Andrew C.

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Hi and welcome to my page. My name is Andy. I am a 42 year male from Hartselle, Alabama. I am happily married with two children. I have been overweight for years and obese for the last several years. I left the Army in 1989 and weighted 174. I work at a desk job and I have worked long hours over the last 19 years which has added to my weight. I ate a lot during the time our children were in the womb. I gained weight with her. She had the children (a girl in 1997 & a boy in 2000) and lost her weight. However, I did not. I have been over 250 lbs for the last at least 6 years. I can not seem to lose weight through diets. If I do lose weight, I always seem to gain twice the weight back once the diet fails. 

I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and severe obstructive sleep apnea. About three or four years ago, I was diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA. According to my sleep study, I was having 109 episodes per hour and my oxygen level was falling below 70%. My sleep doctor put me on a CPAP machine. After trying for a year and failing to be able to sleep with the machine. I was referred to an ENT for surgery. This first surgery was an uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP, which is intended to enlarge the airway. This is completed by trimming or removing the uvula, tonsils and adenoids (if present) as well as part of the soft palate or roof of the mouth. While doing this procedure, the doctor tied my tongue down a little and straightens my bent septum (Septoplasty) in my nose. After this surgery, I had a second sleep study. We saw some improvement as I only had 103 episodes per hour but my oxygen level continued to fall below 70%. Again, we tried CPAP which failed. I changed to a BIPAP machine, which will breathe with you. I still felt like I was suffocating when I was on the machine. The doctor reduced the pressure and added oxygen, but I continued to have difficulty. On December 5, 2006, I went for my annual check up at my sleep doctor. With my severity of OSA and not able to sleep on the machines, my doctor recommended more surgery. He referred me back to the ENT office. On December 20, 2006, I went to see my ENT doctor, where I had a consult for surgery with two of the surgeons in the ENT office. We discussed my options of either maxillomandibular osteotomy (MMO) or a tracheotomy. An MMO is a procedure to extend the lower jaw bone to align the teeth and provide a larger airway. The recovery period is 8-10 weeks with 6-8 weeks of having your mouth wired shut. The benefits of this surgery for me would be minimal in the doctor's view versus the pain & recovery. It was determined my best option for immediate relief would be a tracheotomy. This is considered the most effective procedure for OSA. I had surgery for the tracheotomy at St. Vincent ’s Hospital in Birmingham on December 26, 2006. I was released three days after surgery. The benefit of the tracheotomy has been to provide immediate relief to my lack of air, increase my oxygen and provide me with a good nights rest while sleeping. I keep a cap over the Trach tube during the day to talk. I uncap it to sleep & breathe at night. This Trach could be removed once I lose weight and complete a sleep study to show I no longer need it.

My ENT doctor and Sleep doctor would like for me to get qualified with Blue Cross Blue Shield for a gastric weight loss surgery. I have done much research and decided the Lap-Band would be best for me. I begun my journey in June 2007. I went to a free seminar presented by The staff of the Surgical Associates of Marshall County. I selected my surgeon, Dr. Stephen Britt after he and his partner Dr. John Groves presented the seminar. I spent 7 months completing a 6 month doctor directed diet. My last vist with my family doctor was on December 26th, 2007. I was required to complete a consult with a dietitian and with a physical therapist to get approved for surgery from my insurance carrier, which I completed on January 17th, 2008. On January 25th, 2008, I received the call from my surgeon's office. I was approved for surgery by BCBS of Alabama.

On February 14, 2008, I was banded. Dr Stephen Britt and Dr. John Groves performed the surgery at Marshall Medical Center North in Guntersville, AL. My surgery started on time at 7:30am. I was out of surgery and in my  room by 9am. I was able to get up and walk by 2pm. I was released to go home about 8pm. I was home by 9pm.