Is your body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 or greater than 35 with obesity related co morbidity?
Height: 5’ 4”, Weight: 235 lbs BMI: 40.3
Do you suffer from serious co-morbid diseases associated with severe obesity?
Yes, I experience the following: High Blood Pressure, Heartburn - Reflux Disease and Reflux Nocturnal Aspiration, Stress Urinary Incontinence, Emotional/Psychological challenges as well as Social Effects.
Do you feel that your weight poses a threat to your life or do you just hate the way you look?
I think that if I do not take the necessary steps that my weight will have on impact on my health. I do not like the reflection that I see in the mirror.
Is your weight interfering with your everyday life, i.e. your ability to look after your family or enjoy your life?
I feel that my weight impedes on my enjoyment of activities such as but not limited to exercise and intimacy with my spouse.
Have you really tried to lose weight by dieting and modifying your lifestyle, such as increasing exercise?
Prior to getting pregnant, I was at a more respectable weight at 170 lbs (BMI <30). However, since having my son I have not been able to lose and sustain my weight loss. I have been eating healthy and doing spontaneous and planned exercise. I have made serious and conscious effort to lose weight through diet and exercise. Further to that, I have lost weight on registered weight management programs such as Herbal Magic, Beverly Hills Weight loss, and Dr. Bernstein. However, I have not been able to achieve a significant amount of weight loss as my weight has not gone below 200 lbs in more than 5 years.
Are you happy with the amount of weight you lost by diets? Has this weight loss improved your quality of life or your associated medical conditions?
Not overall, though I agree that any weight loss is better than gaining. My quality of life was only marginally better as I still experienced urinary incontinence and the emotional challenges of not being as successfully as I had hoped.
If you were successful in losing weight, have you been able to keep the weight off or have you gained it all back?
I have not been able to sustain any weight loss in more than 5 years. However, prior to getting pregnant and prior to the Bernstein diet I was able to lose weight and keep it off. However, I was also in my mid-twenties, I worked out 2 hrs six days a week and played baseball 4 times a week and still weighed 160 lbs.
Do you feel that you will never succeed in achieving permanent weight loss without weight loss surgery?
At this point, 100% without a doubt, I do not feel that I will succeed in achieving permanent weight loss without having surgery. I have done absolutely everything to lose weight; though only marginal loss was accomplished. Further to that, I have not been able to sustain it and move forward and achieve a healthy weight. To use the Albert Einstein quote, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity”. I know that this surgery will only become part of my toolbox and assist me to achieve a healthy weight.My system is so far out of whack from the Bernstein diet that I can no longer eat certain foods (certain fruits, vegetables and any sort of bread, pasta or rice) without gaining weight. I do not feel that this is healthy or a sustainable way to live. Given my family medical history, I fear that if I do not take serious corrective action that I may be subject to a life of medications that will have effectively been prescribed to treat symptoms of obesity that would not have occurred if I could sustain my weight loss.Prior to the Bernstein diet, I was a relatively healthy individual and I was able to maintain 160 lbs with regular diet and exercise. However, this is no longer the case and my weight has increased to the point that I am now approximately 95 lbs over what I feel is a healthy goal weight of 140 lbs.
Are you convinced that your excess weight is a danger to your health?
At this point, I do no feel that my health is in immediate danger but it will be if I do not lose and sustain weight loss.
Are you seeking weight loss surgery only to improve your appearance?
I am seeking weight loss surgery for more than appearance. My goal is to improve my overall health by achieving and sustaining weight loss that reduces my risks to diabetes, hypertension and heart disease which runs in my family. I want to improve the performance of my daily activities, have better sleeping patterns and stop my negative preoccupation with my weight. I want to overcome my issues with urinary incontinence that is affecting my intimate relationship with my husband and my ability to perform certain exercises (walking, squats and group exercise classes). I know that a significant weight loss will provide me with the opportunity to achieve my goal of a healthy lifestyle at an appropriate and healthy weight.
Are you willing to undergo a psychological assessment if your surgeon determines that this is necessary?
Absolutely!
Are you prepared to modify your eating habits required by weight loss surgeries which reduce the amount of food that you will be able to eat after the surgery (RY gastric bypass or adjustable gastric banding)?
Absolutely!
Are you prepared to face the altered body image induced by massive weight loss? If not, are you willing to undergo further plastic surgery to undergo the so-called body contouring procedure?
I think that with continued weight bearing exercise I do not believe that I would require plastic surgery. Though if it was required I would consult with my family to make the best choice should I have to face that decision.
