BODY WEIGHT SAGA 10:

SIX MONTHS AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

I'm doing great! Only have discomfort when I eat too much.

As well as getting off six medicines, I no longer have sleep apnea! Sleep apnea is typically caused by fatty deposits in the throat causing interrupted sleep, which I evidentially don't have anymore!!

I seem to have stabilized at this current weight. I originally wanted to lose ten more pounds, but I think I'm really all right at this weight. I'm beginning to think 165# is too thin. It surely is GREAT not to have to watch so carefully what I eat. I can eat most anything except highly sugared things. But all meals still have to be in small amounts.

I'm considering plastic surgery on my "turkey neck." It's the really telltale spot that shows that I used to be heavy.

I've found a local doctor in Lewes, DE that does this surgery, but I'm nervous about it (pain and cost).

Time to take my monthly anniversary picture.

BEFORE 12/5/11, 225#

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225# to 177# = -48#.    ORIGINAL GOAL: 165# or 60#.

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BODY WEIGHT SAGA 9:

FOUR MONTHS AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

I'm doing great! My doctors have taken me off six medicines and reduced two more!!! I'm "cured" of diabetes and high blood pressure! My cholesterol levels are excellent. My heart doctor says I have increased my life span expectancy by ten years!

BEFORE 12/5/11, 225#

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Now 4/7/12, 175#

225# to 175# = -50#.    GOAL: 165# or 60#.

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BODY WEIGHT SAGA 8:

THREE MONTHS AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

I'm doing great! No more discomfort, unless I eat too much.

I weigh the least I've weighed since 1987 (24 years)!

I also weigh less than I did in High School! But I've weighed even less than that in the ensuing years: 151 in 1986 and 165 when I was in Italy in 1982. THIS IS MY GOAL: to weigh only as much as I weighed while living in Italy!!!

BEFORE 12/5/11, 225#

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3/7/12, 181#

225# to 181# = -44#.    GOAL: 165# or 60#.

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BODY WEIGHT SAGA 7:

TWO MONTHS AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

I'm doing great! No more discomfort.

My BMI has gone from "Obesity I" to just "Overweight"!

I can eat anything now, but only in small amounts. If I eat too much, my stomach hurts tremendously!

I haven't weighed this little in 13 years!

Time to take my monthly anniversary picture.

BEFORE 12/5/11, 225#

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2/7/12, 188#

225# to 188# = -37#.    GOAL: 165# or 60#.

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BODY WEIGHT SAGA 6:

ONE MONTH AFTER BARIATRIC SURGERY

I'm doing great! Just discomfort if I eat too much (about 4 oz.).

I'm down to 199# from 225#!

I'm still eating soft foods only but will start regular food in a week—albeit in small portions.

My doctor took me off two medicines!!! One was for blood pressure and the other was the only one I was taking for excessive blood sugar. It's because of my lessening diabetes problem! (My sugar "A1C" is now 6.7—down from 9.8! "A1C" measures your blood sugar for the past three months with 7.0 being the break-point for prescribing medicine. My average blood pressure is now 120/80!)

Time to take my monthly anniversary picture:

BEFORE 12/5/11, 225#

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1/7/12, 198#

225# to 199# = -26#.    GOAL: 165# or 60#.

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My scars are almost healed. And my swallowing is just fine. I have to watch how much I eat because too much causes pain and I even throw-up sometimes!

A new Swiss study finds that Sleeve Gastrectomy is the most successful bariatric weight-loss method. Additionally, it far surpasses dieting.

BODY WEIGHT SAGA 5:

ONE WEEK OUT FROM BARIATRIC SURGERY

My one-week anniversary of my Gastric Sleeve finds me well and happy, bruised and recuperating.

BEFORE 12/5/11, 225#

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12/14/11, 213#

225# to 213# = -12#.    GOAL: 165# or 60#.

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I'll tell you an interesting story. When I awoke the next morning after surgery, I had a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I figured it was from my arm being held out from my body to receive anesthesia, but I learned that the cause was this: when they fill the abdomen with CO2 (so they can have room to work) removing the gas is imperfect, leaving some in the cavity. This puts pressure on the diaphragm. There's a nerve in the diaphragm that when activated gives phantom pain in the left shoulder! Isn't that something.

Still on clear liquids. January 7, 2011, is my EATING DATE! I get the 10 stitches out next Monday.

I'll report back on the one-month anniversary..

BODY WEIGHT SAGA 4:

VERTICAL SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY SURGERY
(GASTRIC SLEEVE)

The surgery in Tijuana went fine. I was very anxious but it turned out to be better than I thought and LESS painful than I imagined. Dr. Andres Betancourt was superb and very nice. The hospital was in the middle of a shopping center which surprised us all. But the inside was clean and efficient.

Wish I could have had this done FIFTY years ago, but, alas, it wasn't available.

Me, BEFORE

The hospital couldn't have been better. It was clean and efficient. The first night I spent in the hospital. The next two nights were spent in Recovery House, a renovated home set up for excellent care in the hills overlooking Tijuana.

click this to see: GS SURGERY.

(GORY DETAILS: [SKIP if you wish.] After full anesthesia, they put a large tube [40 fr Bougie] down into your stomach to act as a form to reduce the stomach onto. 

Dr. Betancourt

They then make five small incisions for the laproscopic instruments. One of the incisions is 1 1/2 inches long to accommodate the taking out the stomach! They then insert a light and camera, and fill the abdomen with gas to make room for the surgery. The stomach is first released from the surrounding fat and connective tissue. Cutting off 80% of the stomach is the goal of the procedure. It's done by an instrument that looks like vice-grips that seals the cut line with heat then cuts the line in the middle. Therefore, no stomach contents leak into the abdomen. They had to be very careful at the top as this is the place where most leaks occur [1%]. An overlay of sutures is followed by Titanium staples to securely close the stomach sleeve. Afterward, the incisions are sewn closed. A vessel for fluid collection is put into the abdomen. 

One Hour Post Surgery

A day later they did a barium swallow X-Ray to check for leaks. [I have a copy.] NO LEAKS!)

Copious amounts of pain killer was given to me along with antibiotics. All food (sic) was provided in small, frequent amounts. I had to drink A LOT of water. Walking, though slightly painful, was very much encouraged.

My first night in Recovery House

my roommate was a young man from Saskatchewan. He was an oil rig operator! The second night was a man from Chicago who kept me awake all night due to his loud snoring. I suspect he had bad sleep apnea.

On the second day we went shopping! What a delightful experience. We ran into Dr. Betancourt and had a very nice visit.

On the third day after surgery, they took us directly to the airplane gate in San Diego, via the hospital van.

I'm black and blue but survived the airplane trip with only mild discomfort. Mary Ann and Ted picked me up at the Baltimore airport thankfully.

Being home is nice. I'm better every day, not hungry and doing well.

The regimen from now on is only clear liquids for two weeks, then full liquids for another week, then pureed foods (baby food) for a week, then soft foods for the next week. Then on January 7th, I can eat most regular food albeit in small amounts. After 10 weeks, I can have coffee, wine and can lift things again. I want to lose 60#.

I'm looking forward to all the benefits.

I'LL REPORT BACK IN A WEEK.

BODY WEIGHT SAGA 3:

I'M ON MY WAY TO TIJUANA!!

I am, on the 7th of December 2011, having bariatric surgery: VERTICAL SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY SURGERY! aka The Gastric Sleeve.

No place in the United States will do this surgery on me because I'm not heavy enough! But in Mexico, they will!!!

Through laproscopic incisions, 80% of the stomach is removed and the stomach is stapled together to resemble a sleeve. This not only reduces the capacity of the stomach, allowing only small meals, it removes that section of the stomach that produces Ghrelin, a hormone that induces hunger and increases appetite. It's the latest of the bariatric surgeries and destined to become the most popular. Unlike the "by-pass" surgeries, it's less invasive and it preserves the pyloric valve and duodenum.

Weight loss is very successful. Losing most of the excess weight in about a year is normal. Mine will be slightly quicker as I have less to lose than the typical patient. I'd like to lose 60 lbs. (225-165), BMI of 22.1.

In the U.S., one needs to have a BMI of 40 (300#) or with complications, 35 (257#). Mine is currently 32.5 (225#). (It's been as high as 35.6 (259#) in 2001.)

click to see: GS SURGERY

I have FIVE comorbities that weight loss will help: Diabetes 2 (A lot of patients are cured!), High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Heart Disease and Sleep Apnea. And my constantly sore feet will benefit as well as my psychological well-being. It'll help my hurting feet and getting off some of the medicines will reduce, if not cure my shaking hand. It also adds to my life expectancy.

My primary care physician, Dr. Alarcon is delighted I'm getting the surgery. He has done blood work and adjusted my chemistry. I'm suitable for the surgery. Also, Dr. Rosa, my cardiologist, has OKed me for surgery.

Louise Johnson is weightlossagent.com. She was excellent and a good reference.

The costs are $4,500 for the surgery and $1,100 for the airplane. (I'm coming back first class so as to be more comfortable.) The surgery in the U.S. would run $12 to 20,000! No insurance covers it in either place.

I'll be home early Sunday morning, the 11th. I'll blog on the 14th about it all.

BODY WEIGHT SAGA 2:

BODY WEIGHT

I've struggled with my weight all my life—going down with great effort and then back up again (with no effort).

I've kept a chart of my high and low weights during EVERY month since high school! It's fourteen pages long. Here's an excerpt:

Once when I was at the doctor's, he asked me to list all the diets I'd been on. It filled two pages! I was up to 259 pounds once—that's where I'd be, I'm convinced, if I didn't watch my weight!

I been through hypnosis, Weight Watcher's, Jenny Craig, Stillman, fasting, Atkins, South Beach to name a few. I've even had behavior modification and liposuction!

In 1986, I went to a bariatrics doctor, Dr. Frank at Washington University Hospital, who put me on a powder diet. I had nothing to eat except this pasty, awful tasting stuff for seven long months!!! I went from 218 to 146! It didn't stay off though. I went to him two other times over the next few years. We even tried various drugs, some experimental.

I've wanted to get bariactic surgery. I've called several clinics and talked to several doctors. They won't do it because I have to have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of more than 40. It helps to have diabetes, as I do, but it still doesn't get me accepted. Recently they lowered the diabetic threshold to 35! But, alas I'm not eligible for that either. I'm at around 31.5. But there's hope if they keep reducing the requirements.

So, I continue to struggle with my weight. I'd LOVE to be skinny. For those of you who say, "Just eat less." I tell you, you don't have a weight problem and literally don't understand.

BODY WEIGHT SAGA:

BODY WEIGHT

I've had a weight problem for many years—ever since high school really.

I was a skinny, toehead youngster.

Donny at five.

But in high school I started to gain weight.

Me at 16.

I have had to fight my weight ever since.

Westminster College 1959 at age 19.

Me today.