BlessMySol

My name is Dan and I am three months away from turning 50 years old. My highest weight was 340 pounds. I was not fat growing up or throughout high school, but I have had an ongoing weight problem since I was in my twenties. Twice in my lifetime I lost 100 pounds, which was accomplished by sheer starvation, frequently skipping meals, and obsessive fast-paced walking. I have used Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Atkins diet, Orlistat, Phentermine, Lipotropic injections, and Overeaters Anonymous in my attempts to lose weight. Most of these programs worked for a relatively short period of time, but I was unable to maintain any of their requirements long term. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and sleep apnea in my twenties, I developed hyperlipidemia and hypertriglyceridemia as well as coronary artery disease in my thirties. I had a quadruple heart bypass at the age of 39. Somewhere during those two decades, my doctor told me I had metabolic syndrome, although there was not much information about the disorder at the time. About five years ago, my A1C blood sugar measurements put me into the pre-diabetic range and a year or two after that, I was placed on metformin. Last year (2016) my pre-diabetes developed fully into type 2 diabetes and about two months ago I was started on insulin. My primary care physician broached the subject of weight loss surgery in June of 2014 and I was prepared and somewhat eager to go through with it, so I made an appointment to meet with a weight loss surgeon. However, when I shared the information I had received with my family (parents, siblings, nieces and nephews), they all had negative opinions about the idea and scared me with stories of people they knew who had bad results. Ironically, everybody that I spoke with who had received weight loss surgery said that their only regret was that they didn't have it sooner. Anyway, I didn't go through with it.That was when I went to a weight loss doctor that put me on phentermine (an appetite suppressant and stimulant) and gave me lipotropic injections. Over the next eight or nine months, I lost 50 pounds and thought, "Well, looks like I don't need surgery after all." Unfortunately, I became so easily agitated and developed anger management problems as a result of the medication, that I decided that I needed to come off of it. When I did, I put back on 60 pounds in just four or five months. Then I was so discouraged that I just gave up; I wasn't even interested in considering surgery anymore. During 2016, I began to have problems with my feet and ankles, partially due to my excess weight, and I started developing neuropathy in my toes. Also, as I mentioned earlier, it was also during 2016 that i developed type 2 diabetes and had to start taking insulin. Finally, I realized that I was going to have to give weight loss surgery a try. I went back to the surgeon I had met with in 2014 and he suggested that I have gastric sleeve surgery. I had my surgery performed on Feb 15th, just twelve days ago, and I have already lost 20 pounds. Recovery has been a breeze; I quit needing pain medication and was leaving the house the day after surgery. I've gone walking every day since.  My blood sugar levels are returning to normal. There is definitely some adjusting going on to this new way of life, but I am optimistic that this procedure is going to help me achieve the weight loss and improvement with several of my health problems that I have so desperately needed. Even positive change can be scary, yet so worthwhile!