CarlRay
Greetings everyone! This was actually my first ever post, and I didn't see the "about me" tab so I copied it here.
I started my journey 4 years ago at 391 lbs. I woke up and just felt awful. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was always aching and winded by a flight of stairs. I had a physical with my doctor anyway, and I tipped the office scale as part of my MTO medical (for CDL) so they had to estimate. That was so embarassing but it was a huge wake-up call. With a friend and on my doctor's advice, I started going to a gym, eating better and exercising more. I got it down to about 360, then injured myself which slowed things a bit. I climbed a little on the scale, but not back to my heaviest. To keep it low impact but beneficial, I purchased a good sturdy bike and commuted regardless of weather conditions. By November of 2015 I had it down to about 335 lbs. The problem is, that's where it stayed for the longest time. Now I've whittled it down to 328, but it's slow going. There doesn't seem to be a medical reason for it, and my lifestyle habits should see it falling.
At any rate, last July I started the bariatric route. Being north of 40, and over 300 lbs, the writing was on the wall. The classes and appointments were all OK, and all medical tests were clear of any indication of problems. With the way it's all fallen into place flawlessly, I feel as though this is definitely meant to be.
My surgery is slated for the end of February. I'm anything but nervous or anxious. For once I feel a complete peace about something in the medical field after a lifetime of dreading it.
Someone recently asked me why I am doing this. Medically speaking, though the health issues that can come up as we age aren't necessarily caused by obesity, obesity does make them more probable, and physically worse for the person, and harder to treat for the medical system. I'd like to at least mitigate any complications with my health by losing the weight, if I can't avoid the issues altogether. From a non-medical standpoint, I'd like to be able to go out in public without feeling like I'm being judged.
Proportionally speaking, at 6'-1.5, with a tall-ish torso, I carried the weight more all-over than in any particular area. I'd still get looks from people, but often people are surprised if they learn my weight. I'm not sure that makes sense reading it, but I hope so. I also look forward to what I call little 'stupid things' (because to normal people they aren't a 2nd thought). Buying a nice suit, fitting into an airplane/arena/stadium seat, not wondering if I'm going to break the bicycle seat or frame, not worrying if I'll fall through the frozen pond (I've done that, hence my aversion to ice fishing). Honestly, the best non-medical answer I can give is, even if it doesn't affect my quantity of life (though I'm sure it will), it will affect the quality of it.
As I said, I'm not worried in the least about the surgery itself. The only things I'm the tiniest bit concerned about are lung blood clots (risk of any surgery) and later on in my recovery, remembering to drink and getting that volume in daily. The routine will have to just develop I suppose.
The surgeon and the bariatric clinic have been fantastic so far, very professional and some of the kindest people I've ever met. I've read a bit on this site, and I can see that the same applies here. I'm looking forward to tracking my progress here.
