mdnitschke

I am 5 lbs blow my intended goal weight when I bought and paid for the surgery myself. Went to Wal Mart and bought myself a pair of Wrangler cargo pants in waist size 36 inches, which I haven't worn since high school, about 47 year ago). The surgery was about 3 years ago and I plateaued for about 1-1/2 years, but be patient and let this new discipline guide you through and you will be amazed where it will lead you!!!!

October 30th will mark the first anniversary of my surgery. What a year it has been. I am doing 40 minute sessions on a Cybex Cyclone 850 stepper at intensity level 4, burning 590 calories in a daily workout. Sunday I cycled 16 miles in addition to that. (Monday I took a day off) I am also taking Nitric Oxide. I have discontinued 3 medications, one for A1C (Metformin) and two for blood pressure (Amlodipene and Doxazosin). Blood pressure has been ranging in the 130s and 70s, resting pulse in the high 40s to low 50s. Last year my waist size was 54 inches and I tipped the scales at 350 pounds. To date I am down about 120 pounds and my waist size is 40 inches. I've got about 40-45 pounds to go and the weight loss has slowed to a crawl, but I am not in it to see lower numbers on the scale, I am in it for my lifestyle and health and the scale will adjust accordingly if I do all the right things with self management. The surgery is no magic bullet. It will help you lose about 75% of your excess weight fairly easily, but after that point it becomes a tool that you have to use, and how effectively you use it all depends on the skill you employ in that endeavor.

Brings back some memories. I recall being very concerned as the reality of major surgery and I came face to face. That was 6 months ago. I am down 102 pounds, no longer taking metformin and my doctor is now telling me to quit taking the amlodipene because my blood pressure readings are dropping enough to justify it. I can wear pants that you can buy off the shelf in generally available sizes. It's daunting, but was it ever the best investment I ever made. They gave me a couple of injections post op that kept me in Shangri La for about 12 hours but I was out of the hospital in less than 24 hours and that was with the gastric bypass.

Read some of my posts under my profile. I have written a lengthy article on that subject. I believe it starts out with the words "8 Weeks and counting". I wouldn't care to re-type the whole thing all over again, but if you can locate it, you might find some useful information.

Sometimes your co-morbidity factors will determine which procedure. I started exploring bariatric surgery with the idea of getting the sleeve, but when the doctor looked at my health history, in particular, noting how long I have been taking medication to control blood pressure said the bypass would be more durable with my health and overweight history. The bypass is also the most effective with controlling pre-diabetes. I had started taking Metformin and the doctor told me that after the surgery I would no longer need to take it. My labs with blood sugar have been straight in the middle of normal range. I decided the extra cost of the bypass was a good investment and 100 pounds later I think I made a wise decision.

I bought the expensive Vitamins at the pharmacy recommended by my surgeon. The next time around I went to Sams and got them. I still buy the Iron tablets from the pharmacy, but I buy the popular brands for vitamins (Sam's house brand for adults 50+). Vitamin B is important so I make sure I take 5000 mg daily of the same Sam's house brand Vitamin B12 tablets (Simply Right). The Citracal gummies you can find at Wal Mart.

I consulted with them. The doctor gave some good advice to me, going there to investigate the sleeve because of a co-worker's experience. The doctor told me after looking at my medical history to not base my decision on what someone else did. He said my history strongly pointed toward the bypass which he said was more durable. I sought out a second opinion about the bypass and that doctor said that I really didn't have a choice due to my co-morbidity factors. I took both doctor's recommendation to have the bypass, but decided on having it done elsewhere due primarily to cost, (my insurance didn't cover the procedure, in spite of the plan's heavy emphasis on preventive care, so I was 100% self pay); but also some other incidental factors which I can convey in a private message.

Is anyone taking Nitric Oxide? The person who recommended it cautioned me to consult my physician if I was taking statin drugs, which I am. I have a country doctor who responded that he didn't know anything about it and warned me that he couldn't advise me one way or the other. Does anyone have any experience with a Doctor who knows something about Nitric Oxide?

I actually did get another Harley. I sold a tricked out Road Glide Ultra that I owned free and clear so I sold it to pay for the surgery and at the same time got a pretty sweet deal from an HD dealer on a leftover 2014 Softail Deluxe, and then qualified for .99% financing, so I essentially borrowed the money for the surgery from HDFS at a very reasonable rate and got a newer, lighter and more maneuverable bike for my in town riding which was what I was doing mostly. I wouldn't be without a ride. Post Christmas update: the wife got me a hot leather jacket in a much reduced size and it fits!!!

Anyone who has actively practiced an addiction in their lives should instantly recognize that phrase and all it means. When it comes to me and my relationship to food it meant at the very least that I was always a plate cleaner. More than that, it means there were some certain "red light" foods that had such a grip on me I just could not leave it alone until it was gone. No matter how much I had eaten previously, no matter how hungry or stuffed I was - if it was a red light food, the only way I could quit thinking about it - and it would quit calling to me - is if it was gone - and I don't mean scraped off a plate into the trash, it of course had to be processed by my alimentary garbage disposal in order to rid myself of the mental torment. I spent a year contemplating this surgery and much of that time was spent in self discovery, exploring my own pathological relationship to food in my life space. It had taken control of just about every emotional trigger - hungry, angry, lonely, bored, tired - anything could trigger a binge episode, the outcome of which was always the singular result of that source of torment being gone. Problem was, I would always relax and allow that red light food to reappear. I wanted to be sure I had my head screwed on straight as I made the decision to undergo the surgery, that I was going to do it for all the right reasons, and that meant a permanent change of lifestyle, and that by far my greatest challenge would be overcoming the emotional compulsions. I am now crossing from the 2nd into the 3rd month of post op recovery and some remarkable things have happened much to my indescribable joy. I have found that with the post-op change in my taste and appetite for food I find that much of the emotional triggers have just disappeared. It wasn't that I was tested on occasion during the first 6 weeks post op, there were times, much like the ex smoker habitually fishing into their front shirt pocket for the pack of cigarettes, but that has largely subsided. Now I simply do not get any emotional feedback from food. In the last 3 weeks or so I have gained incredible self control to where I eat only one small piece of something, I am satisfied and can leave the rest of it alone. I don't know what it was, but I am thinking it was the absence of the appetite stimulating chemical ghrelin, but what I do know is that my relationship to food is that it is simply fuel and my body tells me how much it needs. This has been the best money I have ever spent to rid myself of this curse.

I'm not entirely sure how I found Bariatric Pal's website - I think it came up when I was initializing a new smart phone I had purchased after I lost my cell phone somewhere in the process of checking out of the hospital from my gastric bypass surgery. I think this is a wonderful meeting place to share experiences with those who have made the journey or are about to. The last milestone I passed was my 6 week follow up with my surgeon and am down about 50 or so pounds and maybe 66 pounds from my highest weight ever. I spent a year researching the surgery and consulted with 3 different surgeons before making my selection as well as the final decision to undergo the surgery. I spent that much time because at my present age of 63 I have fought this battle since the age of 6 or thereabouts. I was teased in grade school for being fat and have gone through multiple weight loss and weight regain cycles in my life. All of those weight loss/regain cycles were all just emotionally driven I came to eventually realize - I never "dieted" as much as I just followed patterns of abnormal emotional overeating followed by a period of emotionally fueled abnormal purging (diet/exercise) with corresponding fluctuations in body weight. Of course the trend has always been on an upward trajectory. I eventually came to realize that the word "diet" is one of the most bastardized words in the English vocabulary, where it has come to mean patterns of abnormal eating behavior with its attendant body weight fluctuations. The reason why "diets" don't work is that long term success requires mastering that most difficult of all of human behaviors of "moderation", which I realized I lacked without some kind of unusual help. I became interested in the surgery as a solution to this lifelong struggle when I noticed a co-worker losing over 100 pounds so I struck up a conversation with him about it and he said he underwent the gastric sleeve operation. I consulted with a surgeon shortly after and he said "don't base your decision on what soemone else did" - he then went on to recommend the bypass based on my health history and present state of health. He finished by saying that the bypass was more durable for long term success (based on my circumstances only). I was on Metformin and simvastatin and 3 different blood pressure medications as well as Alopurinol to control excessive uric acids (gout). One year ago my physician put me on Qsyemia and my weight dropped from my highest weight ever of 350 pounds to about 310 but then came a cruise and it was back to the races on a weight regain spree. My weight shot up to 340 pounds when I sold a Harley Davidson motorcycle and used the proceeds to pay for the surgery. It is the smartest thing I have ever done for myself. I am free of all the emotional demons driving my appetite. I no longer feel that compulsion or emotional addiction to food. I am feeling lighter and am exercising again and my first labs after the surgery were right down the middle of the fairway. I have quit the metformin and am looking at the hypertension meds next. I still use a CPAP intermittently but I think I will quit snoring once my weight drops below around 225. I can't say enough good about the support and control I have gained and got my life back in control. I have a great wife, and great home life and career - I had so much going for me and I was ruining it being as usual my own worst enemy. This is the greatest journey of my life - I know I will never look back again on a 50+ inch waist and 300+ pounds on the scale. I've still got a long way to go but I am on the cusp of being able to shop for clothing in more widely available sizes - II just could not be happier with the results.

I always keep in mind a line from a Glenn Frey song "Living Right" which goes something like "give something up - get something back". The something you get back will be much more valuable as you come to realize what you gave up was an unhealthy pathological relationship. I went through GB surgery being as emotionally addicted to certain kinds of comfort foods as anyone could be. I don't miss those foods now - they don't taste the same and food is now just food and it is the most wonderful life when food is no longer the 800 pound gorilla in control of your life, but you are now in control of it.