* GT Jason *
I am now 37 years old and have been struggling with my weight and watching it creep higher and higher since I was 11. Weight problems run heavy (no pun intended) on both sides of my family. My mother was extremely heavy all of her life. Her weight contributed mightily to all of the problems that caused her death at age 52. My brother has been very heavy all of his life. I have also been living in weight denial because I have been in pretty good health in spite of the weight.
I took a new job in September 2004, left my wife and family behind and relocated from Atlanta to the Baltimore / Washington area. This coincided with the beginning of a downward spiral for my health.
Well after watching my brother have RNY surgery in December 2004 and lose almost 300 pounds so far, and getting a swift kick in the butt from my own health problems (hypertension, anxiety, leg swelling, joint pain, and a congenital heart defect called aortic stenosis), I decided that I am tired of living like this and that I want to live a better life. I also want to watch my 6 grandchildren grow up and be able to play with them. Therefore, I needed to give this a serious look.
So I started talking to my PCP and Cardiologist about it. They both agreed that it would be a good thing to do as the cure for what ails me is to lose the weight. My PCP gave me the name of a local surgeon, Mark Kligman, and I begin doing some serious research.
2/15/2006 - My wife has finally gotten a transfer to Baltimore and is finally joining me here in Maryland. Thank you God!
3/21/2006 - I am about 90% convinced that Dr. Kligman is the surgeon for me.
3/22/2006 - Today I attended Dr. Kligman's mandatory seminar . Now I am 100% sold, I love this man. His is extremely dedicated to his patients and extremely cautious before starting a procedure. His complication rate is extremely low.
4/13/2006 - The letter of medical necessity and progress notes of my medically supervised diet are sent to Dr. Kligman.
5/1/2006 - Today I had both my psychological review and my initial consultation with Dr. Kligman. The psychologist said that he would recommend me for the surgery but that I need to follow-up with him after surgery to ensure I am dealing with the mental changes and not experiencing any post operative depression issues.
I weighed in at 427 pounds (I can't believe it is that high). Dr. Kligman gave me a thorough exam and agreed that I would be a good candidate. However, he needs to get a cardiology clearance letter, the results of the doppler test done on my swelling leg, and a report on my irritable bowel syndrome. Also, because I carry my weight high and he couldn't feel my rib cage, I need to lose 30 pounds before he can do the surgery laproscopically.
I also met with the nutritionist. Starting now, I am limited to 50g of fat a day and as much protein as I can get. Also, starting calcium and basically following all the guidelines I will be under post-op.
5/4/2006 - Happy Birthday to me. For my birthday, I get a day off of work to go see the cardiologist for an echocardiogram to secure my cardiology clearance letter. Lemme tell you that goo they use for echos and sonograms does not mix with chest hair. I must have used a whole box of kleenex to get it off.
5/5/2006 - The echocardiogram was fine, so I have my cardiology clearance. The other reports are all being faxed to Dr. Kligman's office. Wow! This might actually happen. It still seems like an unreal fantasy (like winning the lottery).
5/17/2006 - Well, the Dr.'s office has filed for approval with the insurance company. Also, they have me penciled in for surgery on June 22nd. Although, I still have to finish losing the 30 pounds before I can have surgery. I will find out how I am doing so far on Monday. Unfortunately, I will have to postpone the surgery until mid-July due to a schedule conflict that I can't get out of. Oh well.
5/22/2006 - Met with the Nutritionist today. In the last three weeks, I have dropped 20 of the 30 pounds I need to lose before surgery. WOOHOO!!! All I need to do now is keep waiting for the insurance and drop another 10 pounds in the next month and a half.
8/11/2006 - FINALLY!! I am approved for surgery. What a relief. I am still working to nail down the date, but it will be in October.
8/17/2006 - I have a date! On October 19th, I will ease into the express lane on my journey to a new me.
10/11/2006 - Final pre-op consultation with Dr. Kligman. All the paperwork has been signed and I just bought myself a ticket to a brand new me. I can't wait.
10/19/2006 - SURGERY DATE! I weighed in at 391.8 this morning on the way out the door. Optimistic that this is going to work.
10/21/2006 - Back at home. Surgery wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. The worst pain, by far, was the gas pain.
12/8/2006 - Been feeling very tired and lethargic lately. Had my blood work run and now I am back on my B-12 shots to boost my level, need to up my protein intake by 20g per day, and I am now taking 400iu of Vitamin D twice a day + 50000iu of Vitamin D once a week.
Weight History
05/01/2006 - 428
05/22/2006 - 408
10/11/2006 - 399
10/19/2006 (Surgery Date) - 392
10/26/2006 (1 Week) - 377 (-15)
11/02/2006 (2 Weeks) - 371 (-21)
11/09/2006 (3 Weeks) - 364 (-28)
11/16/2006 (4 Weeks) - 360 (-32)
11/30/2006 (6 Weeks) - 350 (-42) (-78 overall)
12/07/2006 (7 Weeks) - 346 (-46) (-82 overall)
12/14/2006 (2 Months) - 342 (-50) (-86 overall)
12/28/2006 (10 Weeks) - 332 (-60) (-96 overall)
01/04/2007 (11 Weeks) - 328 (-64) (-100 overall) YES!!!
01/18/2007 (13 Weeks) - 324 (-68) (-104 overall)
01/25/2007 (14 Weeks) - 316 (-76) (-112 overall)
02/01/2007 (15 Weeks) - 312 (-80) (-116 overall)
02/08/2007 (4 Months) - 307 (-85) (-121 overall)
02/16/2007 (17 Weeks) - 303 (-89) (-125 overall)
03/01/2007 (19 Weeks) - 297 (-95) (-131 overall)
03/08/2007 (20 Weeks) - 295 (-97) (-133 overall)
03/15/2007 (21 Weeks) - 291 (-101) (-137 overall)
03/22/2007 (22 Weeks) - 288 (-104) (-140 overall)
03/29/2007 (23 Weeks) - 284 (-108) (-144 overall)
04/06/2007 (24 Weeks) - 279 (-113) (-149 overall)
04/12/2007 (25 Weeks) - 280 (-112) (-148 overall)
04/29/2007 (27 Weeks) - 270 (-122) (-158 overall)
05/10/2007 (29 Weeks) - 265 (-127) (-163 overall)
05/20/2007 (30 Weeks) - 259 (-133) (-169 overall)
06/07/2007 (33 Weeks) - 251 (-141) (-177 overall)
06/21/2007 (35 Weeks) - 247 (-145) (-181 overall)
07/01/2007 (36 Weeks) - 244 (-148) (-184 overall)
07/05/2007 (37 Weeks) - 242 (-150) (-186 overall)
07/19/2007 (39 Weeks) - 239 (-153) (-189 overall)
07/25/2007 (40 Weeks) - 234 (-158) (-194 overall)
08/30/2007 (44 Weeks) - 230 (-162) (-198 overall)
09/12/2007 (46 Weeks) - 228 (-164) (-200 overall)
09/19/2007 (11 Months) - 225 (-167) (-203 overall)
10/19/2007 (1 Year) - 220 (-172) (-208 overall) - Now I just have to get back off of my butt and kick off this last 20 pounds.
11/05/2007 (12+ Months) - 216 (-176) (-212 overall) - Back on track!
