Six-month surgi-versary
Six months ago today I had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure. The surgeon severed a section of my stomach to create a small food pouch, big enough to hold only 1-2 ounces of food. The bottom of the pouch was then connected to the intestine, bypassing the stomach and a portion of the intestine.
Although I had sworn for years that surgical weight loss was too drastic, I had bottomed out last fall and faced the reality that I needed drastic changes. At my first consultation with the surgeon, I was appalled to learn I weighed 428 pounds. The last time I had gotten an accurate weight had been many years earlier, when I stepped onto a freight scale and weighed 386 lbs.
By the time I underwent preadmission testing on Feb. 17, 2005, I had lost a few pounds and weighed 412. By the day of surgery I had dropped another six pounds.
At my daily weigh-in this morning, I weighed 292 lbs., a decrease of 120 lbs. from the "official" starting weight. I have gone from being morbidly obese to severely obese to obese. My body mass index (BMI) has dropped from 49 to 34.
My personal goal is to lose another 78 lbs. to reach a weight of 214. That would be exactly half of what I weighed when I started my journey. My primary care physician wants me to reach 209-210, the top end of the normal range for someone my height, and the Cleveland Center for Bariatric Surgery has set a goal of 183 lbs., the middle of the normal range.
Whatever additional weight I lose is all a plus, as I already feel significantly better. I have more energy, I feel better about myself, I can wear much smaller clothing and, possibly best of all, I can still eat most of the foods I like. Smaller quantities of food, but still a great variety. Six months after the fact, I am thrilled I had the surgery.
Although I had sworn for years that surgical weight loss was too drastic, I had bottomed out last fall and faced the reality that I needed drastic changes. At my first consultation with the surgeon, I was appalled to learn I weighed 428 pounds. The last time I had gotten an accurate weight had been many years earlier, when I stepped onto a freight scale and weighed 386 lbs.
By the time I underwent preadmission testing on Feb. 17, 2005, I had lost a few pounds and weighed 412. By the day of surgery I had dropped another six pounds.
At my daily weigh-in this morning, I weighed 292 lbs., a decrease of 120 lbs. from the "official" starting weight. I have gone from being morbidly obese to severely obese to obese. My body mass index (BMI) has dropped from 49 to 34.
My personal goal is to lose another 78 lbs. to reach a weight of 214. That would be exactly half of what I weighed when I started my journey. My primary care physician wants me to reach 209-210, the top end of the normal range for someone my height, and the Cleveland Center for Bariatric Surgery has set a goal of 183 lbs., the middle of the normal range.
Whatever additional weight I lose is all a plus, as I already feel significantly better. I have more energy, I feel better about myself, I can wear much smaller clothing and, possibly best of all, I can still eat most of the foods I like. Smaller quantities of food, but still a great variety. Six months after the fact, I am thrilled I had the surgery.
posted by Joe Wollet at 9:10 PM
1 Comments:
I am not quite 3 months out yet, and thrilled with my results. I have bad days, bad meals, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I've lost 75 pounds. I love to read about other people's WLS. If you haven't checked it out.. go read at www.obesityhelp.com they have state message boards and a lot of friendly people.
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