Surgery

OK. So I'm posting this a little late.

My weight has always been a tough subject for me. I have always felt embarrassed on how much I weigh. I know how to "yo-yo" very well. I can diet, exercise and lose the weight, but keeping it off has always been the problem.

Six days ago, I had the lap-band procedure done. It was a hard decision, but it took 8 months for the hospital to put me through the wringer in order to make sure I would succeed in losing the amount of weight that I needed.

So, when I started on this venture about a year ago, I was 435lbs. I know. Its tough to admit that you weigh over 400 pounds. Even as I write this out, it's hard to believe that I ever weighed that much.

So, a life style change is in order, correct? That's what everyone tells you at least. For me making the drastic changes never seemed to stick very well. I once lost 100lbs through the use of a personal trainer, a decent diet and lots, and lots of exercise. I lost it. but when I couldn't afford the personal trainer any longer and moved and lost my gym membership. I gained all the weight back, and then some. Yep, the vicious circle has started. Or, should I say was realized.

I think all through my life, this vicious circle of exercise, dieting and losing weight only to gain it back has always been there. I only lost weight when there was a purpose to lose the weight. Staying healthy has never been easy. Especially when you have a touch of OCD, and a mixture of a sweet tooth. It made it a little tougher.

So, when I found out that my medical insurance would pay for the entire surgery, I knew I had to think about 1) Should I have the surgery? and 2) Can I make the commitment to stay healthy?

I prayed and thought a lot about it. As my wife became more pregnant with our daughter, I realized that at 44 years old, I was not getting any younger. My doctor also found out that I was diabetic. So, I had all the symptoms of a obese man. I use a CPAP, have high blood pressure, diabetes (Type II) bad knees, and worst of all, my cholesterol was through the roof. I have always had a lot of pride about my cholesterol. Now, I couldn't even say that I have "good" cholesterol.

I also made a religious change in my life. I converted to become LDS (Latter Day Saint) well over a year ago. Part of becoming LDS is that you keep the Word of Wisdom. This is the part that a lot of people find confusing. You know, the no coffee, tea, smoking, and drinking of alcohol that kind of thing. The other part of the Word of Wisdom is to stay healthy. This was a revelation from about 180 years ago. It's something that we see everyday now. Go figure. Maybe the Lord does know best.

So, with my symptoms in hand, I went off to the weight clinic and started the process. Again, not an easy thing. You have to go to seminars with people that are just as, or more so over weight than you are. You have to go to dietitian sessions, physical therapy, counselors, and it goes on.

It took 8 months for the weight clinic to "approve" me for surgery.

I knew that since all these people took all this time to "approve" me, that I must be ready to make the change. I really didn't tell anyone about the surgery and didn't tell my oldest daughter until I was about a week away from my surgery date. Why you ask? Well let's just say I didn't want a lot of outside influences on the subject. And since I really didn't like to talk about my weight problem anyway, it seemed OK.

So, on December 18th, 2009 I had the lap-band surgery. The surgery itself only took about an hour, but the recovery from the anesthesia took most of the day. The doctor also repaired a hiatal hernia that I didn't know I had. I felt like I got two surgeries for the price of one. Yippee!

If you want to read more about the clinic I used here in Portland, Oregon you can visit these folks at this website.

By the way, on December 18th, my pre-surgery weight was down to 380lbs. Yes, some of my pants are falling down more easily than others.