too long and that she understood my anxiety and frustration over the wait. It made me feel good talking to her and knowing that she had been through the same thing. Well, more later...K-man  2-17-2004 Woo-Hoo!!!!!!! After working on this for over a year, I finally got approved for the surgery!! I am now waiting for the surgeons to call and set up an appointment for their consultation!! I am so excited...Yee Ha!!!!!  2-18-2004 I am so upset right now. I called my surgeon yesterday to see if they had received the approval letter fax yet and they hadn't so I called the ins. co. and they told me that I hadn't actually been approved yet. Someone had put it in the computer that it had been approved when it is still in review. I am looking for blood. I think these ins. co.'s get off on jerking us around!! I'll post again when I have good news! 2-19-2004 O.K...Now I have good news for real...I got word today that I was officially approved by a doctor and everything!! I am so excited and emotionally feel like a million bucks. I am so happy for the support my family and friends have given me. I couldn't have done it without their help. I'll let everyone know when I will be visiting with the surgeons... 2-23-2004 Hey again everyone. I called Surgery Specialists in Green Bay yesterday and was told to be there on March 9th for my surgeons consult!!!!!! I am so excited and was also told I may be able to have surgery as soon as the end of March!! I love getting good news. I am really looking forward to becoming a "loser" for good. Will write again when there is more good news to report!!..........Take care ...Ken 3-9-2004 6 DAYS AND COUNTING!!!!!!! I was told today that I will be having surgery on March 15 at Noon. I couldn't believe that they were going to get me in that fast. I just had my consult with Dr. Tom Geocaris this morning. I am so excited and can't wait to become a real bonified "loser"!!!!!!! I thank God everyday for my wife, who has had to put up with me this last year through the insurance fight and mood swings. She is a real saint!! Also my kids who have had to put up with the same. Again...more saints!!!! And for everyone on obesityhelp.com for letting me vent when I needed to and helping me to find a mental hospital that would take me in case the insurance would not cover it!! I am so happy!! 4-7-2004 Hi again everybody. It has been a little while since I posted and I appologize. I know how important it is to those of you who are looking for info. to read the different profiles to get some of the information and support you need. I had surgery on the 15th of March and I can say that things did not go without a hitch. I was fine until day 3 in the evening. I started having gas pains that only got worse overnight and extremely bad the next day. The nursing staff was right on top of it the whole time and did everything they could including keeping the Dr. posted. I had a CAT scan that revealed a kinked bowel. The result of that was that my bile duct became blocked and my old stomach swelled to 3 times the size it should have been. They rushed me in for emergency surgery and Dr. Tom Geocaris unkinked the bowel and drained my stomach. However, all the swelling had cut off the blood flow to my new stomach and all the incision and staple lines. He had to completely redo the first surgery. I was in the O.R. for over 4 hours. I then spent the next 3 days in the ICU and the next 6 days after that recovering on a normal surgical wing. They took things very slowly after that scare and I was glad because I didn't want to take any chances. Long story short...I am recovering nicely now at home with just a little bit of occasional nausea and still a bit tired. My wife through this has been my rock and I don't know what I would have done without her. She came up to the hospital the night I had emergency surgery before we even knew we were going back in. I had called her that afternoon and asked her to come back up to Green Bay where I was because I didn't know what was wrong and I really needed to see her. I was in excruciating pain and was really regretting what I had done. I am no longer regretting that I did this. I think it was the pain and drugs I was on coming out of my mouth. I am currently down over 30 lbs and love that I can see my 2x shirts now fitting loosely on me again. Before I had this surgery, I wasn't sure if I would be able to experience this again. For those of you who have not had the surgery yet...your time will come and you won't believe what results you will have. I am trying to get my exercising in and am still off work for the time being. I may be off for a bit longer due to the complications and the fact that my incision has a small spot that got infected and now is a 3/4 inch long hole in my incision that I am waiting on to heal. I am finding enough foods that I like to eat at this point in the game and anticipate that things will get even better when I am able to eat a more normal meal...something that is not pureed that is... I hope to never go back to the way I was. I want to keep losing and feeling better. I can feel it in my joints, and my walking is getting easier everyday. The cravings are a little bit much at times, but thank God, my cooler head has prevailed. I want to wish you all the best of luck and keep checking back and I will try to keep you all posted of any further progress. Oops...I almost forgot...I just wanted to put in a good word for the nursing staff at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I can't tell how happy I was with the care they gave me. I know it is their job to take care of us and make us comfortable, but I think they go above and beyond their normal call of duty. They were the best and if I didn't live 2 hours from Green Bay, I would go there for everything. I made some good friends there on the staff too and want to thank them all for the after-shift visits when they should have been going home. They are a bunch of angels and I wish them all the best too. My almost 2 week stay would have absolutely SUCKED without them. Take care to you all and be good...Ken 4-20-2004 Hello again all. Just wanted to add a couple of things to my profile to day. I had my 1 month follow up with Dr. Cindy Geocaris on the 15th of April. She took out my G-tube (thank God!!!) and told me that it seemed that I was doing pretty well even after the rocky start I had. She told me that she sees about 4 distended stomachs a year even though she was not in on my surgery. I told her that my stomach was huge and hard as a rock the night they took me back into emergency surgery. She told me that the problem I had is pretty serious and it might slow down my recovery a little bit. The two holes in my incision are starting to heal more and close up finally. I am however getting sick of having to pack both holes twice a day. It really grosses me out. Amazing huh...I can watch any surgical show but it grosses me out to see crud come out of my own body!!! I have another appt. on the 28th and I will probably know my return to work status then. I don't think it will be real soon. My incision still is pretty stiff and it hurts when I stretch. The bottom of my sternum also hurts. I don't know if it is from the surgery or if I have been doing too much lately. It feels like the bone is bruised or something. Also my right side hurts like it's bruised too. Oh well enough on my aches and pains. I am eating pretty well, but am getting sick of the pureed stuff. I have found that I have a few very popular items of food that have worked quite well for me. Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup, Spaghetti O's, mashed potatoes, cream of wheat, small pieces of chicken, s/f popsicles, s/f fudgsicles and s/f koolaid. I am down 45lbs as of the 15th of April. That's in 4 weeks!! It is starting to slow down like I knew it would. I haven't set a goal yet but will talk to my Dr. next week on the 28th to see what he thinks is realistic. I am trying to walk at least once a day. I am up to between 1 and 1 1/2 miles of walking a day. If any of you have questions or just want to contact me for the heck of it, please feel free. I love talking to other people in any stage of the process of getting approval, or whatever stage you are in with the surgery or recovery. Take care and be good to yourselves...Ken a.k.a...K-Man:) 5-18-2004 Hi again all. Well, I haven't been too good at updating like I should so I thought I should get to it while I was thinking about it. It has now been about 8 1/2 weeks and I am feeling terrific. The two openings that had to be made in my incision for the dead fat to escape from are finally closed. Thank God for that. I was getting sick of watching the liquified yellow fat running out of me where the holes were. I have been sleeping better but don't think the sleep apnea is gone yet. However, Dr. Tom has told me that there is a good chance that once the weight comes off and I can maintain it, the sleep apnea may go away completely. That would be a good thing since I have been on the CPAP since 1996 and it is really getting old. I am still sore at the bottom tip of my sternum and have been told that is normal. It feels like someone put something really heavy on my chest and bruised the bone. Dr. Tom said that is most likely from the ribs being moved out of the way during surgery and since I had it done to me twice in 4 days, I am assuming that this little bit of soreness will take a while to go away. Other than that, my whole gut area feels pretty good. My scar is very pink but it is not as wide as I thought it would be. To tell you the truth, I really don't care how my scar looks because if I didn't have the scar, I wouldn't be a "LOSER" right now so I'll take it!!! I am not doing any extra walking right now because I am having trouble with both my hips and have a Dr.'s appt. next month to see if there is something specific wrong with them. They get really sore and hurt if I sit even for a few minutes. I am off my blood pressure meds. at this time and shouldn't have to go back on them unless things take a turn for the worse in that department. I am also off my Prevacid going on 2 weeks and haven't had any problems so far being off of it. Most foods sit well with me but I do have trouble with foods high in sugar or fat content. I am really careful with what goes in my mouth and I have been pretty careful so far since I do not want to ever go back to where I came from. I have not returned to work yet but anticipate being cleared after I see Dr. Tom on June 2. I am actually looking forward to getting back since I am getting bored being home all day and on restrictions which limit me to what I can do. To date I have lost 62lbs in these 8 1/2 weeks. It has at times seemed like a dream. My body is shrinking and I have more energy now than I have had in 10 years. I don't look for the closest parking place anymore at the store. I don't even mind leaving the house to go to the store or run errands. I haven't felt this way in quite a long time. Don't let anyone tell you this is the easy way out. It isn't. This is not the easiest thing I have ever done but it still gives me the best chance to get the weight off and keep it off. I am making better food choices and am also encouraing my kids to do the same. We are all eating better in this house today. There are still some foods that I am grieving with over their loss. I cannot walk through a bakery section in a grocery store without losing my mind. I have decided though that I am going to succeed with this and as my Angel, Stacy Wis. quoted to me..."No food tastes as good as being thin feels." She said a mouthful!!! Well, you all be good and stop back again when you get the itch... Take care...K-Man 7-13-2004 Hi all. Boy, if I don't check my own profile from time to time I kind of forget that I haven't updated for a while. Today, it's time. I have been doing pretty well since my last check up on June 4. I have lost a total of 86 lbs and that puts me at 214 since March 15 when I went in for surgery. I still have issues with baked goods meaning, I love to look at them and smell them. I haven't however eaten any of them. I don't even go through the baked goods aisle in the grocery stores. I am staying away from the things that made me morbidly obese in the first place such as an entire loaf of french bread at a sitting, eating a dozen or more donuts at work and a half gallon of ice cream each night I am not working. If I have a hankering for any of those things, I have a taste of someone else's. A bite or two is all I want and then I am satisfied. I do occasionally indulge in a piece or 2 of Russell Stover sf candy like the mint patties. I never eat more than 2 pieces because I have definite issues with sugar alcohol. It makes me very gassy and let me tell you, that is not good. I have not been good at journaling since surgery. I told myself after my 2nd to last appt. that I would but I just never got into it. I am pretty sure I am getting in all or more of the protein I need in a day. I just keep track of it in my head. I watch the "white" carbs very closely but don't worry so much about the good carbs in fruit or veggies. I love them too much and without them I don't think I could do this. I probably eat more of the fruit than I should but I don't worry about this too much since I have been working very hard outside since I returned to work 6 weeks ago. My energy level since being fully recovered is incredible. I have never had so much. I am able to do many things I would have never thought of doing before and don't feel like I am going to have a heart attack when I am done. I still sweat a lot on exertion but it is a good sweat. The kind you get when you know you are doing well and working hard. It has been good to finally get back to work. I was off for 3 months and was getting pretty antsy to get back to a schedule after being off for so long. Most of my coworkers were more than shocked. Some of them didn't even recognize me. I have gotten more compliments than ever in my life and I can't tell you how good that makes me feel. I don't think I have ever been more positive with my whole outlook on things than I am right now. I still have off days, but overall this surgery so far has been an extremely positive experience for me. What's next...Well, I would still like to lost about 40 more pounds and I think I will get there sooner or later. I am going to start an exercise program very soon and have signed up with a personal trainer to get me started. I want to be more physically fit and would also like to start running soon if my hips can handle it. I just recently started to ride my bike again and love it too. I am so glad my son and I can do that together finally. I wasn't able to with my 300 pound body. I have also been toying with the idea of writing a book on my experience with wls and how it has changed me but have no idea how to get started. I can honestly say though that I have never felt this way before. I had very serious complications and could have easily been one of those 1 in 200 people who don't come out of it due to whatever. I came pretty close. That experience changed me in a very profound way. I know there must be a reason I was spared...I am starting to think it was to help others in their weight loss journies. I love coming to the obesity help website and have made many internet friends so far. I would love to meet them all some day. It's hard to explain how I have changed emotionally, but I feel such a connection with the people I have met on this website. We have all gone through so much together and offer so much support for one another when we need it. These are the best people I have ever met!! Well, I guess that is enough for now. I don't see Dr. Tom until Sept. 7 and hope to have 100 lbs gone by then. I WILL HAVE 100lbs GONE BY THEN!!! Take care all and be good to yourselves...K-Man Hi again guys and gals of the AMOS world!! It has been a little while and I thought it was about time to update again. I am now 3 weeks shy of my 6 month anniversary and down 94 lbs. I am hoping to be down 100 lbs when I go back to see Dr. Tom on Sept. 2, 2004. I know I shouldn't get hung up on numbers, but that one is very important to me and I would just love to get there by that date. I have been back to work for almost 3 months and am doing better with my patience levels. Before surgery, when I weighed 300 lbs and couldn't move very well, I hated my job and everything irritated me. I didn't have much patience for anything and I got very easily pissed and agitated at people and situations. I feel that now with the weight off, I am better able to handle situations and the idiots I work with. I tell you, some days it is like I am back in high school and worse yet, dealing with people who were less mature than my 12 and 9 year old!! All in all though, my job is much easier now that I have gotten so much weight off. Lately, I have been dealing with more head hunger and am trying to curb the munchies by drinking more protein drinks instead of reaching for food or just drinking more water or sugar free drinks. I have found a bunch and keep trying the new stuff that I find. I am confident that I will get this munchie craze in check before too long. I have also started exercising with a personal trainer and am loving every minute of it. I can't believe I waited so long to do this. I have 10 paid sessions with him and will be on my own after next Friday. He has put together a great program for me and stays with me for each session to see that I am getting the mechanics of each exercise right and not hurting myself. He has told me over and over that I have the right form for being very sucessful in wt. training or toning, whichever I choose to do. I am right now just concentrating on the toning and cardiovascular training to get my endurance and stamina up to where I would like it. I still am interested in running sometime in the future, but don't know yet if my knees and hips will cooperate with me. Right now, I have about 10-12 exercises with weights that take me from 30-45 minutes, 30-60 minutes of cardio workout with the treadmill and elliptical machines, and now have incorporated water walking to my workout too. I am so excited to be doing this for myself and hope to stay motivated. It has been a great summer. I have never handled the heat and humidity better than this summer. There were some nights at work where the temp sometimes reaches 95 degrees inside that I barely broke a sweat. When I did, I knew it was a good sweat and not one that would alarm anyone that I may be having a heart attack! I have done more with my kids this summer than in 10 years and they seem to be very happy for it too. We are all benefitting as a family and I couldn't be happier for myself. My wife still is amazed at the transformation I have made right before her eyes!! It is almost as if she is seeing another man right in front of her. I can't believe it either some days!! My whole body is smaller and I have bones now too!! Did you know that us humans have collar bones and tailbones??? Holy Crap...neither did I!! I took one measurement this morning before my workout and just about pooped my pants when I saw that my waist has gone from a 56 in March to a 41 1/2 today!! I have a pair of dress pants that I only wore for special occasions that are the 56 that look like I could get 2 of me in now. I AM JUST BLOWN AWAY!!! I have gotten my first angel assignment this month with Debby G. in Wisconsin who will be having surgery on Sept. 2, 2004 and also with Shelly T. (also in Wisconsin) who will find out on the 16th of August when she will be having surgery!! I am so proud of those two special people here. I consider them friends, even though I have never met them face to face. I want to take a moment to wish them both the very best and will keep you all updated as their dates get closer. I feel very honored to do this and feel as if I am now finally getting to "pay forward" what I have gotten from all of you here on this site. YOU ARE ALL VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE AND I WISH I COULD MEET YOU ALL FACE TO FACE SOMEDAY!! Take care for now and hopefully, I won't wait so long to update next time!! BE GOOD AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES...K-Man 8-24-2004 Well, here we are again. I am currently at 203lbs on my home scale and hoping the scale at my surgeon's office next Thursday says 200. Even if it doesn't I will be fine. I have come so far and am still working on getting the weight off. I am about 23lbs from my ultimate goal. I am hoping to get there but if I stopped at 200, I would still be happy. That would give me 100lbs off and the way I feel it would be worth it. I recently got 2 angel assignments to Shelly and Debby. Shelly had surgery on Friday, Aug. 20 and was doing very well when I talked to her on Sunday. I am so proud of her for taking this big step in her life to get this weight off and live a longer, healthier, and happier life. She seems to have a very good support system in place and I think she will be just fine. I am happy to offer any guidance or answer any questions she has and was excited to be an Angel for her. Debby will be having surgery on Aug. 30 and I will give you all an update on her condition when she is done. She and I have been corresponding for a little more than 8 months and she was one of the first people I responded to on this website. I hope to someday meet her face to face. Becoming an Angel to someone on this site has been an awesome experience for me. For much of my life I have been a cynical and fairly negative person. I really didn't see much good in anything. How my wife put up with me for so long baffled me. Becoming an Angel has made me look at things a bit differently. I like knowing that I am helping someone and able to be an open ear when they have questions or concerns. I love to help people. Especially people who want to help themselves!! I don't think I have ever been happier or felt better about myself!! I hope you all are able to do the same thing for someone else at some point in your journey. The feeling is awesome!! I also wanted to include my measurements in my profile today, which something I forgot to do in the beginning. The first ones were taken the morning of surgery and obviously, all are in inches. 3-15-2004 6-28-2004 8-18-2004 HEAD 24 22.5 22.5 NECK 20 17.5 17 LEFT BICEP 16 14 13.25 WAIST 56.5 44.5 41.5 LEFT THIGH 28 25 23 LEFT CALF 20 17.5 17 RIGHT WRIST 9 8 8 RIGHT FOREARM 15 13 13 As you can see, the weight loss has slowed down quite a bit, but the inches are still coming off. I am still losing 2 or less pounds a week and that is o.k. with me for now. I am happy to still be losing. It will take me a little while to get to my ultimate goal but I am confident that I will get there. I am so thankful everyday that I found obesityhelp.com and for all the support I get on there. I have met so many wonderful and caring people there I can't even begin to name them all for fear that I might forget someone. Everyone there knows how it feels to be obese and know just where each and everyone of us has been before. It is a great support system for anyone looking into weight loss surgery or if they are going to diet to get the weight off. You all have a great day and I'll be in touch...Ken Head 11-25-2004...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Good day all. I haven't been listening to my own advice very well lately with updating my profile. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been 4 months since my last update. In that time not much has changed. The weight loss is now hovering between 189 and 191 lbs. That is a grand total of 109 and 111 lbs from March 15 when I had surgery. My eating is still holding pretty well and I still struggle some with head hunger. Ya know, everyone keeps telling me and I see it on the boards all the time that we didn't put on the weight overnight and that it won't come off that quickly either. Also, that we had surgery on our stomachs and intestines, not our brains so this is such a huge learning process for our brains to adjust to. Some days I beat myself up for eating the "wrong" things and then get back on the horse the next day and start over again. I have to learn to cut myself some slack and understand that this is going to take time to master. I WILL GET THERE THOUGH and be as successful as I have NEVER been before!! My family's support for me is as strong as ever and my kids and wife have seen the direct benefits of me having done this. There are so many more things I am able to do now that when I think about it, it just amazes me and puts HUGE SMILES on my face!!! This summer I stained our whole deck, moved over 6 tons of sand by hand, wheel barrow by wheel barrow. Moved another 4 tons of dirt the same way and did a major lawn reseeding by myself. It was a ton of work, but when I got done, the satisfaction of knowing I didn't need our local paramedics standing by for a week while I did it, was tremendous!! I have never felt this good!! I started exercising this summer too and have been going to our local health club. I worked with a personal trainer to develop a weight program for me. I did it for a while, but I don't know if I really like doing the weights like I thought I did. I seem to enjoy the cardio much more. So, I have been doing 30 minutes on the eliptical machine and at least 30 minutes of hard walking. Since the weather has been o.k. still up here in the not quite yet frozen tundra of Cheesehead country, I have been doing an hour of walking at least 3-4 times a week and that consists of 6 miles when I do walk. I love the walking and have found that I love walking outside much better than walking on a treadmill. EXERCISE IS SO IMPORTANT. FIND ONE THAT WORKS FOR YOU AND THAT YOU ENJOY DOING AND JUST DO IT. The emotional high and sense of accomplishment after finishing is more rewarding than anything else I have ever experienced. I am eating as normal as can be expected at this point and thankfully DO DUMP when I am doing something I am not supposed to do. Sugar is still a nono for me and too much will make me one miserable cuss not to mention a very physically sick one too. When I had my appt. with my therapist to get him to sign off on me having surgery he asked me why I thought this surgery would work for me when nothing else had before?? I told him the behavior modification of getting sick when I ate something I shouldn't should be enough. I have made so many new friends here at obesity help, too many to mention them all. However, I am especially thankful for my new friend, Sassy Cathy, Stalker Babe (Val2), Val 1, FatFreedom (Erica), Melly T., Beth M., Bea and so many others but you all know that I love you all and am so thankful to be able to call you all friends. My memory sucks so if it seems that I have forgotten you, rest assured, I haven't. You are all so very special to me and I wish only the very best for you all today and always. I am also very thankful for my surgeon, Dr. Tom Geocaris and his staff that work with him and the staff once again at Bellin Hospital. Thank God for them all. They saved my life!! Be good all and have a wonderful holiday season...HAPPY TURKEY DAY TO YOU ALL!!!......Captain K-Man  Good evening all. So, how do you follow up a most excellent 6 month follow up???...EASY...With a most excellent 9 month follow up!! Man, for the second time in a row...I didn't drive home from my follow up appt., I floated. I am officially down 111 lbs, feel great, look great and my lab work was incredible!!! I even got a "THAT ROCKS!!!" from one of my surgeon's nurses when she saw my results!!!...HOWIS THAT??? Here are a few examples of my lab results... Calcium...8.5-10.2 mg/dL...Mine=10.0 Potassium...3.5-4.8 mmol/L...Mine=4.3 Glucose...70-110 mg/dL...Mine=80 Total Cholesterol...132 mg/dL Very Good!! Triglycerides...38 mg/dL Very, very good!!! One year ago, my Triglycerides were around 360 something!!! HDL cholest. (good cholest.)...55 mg/dL Good but could be a bit higher. LDL cholest. (bad cholest.)...69 mg/dL Optimal!!! Vitamin B12 is 1539...The reference for this is 245-895. My surgeon told me I can go to every other day since my number is so high. It is EXCELLENT!!! I was so happy when I left. Then things got even better!! I got to meet one of my Angelette's...Shelly T. and another friend of ours from the Green Bay area, Cheri. I was honored to finally meet Shelly since I had the pleasure to be her Angel about 4 months ago and I met Cheri in Dr. Geocaris' office back in September!! We all had lunch together. Cheri had to leave early, but Shelly and her husband, Steve and my wife, Janella and I sat and talked for over an hour more. It has been so great to finally meet Shelly and her husband. It was also interesting to hear from another spouse how the experience has been from a spouses perspective. I thanked Steve for being so supportive of Shelly on her journey!! It is so important for us to have our spouses or significant others involved with us in this to be successful. If you don't have either of these, get into a support group or find a friend or Angel to sponsor you!! It is worth it!! Janella and I talked on the way home. We decided that we really like encountering more and more people in the same situation as us with this surgery. It seems that the longer we talk to others who have gone through this, the more we seem to be able to relate to them and have in common with them. It felt as though we had known Cheri and Shelly for ages. We really enjoyed ourselves...So thank you Cheri, Shelly and Steve!! Michelle and Debby, we are so sorry that you couldn't make it!! I hope to meet you two soon as well!! I also stopped in to see the nurses again on 1 South where I recovered and once again, it was terrific!!! I am so thankful that I had such wonderful care. While we were in the hospital, we also dropped by the ICU to thank them all for the great care there as well. They stood by me while I recovered from my emergency surgery and I sincerely believe helped to save my life. It was weird being in the ICU again. I kept asking where was my room, who were my nurses, where did I walk, how was I acting. I just felt I had to know these things since I don't have much recollection of my time in there. It was weird to hear her tell me those things and then to have some of the memories come back to me. God, I thought I had forgotten all that. I got to thank 2 of my nurses today as well. They are both guys and both named Jerry!! Had I not been on massive amounts of drugs, I think we could have had some awesome conversations. These guys are too cool. When we saw the second Jerry, Janella told me that he cared for me too. I said that I didn't really recognize him but I did sort of. She took me over there and introduced me to him again and when he started talking to me, I totally remembered him. He was one of the nurses I kept appologizing to for being a pain in the A$$ and complaining about the catheter. I remember him just joking, or trying to joke with me about it. Man, I was in so much pain in that unit that I just don't remember too much about it. I was very glad to meet him again and thank them all again. I am so grateful for them all. Well, that is about all I have to report for now. I do hope as many of you as possible get to be Angel's ASAP...I think it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I wouldn't trade it for the world nor would I trade the experience of having this surgery and what it has given me in return for anything...I have my life back!!! You all take care now and be good to yourselves...Captain K-Man I guess none of you expected this to be short now did you!!!  7-6-2005 Hey all... I know it has been a while since I have updated my profile and I just don't have the time right now. But, I will tell you all that I am doing well. I am at 16 months out now and holding at around 105-110 lbs lost and currently recovering from hernia surgery. It has been a good journey up to this date and have accomplished so much. On July 3rd, I remembered my dad and his passing. His nickname was "Dozer Bob" because his dream job had been to drive a bulldozer...just like his own BIG BOY TOY!! It was the last job he ever had before his health deteriorated to the point where he had to retire. He passed away 10 months later...I have been thinking about how I wanted to honor him and decided a tattoo of the very dozer he drove and his DOB and DOD would do him a great honor. I had it done today, July 6, 2005 and am very proud of how it turned out. I hope you all like it too... Have a wonderful night and thanks to you all for all the support through the months...Cap'n K-Man |
For information on sleep apnea - SleepHelpUSA To start a food journal - FitDay For information on diabetes - NIDDK For information on High Blood Pressure - Heart Center Online Photos
Hospital Reviews Member Interests: Click here to see interests of other ObesityHelp members. Surgeon Info: Surgeon: Thomas Geocaris, M.D. My first impression of "Dr. Tom" was that he is very professional and a little soft spoken. That was fine with me. He does open up a little more the more you get to know him. His office staff are very professional and quick. They definitely know what they are doing and are very detail oriented. I was very pleased with them. The thing I liked least about Dr. Tom only was the fact that he does start a bit soft spoken. However I found out quickly that it doesn't matter. He is very kind and will take as much time as you need to answer any questions you have. He has a very solid aftercare program in place and makes sure that you are doing fine with all you are eating or any complications you may have. The aftercare program is very structured and he keeps up with what you are doing between visits. He made sure I knew about the risks of surgery. However I had a kinked bowel and had emergency surgery while I was recovering and I never heard of having a kinked bowel. The fact that he never waited a second to get me back in and kept up with me while I was having difficulty before emergency surgery makes me rate him as excellent. He never hesitated a second after he saw the CAT scan report and he never gave up on me while I was having trouble. His surgical competence and bedside were both excellent. Insurer Info: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield |
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