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pmp727

New Member
Hello, this is my first post. My name is Paul, I am 51 years old, and I am preparing for a sleeve at the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake NY. I am still working toward a surgery date, and my target is sometime this spring.

I am not now at my all time heaviest. I began looking at surgery in 2005, and at that time I went into a supervised weight loss program that used Meridia. At that time I made some dietary changes, and managed to lose 100 pounds and come off the diabetes medication. Eventually I plateaued on the Merida and gained back about a third of what I lost. Since then I haven't been able to lose more than a few pounds, and have tended to vacillate with no apparent reason.

I have had chronic pain due to a deteriorating spine and that restricts exercise greatly. I have found a tai chi routine that I am able to do and I am building up to completing that twice a day.

When I entered the Adirondack program last fall I weighed 414. I am currently 410, and getting to that has been a real struggle for me.

In addition to the diabetes (no meds but that label never seems to go away) and pain, I have high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, COPD, and sleep apnea. I very much look forward to resolving or greatly moderating some or all of that.

I live in a small, isolated town, and there isn't much here in the way of support groups. I would appreciate any feedback and support that I can get.
 
Hi Paul, welcome to the forum. Don't beat yourself up about not being able to lose or maintain what you lost in the past. I think the medical community is finally starting to understand what we have understood all along---for morbidly obese people, dieting doesn't work. Or rather, it works about 5% of the time. Weight loss surgery has a better success rate. It's not perfect, but it's better.
Hopefully after your surgery you will lose most if not all of your co-morbidities as well and lose some of the pain that you're experiencing. I know exercise gets a whole lot easier when you can move without stopping to catch your breath!
There are some good people on this forum with lots of success stories. Come back often, and participate.
 
pmp727 said:
Hello, this is my first post. My name is Paul, I am 51 years old, and I am preparing for a sleeve at the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake NY. I am still working toward a surgery date, and my target is sometime this spring.

I am not now at my all time heaviest. I began looking at surgery in 2005, and at that time I went into a supervised weight loss program that used Meridia. At that time I made some dietary changes, and managed to lose 100 pounds and come off the diabetes medication. Eventually I plateaued on the Merida and gained back about a third of what I lost. Since then I haven't been able to lose more than a few pounds, and have tended to vacillate with no apparent reason.

I have had chronic pain due to a deteriorating spine and that restricts exercise greatly. I have found a tai chi routine that I am able to do and I am building up to completing that twice a day.

When I entered the Adirondack program last fall I weighed 414. I am currently 410, and getting to that has been a real struggle for me.

In addition to the diabetes (no meds but that label never seems to go away) and pain, I have high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, COPD, and sleep apnea. I very much look forward to resolving or greatly moderating some or all of that.

I live in a small, isolated town, and there isn't much here in the way of support groups. I would appreciate any feedback and support that I can get.
Click to expand...


Hi Paul! WELCOME to this Forum!!!!

Here you will find many friends who understand what you have been through! We are all here to help and support each other. I have had the bypass but there are many people who have had the sleeve who can give you more specific info on their journey to successful weight loss. Watch Linney's videos she made for newbies and people who are on their weight loss journey. At the top of each forum page is a link BLOG and if you go there she has links to all her videos on utube. Linney has lost a substantial amount of weight and shares her knowledge and experience on her videos.

Hopefully you will become an active member of our group and participate in this forum with us! :)

Good Luck, Paul on your weight loss journey.


Cheyenne
 
pmp727 said:
Hello, this is my first post. My name is Paul, I am 51 years old, and I am preparing for a sleeve at the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake NY. I am still working toward a surgery date, and my target is sometime this spring.

I am not now at my all time heaviest. I began looking at surgery in 2005, and at that time I went into a supervised weight loss program that used Meridia. At that time I made some dietary changes, and managed to lose 100 pounds and come off the diabetes medication. Eventually I plateaued on the Merida and gained back about a third of what I lost. Since then I haven't been able to lose more than a few pounds, and have tended to vacillate with no apparent reason.

I have had chronic pain due to a deteriorating spine and that restricts exercise greatly. I have found a tai chi routine that I am able to do and I am building up to completing that twice a day.

When I entered the Adirondack program last fall I weighed 414. I am currently 410, and getting to that has been a real struggle for me.

In addition to the diabetes (no meds but that label never seems to go away) and pain, I have high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, COPD, and sleep apnea. I very much look forward to resolving or greatly moderating some or all of that.

I live in a small, isolated town, and there isn't much here in the way of support groups. I would appreciate any feedback and support that I can get.
Click to expand...

Welcome Paul,

You and I have a very similar experience with dieting, medically supervised programs, etc., etc., I never got up to the 400 range. My max was 310 or so.

I looked at bariatric surgery a couple of times over the last ten years and finally did it.

I am one of the happiest people on Earth right now as a result.

I see all your maladies. I can tell you they will resolve themselves once the surgery is completed and you follow the program. The thyroid problem has probably also caused a lot of issues as well. COPD !! Smoker?? If so, try to stop. If due to other chronic illnesses such as chronic bronchitis, then it too will resolve. This is the first year I went through an entire winter (almost !!! ) without having to go to the doctor to get over a cold, a sinus infection or bronchitis.

To give you a flavor of how you will do here are all my accomplishments since my surgery date.

Medical/Physical Maladies that have been resolved to date

• Diabetes resolved – off all meds, avg reading 110
• BP normal again – I am still taking bystolic 5mg. Resting pulse is around 60 and BP near or below 120/80. Without the bystolic my resting pulse is still in the 60s. However, my BP goes up to the high 130s/high 80s.
• Sleep Apnea resolved – I am not snoring nor do I believe I am stopping breathing. I will confirm this later this year. The air pressure from the CPAP machine was making me very uncomfortable; lots of burping
• Legs no longer swollen
• Waist size has shrunk – Wearing size 44 pants comfortably and just made it into 42 pants.
• Feet are smaller – I was able to put a pair of dress shoes on that I haven’t been able to wear.
• I stay under 1200 calories a day. Most days around 1000 calories.
• I have a lot more energy
• I can dance, dance and dance
• I can walk up neighborhood hills aggressively without having to stop; no longer breathless.
• My incontinence due to my prostatectomy has been resolved.
• I am able to sleep in my bed again. I had been sleeping In an upright chair to be comfortable.
• Dramatically reduced backaches; almost completely gone.
• I can bend over and tie my shoes now!
• I can see my toes again 
• I can do dance steps again that I couldn’t do. The belly is gone!
• Now wearing size 42 slacks comfortably and looking forward to size 40 slacks. Just got into 40s but they are snug.
• Starting to sleep on my side again! This has happened in years!
• Intimacy much improved !!! 

It is a list you will also see happen to yourself as you journey towards your surgery date and then post op.

You must use this forum as your support group.

Best wishes,

Ralph
 
Hi, Paul. I can definitely relate to your story. I've been there. My highest weight was 498 lbs back in December of '08. I tried just about everything a person could do on their own to lose weight, but I couldn't seem to get below 400 and my weight kept creeping back up. It took me a long time to finally decide to have gastric bypass, but it's the best decision I've ever made. Remember to listen to your doctors and take one day at a time. :)
 
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