September 6th Video Update
09 Monday Sep 2024
Posted in bariatric-surgery, Cancer, Diabetic, Leukemia, VLog, Weight Loss
Tag Archives: bariatric-surgery
Four Month Post Op
24 Saturday Aug 2024
Posted in bariatric-surgery, Diabetic, diet, Disability, Leukemia, Retirement, Weight Loss
Lost ten pounds this month. Everything is progressing nicely. The doctor wants me to lose thirty more pounds. If this keeps going the way they have, that should take another three months. I’m in no hurry. Just as long as I lose what I need to lose to get my BMI to a healthy range.
I go to my orthopedic Dr on Monday. I should know more when I get this boot off and in a regular shoe. Hope it will be in the next six weeks or so. The first thing I’m going to do is get my kayak out and go fishing.
Update: May 26th One Month Post-op
26 Sunday May 2024
Posted in bariatric-surgery, Boy Scouts, Cancer, Diabetic, diet, Disability, Leukemia, Weight Loss
Thursday, May 24th was one month since my gastric bypass surgery. I’ve lost 35 pounds. I’m eating way less than before surgery which is to be expected. So far, I’ve not experienced any sickness.
The doctor has taken me off of all my insulin and put me on mounjuro. (Sp) It’s a once per week injection of 2.5 mg for 4 weeks. I’m not sure if they’re going to up the dosage after that or not.
If I’m still in my boot and not in a cast, I’m planning on going to Summer camp with the Boy Scouts. There is no way I can hobble around the campgrounds in this boot so I’ve purchased a used mobility scooter. I had to drive 3.5 hours one-way to get it. I just couldn’t pass up the good deal. I’ll find other uses for it I’m sure.
Update: Post-Op Day 6
30 Tuesday Apr 2024
Posted in bariatric-surgery, Weight Loss
Tags
bariatric-surgery, cast, crow boot, gallbladder, gastric bypass, health, Hospital, Life, News, Sick, Surgery, Weight loss
The day of the surgery started off on a bad foot and it didn’t end there. First of all, I was told to be at the hospital at 5am with a surgery time of 9am. At 5am it’s dark and my wife can’t see to drive in the dark so I asked if we could move the surgery time to a later time. 7am was the latest that I could get there and still have the surgery. We arrived at 6:30am and were told that I was way early and my surgery wasn’t scheduled until 1pm. There was nothing to do but wait.
A little after noon, I was finally called back. My wife and I were sent to a pre-op room where they tried three times before they were able to start an IV. I was asked several questions regarding my meds and my health. I was given a gown and told to undress and slip on the hospital gown. I was allowed to say my goodbyes to my wife and was rolled out of that room into the surgery room where I met at least three more nurses who introduced themselves and I don’t remember anything after that.
I was awakened by one of my nurses yelling my name telling me to wake up. I remember them saying that my oxygen was low and they were trying to get my bi-pap working. They were having a hard time because the had the hose hooked up backwards. In my drunken state, I had to try to tell them they had it hooked up wrong. Why they didn’t put me on oxygen I’ll never know.
One of the things I had asked the surgeon to look at while she was in my belly was a hernia. She informed me that her main goal was to do the gastric bypass and if she had time she would look at it. Well, that changed. Once she got into my belly, she found that my gallbladder was about to explode. It was full of inflammation and was bleeding. It was surprising that I hadn’t had any symptoms. The first step was to remove my gallbladder. With the gallbladder removed she noticed that my stomach had risen up into my esophagus. She then had to fix the stomach issue. Once she did that she fixed the hernia then she proceeded to do the gastric bypass. The surgeon told my wife that I was one sick puppy.
During surgery, they had to run a tube down my throat. I’m still coughing from that. My incisions are still a little sore, all five of them. I’m still in the liquid stage of my diet and I should start to be able to eat pureed food on Thursday. I’m so looking forward to that. I can’t tell if I’m losing weight because of the cast. I just had a new one put on yesterday and it feels heavier than the others. The orthopedic doctor fitted me with a Crow Boot yesterday so hopefully, I’ll graduate from a cast in a couple of weeks to a month. At least in a Crow Boot I’ll be able to walk some and climb stairs better than I am now.
Update: April 2nd
02 Tuesday Apr 2024
Posted in Photography
Tags
bariatric-surgery, cast, Doctor, foot, gastric bypass, health, liquid diet, liver shrink, Surgery, Weight loss
It’s been a while I know. A lot has been going on so hold on to your hat.
Monday, April 1st marks the 10th week that I’ve either been in a splint or a cast. This is my third hard cast since I was put in one. I have a problem with either the cast getting wet, broke or both. I’ve had several x-rays and I’ve been told each time that my foot is healing but has a long way to go. My foot is still swollen a little and it looks like a lizard with all that dead skin just hanging there. I did speak to the doctor and if everything continues as it has, I should be able to be put in a Crow Boot in about two months. At least with a Crow Boot I should be able to walk on it some.
It’s like I’m a prisoner in my own home. I live in a split foyer home. When you walk in the front door you must either go up or go downstairs. Seven of them to be exact. Going downstairs is not a problem. I simply grab ahold of the banister and the handrail and hop down the stairs. Going up is another issue. Right now, the solution is to use a walker with the front legs adjusted to the step above and hop up the stairs. I’m exhausted by the time I make it up the stairs. This is the reason I don’t go anywhere other than for doctor appointments.
My gastric bypass surgery has been approved and my surgery is scheduled for the 17th of April. I have to start my liver shrink diet on the 10th and my 2-day liquid diet starts on the 15th. If I told you th.at I wasn’t worried I’d be lying. There’s a lot to consider even after the surgery. Just my doctors and my immediate family know about it. None of my friends or even my parents don’t know about it. The reason? I have a couple of family members that have had this surgery and they are bigger now than before they had the surgery. Simply put, they gave up on themselves. I have a point to make. I’ll eventually tell them after I lose about 100 lbs.
Another reason I’m doing the surgery is my health. If everything goes well, I will no longer be a diabetic and I will no longer have to use a Bipap machine to sleep. The money I’ll save no longer using insulin will more than pay for the vitamins that I’ll have to take.
Stay tuned for updates after the surgery.
January 10th, 2024
10 Wednesday Jan 2024
Posted in Photography
Tags
My wife and I attended the Bariatric Diatairy and Fitness class yesterday. Wow! Words can’t describe all the emotions that we went through. This surgery is more than I had anticipated. We were there for a total of 4.5 hours and they just touched the tip of the iceberg. I had no idea that this would be so entailed. If you were not scared before, you should be now!! I thought I had done some research but none of the research that I did prepared me for what I am to expect after surgery.
I know that they are not going to throw me to the wolves after surgery. There will be follow-ups. There will be more classes to attend. There are several social media outlets to help you through the tough times as well as other support groups available. I’m just in a state of shock right now. What’s going to be the toughest part is going in the hospital able to eat anything you want and coming out only to be able to drink your food for two weeks. It will be at least eight weeks before I’ll be able to even think about eating solid foods again.
Something else the teacher said. Some of the things that I love to eat before surgery I will not be able to tolerate afterwards. Then again, there will be some foods that I hate now, I will be able to fall in love with. My mindset about food will change she said.
One thing I just don’t get and maybe once I have the surgery I’ll understand but why do people go through all that they have to go through just to ignore what the doctor says and go back to eating again and gaining everything that they had lost?
Today’s weigh-in: 279.2
Total loss: 1.6
This months goal 275
January 8th, 2024
08 Monday Jan 2024
Posted in Photography
I had a colonoscopy last Friday. I’ve had one previously done about five years ago. This one was different. I woke up during the procedure. That’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I was too droggy to say anything but by the way I was groaning, I think the doctor knew I was away. Nothing was said or done, he just kept going until the procedure was done. Tomorrow, my wife and I have a dietary/fitness class which is required by my Bariatric surgeon. It’s a four-hour class starting at 11:30 am and should end around 3:30 pm.
‘The diet is going good but the weight is fluctuating like a rollercoaster. I have never understood how I can eat like a bird and still gain weight the next day. Go figure.’The diet is going good but the weight is fluctuating like a rollercoaster. I have never understood how I can eat like a bird and still gain weight the next day. Go figure.
Today’s weight: 278.4 lbs
Total Loss: 2.4 lbs
This month’s goal: 275 lbs
January 1st. Happy New Year!
01 Monday Jan 2024
Posted in Photography
New year, new beginnings. I’ve said this before in the previous New Year, but it will be different this year. Why? Because this year I’m in the process of getting approved for weight loss surgery. Why now? That’s the same thing my wife asked. It’s because I’m tired of being fat. I’m tired of this rollercoaster I’m on and want off. I turned sixty years old this past year and don’t want to live the rest of my life out of shape. I have a colonoscopy planned on Friday so this should give me a boost to my weight loss journy.
Morning weight: 280.4
Goal weight: 275
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Today, I took my first step.
Step One Complete
07 Thursday Dec 2023
Posted in Photography
Tags
Bariatric, bariatric-surgery, Doctor, Exercise, gastric-sleeve, Gastrologist, Gym, health, obesity, Surgery, Weight loss, Weightloss
I spoke with the Bariatric surgeon on Monday and discussed my options. We both concluded that the gastric bypass was the way to go. She was a young doctor and my wife questioned her ability. I think she was just jealous of her looks. We talked about the class that I am going to have to take and the three visits I have to have with my general practitioner. Those will all have to be scheduled. I think I’m going to wait until the first of the year to start this because of the temptations with all the Christmas foods.
My next appointment was with my Gastrologist on the same day. I found out that my stomach ulcer had healed and I can now reduce the meds that I am taking. That’s good news because that was one of the concerns I had with the Bariatric surgery. I also found out that I had a Hiatal Hernia. This can also be taken care of during the Bariatric surgery.
The doctor visits will take three months. If I start in January, that would mean that the surgery would not be until April of next year. There is no mention of any amount of weight that has to be lost but there are several things that I have to do these three months. I have to keep a record of my meals, which I already have an app for that. I have to go to the gym or somehow show that I’m at least trying to exercise every day.
This is going to be a long drawn-out process but I’m ready for it. I’m tired of looking the way I do and feeling the way I do.
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