THE BEST WAY TO ENJOY LIFE IS NOT TO WIND UP AT THE GRAVE IN A PERFECLY PRESERVED BODY BUT TO SLIDE INTO THAT BITCH SIDEWAY SCREAMING "DAMN WHAT A RIDE"
10/10/02 I can feel the weight slowly killing me. I don't know how much longer I can stand it. I can't work, play with my kids, or hardly stand for more then 10 minutes. This ain't living. The kids don't understand why I'm always tired and I'm ashamed to tell em cause daddies to fat but it's the truth.
11/30/02 Well after 2 years studying this subject i finally decided to commit. I have visited my PCP and he hesitatly oked the surgery. His main concern is that he has no exp. with wls patients. He said he would be glad to do all post op nutrient monotering as long as the surgeon would tell him what to look for. I have had 6 vials of blood sent in for tests, an echocariagrm, chest x-ray. All before sergeon will even see me. I don't think I can get into the Duke program So I'm gonna try Dr. Tim Farrel at UNC hospital. My insurance has given verbal approval and is waiting on final ap by sergeons office.(United Health Care PPO)If every thing goes allright I'll so be writing as a loser.
12/19/02 Well after getting all my tests and info to Dr. Farrell at UNC I was told it was a six month wait just for a consult.(Holy Crap) Just on a whim I filled out the form for Dr. grant at duke and low and behold was called the next day with a consult appointment. My consult is now 1/14/03. A whole lot shorter than six months so I guess I am changing surgeons back to my first pick afterall. I,ll update after my appointment.Merry Christmas.
1/15/03 Getting closer. Appointment on 1/14 went great, even the phsyc evaluation. Nurse Hillary with Dr. Grants office is great. Body composition test showed 54.7% body fat with a bmi of 61. Next is barium swallow and arterial blood gas then final meeting with surgeon and i'll have a date. They are scheduled for 1/30 and 2/6 respectively. I'll update again after those.
1/31/03 Had more tests yesterday. The arterial blood gas and pulminary function tests came out great. Tha abdominal ultrasound showed no signs of gall stones and an average size liver for someone my size. Now here is the kicker, The barium swallow showed that the valve at the bottom of my stomach doesn't close. The radiologists said thats probably why I'm always hungry. She said it wouldn't effect having surgery. I don't know if she is right about the valve not closing making me hungry but if she is aint that a bi***. I could have had that corrected years ago if thats what was doing it. I go for the docs meeting on 2/6/03 wish me luck.
1/8/03 Consult or conference or whatever went fine. Dr. Grant answered everyone questions with great detail. I liked his manner he was very serious, but if he realized you had a since of humor he showed you his.Now i'm waiting on ins. approval and then i'll get a date. Sure wish they would hurry up.
2/19/03 God I'm so tired of waiting. Found out there was a problem with my arterial blood gas and have an appointment with a chest specialist on 2/27.Hope everthing goes ok last hurdle before submitting for ins. approval. When I spoke with chest Dr. on phone he said it could be anything from sleep apnea to the fact that I had a bad chest cold when abg was drawn, I guess i'll find out next week. Wish me luck and I'll post again after I find something out
3/31/03 Waiting sucks. I met with the chest doc and had a sleep study done. I officialy have sleep apnea hence the bad arterial blood gas results. I pick up my c-pap machine today and go back on may 1 to have abg redrawn. The chest doc says if they come back ok he will release me for surgery. Waiting still sucks.
4/19/03 Well I just had a great 2.5 weeks in the hospital with a strep infection in my blood. I lost about 4 days I don't even remember because of the fever. I am now home but still on iv antibiotics. I sure hope this doesn't set back my surgery. I still have an appointment on May 1 to recheck my abg and if it is good they will approve my surgery. Wish me luck. Oh yeh I lost about 10 pounds while in the hospital. Not a good way to loose but it still is a loss.Hehe
5/7/03 Yahoo I finally have medical approval for surgery. Dr. Grants office is supposed to submit for ins. approval by the end of the week. Guess who is going to be on the phone first thing Monday LOL.
5/26/03 I thought I posted this last week but I guess not. I HAVE A DATE!!! June 26 2003 yahooo!!! I'll keep this updated as best I can. Feeling a little nervous but excited too. Sure hope I can find an angel.
6/7/03 Well 19 days to go and still lookin for an angel. Also starting to get nervous. Having thoughts like am I going to be the one in two hundred that dont't make it. Am I gonna leave my sons and wife. These thoughts DO NOT consume all my waking moments but the do cross my mind occasionally. Everyone says that is normal and I feel it is also. I am getting tired of hearing I'm taking the easy way out. I want to know whats so easy about having you stomach cut and divided intestines rerouted and being nausous for a couple of months. All of this is if there is no complications. All I can say is bring on the dumping I am tired of being fat.
6/14/03 Well I asked for an angel and had several people volenteer(myspelling sucks). then my comp. crashed and I lost thier names. I posted about this on the message board and Linda Wasserman stepped up and revollenteerd.(I told you it sucks). One week till pre op and two till surgery. I was having a time with negative thoughts but they seem to have stopped. Ready to be lighter.
6/20/03 Pre-op today and everything went ok. Everytime I speak with Dr. Grant he somehow puts my mind at ease about doing this. I did find out I have a small hernia that he said he will fix because it is right where he will place one of the trocars. 5 days and a wake up and really looking forward to being on the other side. I know my profile is a little boring so far maybe i'll spice it up a little after surgery.
6/24/03 ok less then 2 days to go I figure I better put some data up so I can keep track. Weight as of pre-op day 388 / thigh 29.5" / redneck waist(you know where your buttcrack shines when you bend over) 54" / true waist 60+ (my damn tape don't go that big) chest 61" (manboobs YUCK!) Well thats it for now probably won't post again till after surgery.
7/22/03 I know it's been awhile but I'm just now feeling better. Lots better actually. I had surgery on 6/26 and had no complications to speak of.Dr. Grant was great. I did have a scare last week and went to the hospital thinking I had a clot but turned out I had just lost my breath and it scared the crap out of me.I am now on soft solids and can only eat like an ounce and a half at a time. But that little bit has given me back my energy it seems like. Now if I can just slow down eating my little ounce and a half so it will quit hurting my throat I'll be allright. lol.
10/03/03 Hi yall, I know it's been a while but I have had a helluva time. When I had my clog scare some doc got the bright idea that i may have had a heart attack so I went thru a bunch of tests for that including chemical stress. If you don't have to have this don't. I thought I was dieing for about 5 mins. Ended the whole thing with a heart catherization showing no damage and minamal blockage thank God. I then procedded to form a stricture in early September. When they went in and tried to stretch it by endoscopy they tore my intestine loose from my pouch. Needless to say emergency surgery was next that day. I have been back home for a week now and doing good other then the damn liquids again.haha. Everyone keeps asking don't you wish you didn't do it? My amswer? Hell yeh I am glad I did it! I have lost over 90 pounds am below 300 and can almost keep up with my kids. Thats what I was wanting. I'll update again later and hopefully not that far apart.
11/01/03 hey guys and gals. 110 pounds lost so far and feeling good. I am able to eat most meats and veggies. I haven't tried bread and don't think i'm gonna. I have had a few nibbles of chocolate not much, like two m$ms a week for the past two weeks. It fixes my cravings and it's not alot. I have been drinking Gatorade with my docs blessings cause i'm just not getting enough fluids. I know it's got sugar and calories but 110 lbs. in 4 months. It's not slowing me up too much. I have gone from a tight 50 jeans at my redneck waist to a loose 42. From a 5x shirt to a 3x. I am loving this. I did have a gallbladder attack last week so it will proly have to come out soon. Yippee NOT. As soon as I find my tape measure I will post some more measurements.
I know its been a while. 6 months out and down to 266 from a high of 425.( 388 day of surgery)Been practicing the racetruck some and getting ready for next season. Sure feels good to be back in one. Since Dr. Grant fixed my tear i have had no problems and feel that he saved my life. I'm still big but i'm also still loosing. Thanks a ton (pun intended) Dr. G.
REST! REST!!! I'LL REST WHEN I"M DEAD
1/01/04 New measurements. I finally found my tape. thigh=28.5 chest=51.5 rednack waist=42 true waist=52. I am down to 255 and feeling great. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
ON YOUR DEATH BED IF YOU SAY "I WISH I HAD DONE..." YOU LOSE
6/26/04 1 year. Wow a whole year. I am down 170 and loving life. My kids and wife love the new me. I did discover my scales are off from the docs but oh well.He did say by the electrical resistance body comp test that all my loss has been fat and no muscle loss, so thats good.I thought I was down 175 but I'll live with 170. Now thats from my high not the day of surgery but I'm gonna count it all. I havent been excersizing because I have been so busy getting my company back open after 3 years of not being able to work. I gotta change that and get back to the gym. Well my new latest measuements are chest=46.5 down 5" thigh=26 down 2.5" true waist=50 down 2" redneck waist=39 down 3". What a weird loss pattern. Current weight is 245 and the plastic surgeon that I spoke with wants to see me in sept. to submit to ins. I also will probavly have my gallbladder out at the same time. Wish me luck.
LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET THE HELL OUTTA MY WAY
8/03/04 Been a while so a quik catch up. Had my gall bladder removeed on 7/14/04 to stop the attacks. Was sick as a dog for about a week after but doing well now. Haveing to fight for every pound now. Doc says to quit lifting and do more cardio but I think I like the results I'm getting from the weights to much. Besides like I told him when I started this I didn't care about pounds just health.My waist is now down to 48.5" redneck waiste=37.5 chest=46 while flexing(hehe)thigh=24. Still go to p.s. in sept to see about fixin up the old sharpei body. Been a hack of a ride and loveing all the sites along the way. I'm gonna try to start updateing once a month. Sure hope I remember to.
WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU LEMONS SQUEEZE THEM SUCKERS AND MIX EM WITH TEQUILA!
9/14/04 Still waiting to go see the plastics folks. Damn will be glad to get rid of this skin. Got me a 18 speed mountain bike and it's bout to make my legs fall off. The kids are enjoying me riding with them so it's worth the soreness. Still losing but defenatly slowing down. Down to 236 from a high of 425 so it was sure worth it. Update after visit to p.s. next week.
WHEN YOU START ON YOUR JOURNEY ONLY LOOK BACK AT THE REGRETS FOR A MOMENT, THE ACHIEVMENTS FOREVER. FOR THE REGRETS CAN KEEP FROM ACHIEVING AND THE ACHIEVMENTS WILL PUSH YOU ONWARDS.
10/11/04 Well lets see. Went to a reunion for my surgical groups patients. It was a blast every one had a ball. Saw some really great people who have had great results. Amy, Letitia, Linda, Joanne if yallse this yall are lookin beautifull. Of course I told ya that before surgery but you know what I'm sayin. Also went in to consult with the plastic surgeon and they submitted to ins. Should know something by the end of the month. Haven't lost in a while but it's my own fault. Haven't had time to excersize so I gotta change that quik fast and in a hurry. Thats it for now will update soon as I hear from the p.s.
"Too FAST?!!!! Restricter plates?!!! Yall want restricter plates ya need to take yer feathers and go home." The late Dale Earhardt. May he rest in piece.
11/7/04 Bad news, got denied for plastics. Even worse news got depressed cause of it and gained 14 pounds cause I quit excersizing and ate tottaly wrong. Was eatting all carbs and sugar even tho it made me sick. I just did'nt care. GOOD news, I already lost 10 of those pounds back just by getting back on track. Decided no matter what I am not going back to being that way again. I am fighting the ins so I will keep this updated. Thanks to Tooter for putting that appeal letter on yer profile. It gave me some ideas as to how to make mine.
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"I think I can, I think I can" courtesy of a little engine.
03/16/05 Well, got turned down on my appeal for plastics so now I'm looking for a doc with financing options. Have found a couple that are suppose to be very good. Will update when I know something. My wife Marcene had her surgery in Feb and is doing very well. She is down quit a few pounds and loving every minute of it.
09/28/05
Well Had plastics on the 15th. Had to borrow the $ cause my ins. is a bunch o dip shits. Said they realialize it is mediccly(sp) neccassary but it is the result of a non covered procedure. ASSWIPES. Still swollen and look pretty deformed but Doc says it will come together in a month or so. Sure hope so. Wife is doing great and down about 100. She wont tell me the exact numbers.LOL Ok gonna send in some new pics to post soon as some of the swelling goes down. Yall take it sleazy and I'll post some more soon.
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That which does not kill us makes us stronger. Damn I must be strong as an ox.
11/13/05 Bad complications after plastics, damnit. the last drain tube came out early so doc says lets just see how it goes. Well didn't go too well. Swole up like a balloon and after a week of pain and misary had to have a tube put in under ultrasound. They got out 435 cc while in the or. Well everything seemed to be going well for a couple weeks and wouldn't ya know it, the damn tube came out in my sleep (I am a very active sleeper lol). Doc says ok lets see how it goes. Seems he just doesn't learn. After five days again swollen and really hurting. Laying around on the couch and feel something wet. Look down and I'm soaked my shirt is soaked and the couch is soaked. Lift my shirt and push slightly on my belly and the foulest smelling nastiest looking gunk pours out of my ins. line. Call the doc and am told to be ready for surgery in the am. Well now I'm typing this with two jp drains hanging out of me and drugged up on perkies.(gotta love em tho they sure get rid of the pain.) Doc says the infection isn't/wasn't bad just seemed like a lot because of the fluid build up. Says he will not remove the drains untill he is sure I am produceing no more fluid. Even witht the complications it was worth it to be rid of all that skin hanging off the front of me, cause I no longer suffer from constant back pain. I'll update soon and tell how it all sorts out.
June 26, 2006 Damn, has it been three years? Sure don't feel like it. I am doing good, gone back to school to get a degree, and loving life. I am still undecided on a major. It will either be nursing or radiography. If I knew I could work with bariatric patients it would be nursing hands down. The only drawback is I have gained about 12 pounds in school. It's my own doing, little time so I have been eatting shitty and not excersizing. Gonna nip it in the bud as ol' Barney Fife would say. LOL It has ,with out a doubt, been worth every pain, nasous moment, and missed dessert. I have a life worth living, and I sure as hell aint giving it up without a fight. I'll update again when I get some spare moments.
