Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.
(THIS IS A LETTER I WROTE TO THE DOCTOR AND IT SUMS UP ALL THREE QUESTIONS AND MORE)
September 5, 2001
Dear Dr. Rabaza,
Last month I had the opportunity to visit you as my last resource to alleviate the obesity problem by means of Bariatric Surgery, for what I have been faced with for many years . Two years ago, I was also seen in your office by Dr. Verdeja, your associate, for the same reason. At that time, both Dr. Verdeja and I agreed that I would give it another try to loose the weight on my own. Unfortunately, two years went by and although I lost about 25 lbs., I have since gained it back and even more. I have tried many ways to loose the weight, but the more I try, the further away my goal becomes.
The most recent attempt was doing the Atkins diet. I started the diet in January with a fellow friend. By mid-March I had lost about 12lbs., and although I felt a little lighter weight-wise, I was having problems with the amount of beef and fats I was consuming. I would constantly suffer from acid reflux and my legs would hurt and my feet would swell up. My ankles were 50% swollen despite that I had lost some weight. I was having problems going to the bathroom regularly and eventually, lost interest in this diet. I went to my doctor in April and had gained back all the weight plus a bit more.
In 1999, my doctor gave me a prescription for Xenical and told me that although this was not a diet, she said that combined with a diet I could loose some of the weight. Initially I was thrilled with the results as I was feeling very good, felt more energetic, would go to the bathroom regularly and thought I found the pot of gold. It was about two months after I started on Xenical combined with a balanced diet that I visited Dr. Verdeja and felt I would give it one more try. Changes in my professional life caused me to loose my motivation and enthusiasm to continue. Progressively, all the weight that I lost was gained back. I am presently using Xenical; however, the only thing it is helping me with is with nature necessities. I have also been on Meridia by itself, and with Xenical. This did not work and I felt bad and eventually gave up on Meridia.
In November 1996, I went to Tijuana, Mexico and saw a doctor who guaranteed me that I would loose 100 lbs. in six months. He gave me the medication for three months and I was to return after that for an additional evaluation and for more medication. I started the diet with a bang.....it only lasted two weeks. I was very lucky I caught a bad cold, fever and a bad case of asthma and ended up in the doctors office and had to temporarily discontinue the medicines........I was on the Phen-Fen diet. It was during December 1996 when the recall for Phen-Fen started. I lost a total of about 6-8 lbs and it all came back in a blink of an eye. It was good I got sick and discontinued the pills.
Several times I tried the cabbage soup diet. This was one of my favorites because I could eat all the soup I wanted and had no problems with the bathroom. While I was on the diet, I would loose a few pounds, felt great, then as soon as I left it, I was back to where I started. The American Heart Institute was another diet I tried with no long-term success, as well as the Beverly Hills Diet, counting calories, Seven-day diets where you must follow the plan to the T and rest two days, a couple of attempts with Weight Watchers. I would even go as far as doing the Moon Diet where I could only consume liquids from the minute the full moon came out until the minute it changed. And not to say the least with Slim Fast and liquid protein diets and chromium picolinate vitamins. None of these diets ever accomplished more that about 35-40% of my goal.
About five years ago, while shopping, I felt very sick with severe stomach pains and had to return home immediately. My mother had to call 911 and I was referred to the ER. I had been going to a weight reduction clinic (here in Miami) for about one month, and thought it had something to do with the medicine I was taking (Fastin) so I stopped. During that month I ended up two more times in the ER and finally sought help from Dr. Amorin, a gastroenterologist. He performed an endoscopy and told me I had gastritis and put me on a restricted diet. I was very much more afraid of the pains and decided on my own that the least I ate, the least likely I would be of suffering again from the pain. So I lived on unsalted crackers, unfatty chicken broth and jello. This went on for over four months, thru Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. The pain went away and so did 32lbs (about 10 lbs were lost prior to stopping the diet medication). Then gradually, I went back to eating and I was confident that I was CURED but I gained it back and of course some more.
I have now reached a point where I have no more motivation nor desire to diet because I know that whatever I loose will come back plus some more. The worst part is not that it comes back, it is that extra amont of weight that always comes back that throughout the years have put me where I am at today. So I figure that I will not diet therefore I will not gain extra weight. This of course, is an erroneous conception. My goal is so far away that I cant see reaching it. If I have to loose 150 lbs at approximately an average of 5-7 lbs per month....how long will it take me before I quit for whatever the reason may be and risk putting on extra weight? I need to change my life, not just for awhile, but forever. I am beginning to see the problems this weight has on me. Two years ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea by Dr. Carlos Moas, pulmonologist at Mercy Hospital in Miami requiring the use of a CPAP at night. I have high blood pressure, and just two days ago, my son had to call 911 because I woke up early in the morning choking. When the paramedics arrived, my BP was at 150/120. The paramedics were concerned with my BP and although I did not want to be taken to the hospital, the symptoms (according to them) were that of a hiatal hernia. This is happening very frequently, especially when I am eating, not to say that I live on antacid tablets for my heartburn. My feet, especially my ankles swell up almost twice their size and become painful and very sore. My lower back feels every bit of each excess pound I carry. I have a massage therapist come to my house weekly and work on my feet and my back (I am too embarrassed to go to a spa). This is costly and it is not the cure, it only helps temporarily.
And Dr. Rabaza, the worst and most embarrassing part of being morbidly obese is taking care of personal hygiene. When nature calls, especially in public places, it becomes a work of art in trying to accomplish what should not even be thought of. And being overweight, nature calls on more frequently than normal and in smaller quantities. The person who invented VELCRO must have been overweight, especially if the thought crossed his mind of adding it to sneakers. Forget about bending over and tying shoes or using shoes requiring buckles or straps, parking in tight places where you can only open a little bit of your door or you must go in through the passenger side, getting in the back seat of a two-door car, having to ask for an extension in order to buckle your seatbelt on an airplane, using airplane restrooms (I have to turn into a Houdini to perform magic tricks on airplane restrooms), buckling up in some smaller cars is impossible as the seatbelt will not fit, relaxation is laying down on a La-z-boy chair and not taking a hot aromatic bath because you dont fit in the bathtub, always having to use a hand-held shower to reach places that your shower head is unable to reach in order to accomplish the intent. Taking a garment to the dry-cleaners could mean paying a higher price because it takes longer to wash and iron, yes, believe it or not! And when it comes to gift receiving, you only get restaurant gift certificates, jewelry, colognes or things for the house.....never a personal item because nothing fits! I would like to be able to clean the airconditioner closet without asking someone else to do it because it is too narrow and I dont fit, or passing through an entrance, such as the Metro station where only one person at-a-time can pass by and you dont fit so the handicap door becomes your entrance. Going to a restaurant....booths are out of the question, and dont go back to school because you will not fit in the desk, nor will you be able to sit in chair with armrests because you will not fit. These are not things happening to someone else, these are things happening to ME and affecting my lifestyle.
These are consequential things as a result of my obesity. I dont want to look good, absolutely not, I want to feel good and be able to do the things I should be able to do at my age and expect to live an average life. I want to share activities with my family and friends, be able to dance at a party and not the the ladies purse-custodian. I want to be able to walk stairs without gasping for breath and feeling like I will pass out. I want to be able to sleep at night without shortness of breath or waking up to a choking attack. I want to resume my sex life with my fiancee with pleasure and not with work. I weighed 137 lbs when I was first married, danced professionally and was never sick. Once I started gaining the weight, and yo-yo dieting, I picked up extra weight at the end of every attempt and kept it. With the extra pounds, came the asthma, the swelling of the feet, the sleep apnea, the high blood pressure, the back pain and my low self-esteem. I feel I am somewhat depressed at times because I am obese, but luckily I am not obese because I am depressed. I still have a great sense of humor and a super great disposition. I am at a stage where I am unable to do it on my own and feel I am getting nowhere, or at leaast getting worse. I need to do this and I look to you for help. I thank God everyday that I have been able to go thru the day without any major setbacks. If I dont do something fast, I dont know how much longer I will be able to say the same. With your professional assistance, you can improve my quality of life and make me feel better. I am aware that it will change my life and habits and I am ready to accept this challenge. I AM READY!.
What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?
SEE LETTER
If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?
WENT TO A PARTY AND DANCED EVERY SINGLE DANCE...THE PARTY LASTED 1:55 MINS AND I WAS DANCING EVERY MINUTE OF IT. COULD NOT DANCE FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES BEFORE.
BITHINIA-INES G.
