shrinkingsteve

More to follow. . .
THE BASICS:
12-19-2016 Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass
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06-25-2014 LAPBAND removal surgery
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06-13-2003  LAPBAND install
At the start of 2016 I realized that I would be dead within two years at most if something major wasn't done to finally get my weight gain under control and hopefully resolve the numerous health issues that resulted from the excess weight.
 
I had the lap band surgery and my weight gain stopped and I lost some weight. 
I kept most of the weight off until I slipped on an icy sidewalk taking out the trash (at 2AM after an ice storm).  Something happened to me that night.  I remember falling then at some point I opened my eyes and realized that I was laying flat on my back looking up at the stars.  My hair was wet so I must have been laying there for at least a few minutes (perhaps longer).  I was able to get up and walk around.  I didn't have any blood on my body or any broken bones so I thought I was OK.  Apparently, the fall caused my lapband to move.  Over time this movement caused my esophagus to dilate and the band tightened in its new location.  Within a very short time it became difficult to swallow.   There were also a large and growing list of complications as a result of the fall and the added weight I was carrying.
In the back my mind I wanted to get a gastric bypass.  However, I was a chicken.  I was afraid to make such a large commitment and go thru such a major surgical procedure to permanently change my digestive system.  I was approved by my health insurance plan at the time of my lap band removal surgery for a conversion to a gastric bypass.  I said no to the conversion believing at the time that I needed to recover and get the growing list of health complications under control and then at some future date when I was healthy with only the excess weight to focus on I would revisit the gastric bypass option.   Within a short time of recovering from the removal of the lap band my weight began to increase and along with the added weight the list of complications grew.  At the worst point of my failing health, I couldn't walk further than 10 feet without my calf muscles burning so intensely that I was forced to stop and sit down for several minutes to recover from the pain.
 
Something had to change or I would die.  I finally accepted the fact that I had to make a major change and get control of my life so I could live again and not just exist.
 
more to come