Dave_K
05/20/04 I had my first appointment with the Center For Weight Control at Caritas St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Brighton (CSEMC). My weight is 318 lbs. my BMI is 41.6, and Dr. Nicholette Fontaine is my primary doctor here. Jenny Hegmann is my nutritionist.
08/09/04 I arrived at CSEMC at 6 AM today for my laproscopic gastric bypass RNY surgery. I had no complications and no blood loss! Dr. Kevin O'Donnell was my surgeon. My weight the day of surgery was 302. I lost 16 lbs. before surgery.
08/12/04 I was released from the hospital today feeling weak and a bit sore from the removal of the drain tube in my abdomen. During recovery, my worst pain came from nasty muscle spasms caused by pressure near my wounds. The spasms were pretty bad! The second worst pain came from coughing. Yeah, recovering from surgery HURTS... ALOT but its only temporary and the long term health benefits far outweigh the short term, intense pain.
08/16/04 I'm now a week post op and down to 288 pounds. I do feel a bit of hunger before meals. I sure hope this weight loss remedy doesn't fail me especially after my several attempts to lose weight followed by weight gains.
08/20/04 After re-reading my post-op dietary instructions, I have started to skip drinking water 30 minutes before eating and one hour after eating. It makes a BIG difference! I have almost no hunger now and instead feel very full. I've been having some numbness in my thigh that goes from feeling numb to feeling pins & needles. From what I've read in the forum, this is a common side effect probably caused by a nerve being pinched during surgery. My wife is very happy that my incisions are healing well and some of the smaller ones are nearly invisible. I've been putting Neosporin on my incision wounds and the wounds are healing nicely. Laproscopic surgery is a wonderful thing!
08/25/04 I had my post op visit with my surgeon and nutritionist. My weight has dropped to 285 and I already feel more energy. Aside from my weight loss, I feel the CPAP treatment of my sleep apnea has given me much more energy. CPAP involves wearing a mask at night that puts positive air pressure into my nose thus allowing me to breathe much more easily and enjoy restful uninterrupted sleep. The only side effects I've experienced from my surgery are (1) the numbness in my thigh which should disappear over time as the nerve heals and (2) I vomitted one morning because I ate breakfast prior to taking my anti ulcer medication, Ranitidine (prescription strength Zantac). My blood pressure has also fallen to normal levels. Three sutures were removed from my drain tube site and my scars are quickly fading at the other incision sites with the help of Neosporin applications.
09/15/04 I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon and nutritionist today. The surgeon felt that my body is healing very well and both he and my nutritionist think I am an "exemplary" patient! I have been following the directed diet loosely and paying for it occasionally with nausea and vomit but it is nice to experiment and see what foods I can handle. For example, I can eat ground beef in a meatloaf and a Taco Bell taco but can't digest a grilled hamburger. I can also tolerate a bottle of beer. When food uncomfortably sticks in my stomach for more than half an hour, I'll drink half a glass of cold water and it flushes the bad food out via vomitting. I know it sounds gross but it is a huge relief! I weighed in at 270 pounds with shoes on after lunch. I recently saw my Primary Care Physician who informed me that my cholesterol dropped from 227 to 136 (below 200 is healthy) and my triglycerides dropped from 386 to 136 (below 200 is healthy). My blood pressure is on the low side now and I was told to stop taking my Lisinopril BP medicine. Unfortunately my "good" cholesterol dropped from 40 to 24 when it should be above 35. I will probably need to supplement with Vitamin B3 (niacin)at some time in the future.
10/27/04 I haven't been to the doctor lately for an "official" weight but want to update my profile with my progress. My current weight is 239 taken in the morning with no shoes or clothes. My scars are still healing nicely and slowly fading away. Although I've lost 31 pounds in a month and a half, the weight loss feels gradual. I'm never hungry or light headed with this weight loss which is much different from previous diet induced weight losses. I don't snore any more and turned my CPAP machine into the medical device rental company since my sleep apnea symptoms have gone away. I am not exercising regularly or exhaustively but I am fairly active and eating whatever I want in small quantities. Certain foods I avoid since they stick in my stomach or make me feel poorly such as grilled meats, dry beef, sugary items, pineapple, greasy food, and fried food. It's nice to fit into my size 38 pants that were in storage for 7 years. Good thing Levi's denim never goes out of style!
12/08/04 Had a follow-up appointment at CSEMC. My wounds are healing well but I have had some lower abdominal pain on my left side down near my kidney, sort of in the back of my body. I believe the sharp gas-like pains are coming from my colon or large intestine since the pain comes and goes based on whether I've passed gas or had a bowel movement. We will monitor the pain and if it continues we'll do some testing. Otherwise, everthing else is A-OK! I also need to start supplementing with Iron, Calcium, and Vitamin B12.
12/15/04 My abdominal pains have not gone away so I called the CSEMC Center For Weight Control. I spoke with Dr. O'Donnell, my surgeon, and he scheduled a CAT scan of my abdomen and a series of blood work testing for friday afternoon. I am so happy with how seriously they are taking my medical condition!
12/17/04 After a CAT scan of my lungs and abdomen, an x-Ray and several blood tests the doctors were unable to locate the source of my pain. They were able to rule out several things such as embolisms, kidney and gall stones, or lung issues. I am scheduled for an endoscopy and colonoscopy for Tuesday. Hopefully the scope view into my digestive system will disclose something.
12/21/04 Had my scope inspections down my throat and up my butt. They found a gastric ulcer near the top of my stomach near where I had surgery. I'm glad they solved the mystery of the source of my pain! I am drinking Carafate (sucralfate)medicine twice a day and the pain stopped immediately! The medicine should heal my ulcer but I also need to change some bad habits. I have been smoking, drinking coffee, and occasionally drinking hard alcohol shots, all three of which contribute to ulcers. My feeling is that the surgery was not to blame for the ulcers but rather my vices were to blame. The surgey may have made me succeptible to ulcers but my habits, as I was warned before sugery, were to blame.
01/04/05 I am happy to report that I have not smoked, had hard alcohol, or had coffee since my endoscopy two weeks ago. My body is healing very well and I've had no pains but the medicine must be taken on an empty stomach so it sort of interferes with my diet and fluid intake. I am taking the following dietary supplements also Calcium 1200 mg, B-12 500 mcg, multivitamin (generic Centrum), Iron 65 mg. I started noticing some hair loss about two weeks ago and I hope my supplements reverse the curse!
02/07/05 I've been in good health overall since I quit smoking. My gastric ulcer is not acting up and hopefully has gone away. I'm sort of in a weight loss plateau having lost no weight in the last two weeks but at the same time, I am not gaining anything so I'm pretty happy about that. I'm really just posting to update my weight and check in. I have already lost 106 pounds from my original starting weight of 318 but I will consider myself a 100 pound success when I am 100 pounds below 302, my weight the day of surgery. The hair loss has slowed and may be reversing itself. I have whey protein shakes a few times a week and it ensures a decent protein intake.
03/11/05 I had a check-up with my primary care physician yesterday. I'm doing well, taking my supplements and medicine although I did have some blood in my stool so my ulcer has not healed completely. I will be making a follow-up appointment with my gastroenterologist soon to get my stomach scoped again. If it weren't for my gastric ulcer, I'd say I was in top physical shape.
03/24/05 I had another endoscopy and my ulcer is healed! I will be taking Carafate for a few more months to ensure the healing is complete. Despite the ulcer, I am very happy with my surgical results and experience!
05/17/05 Just checking in. My ulcer is gone as far as I can tell and my hair is as thick as it ever was with no special hair products used. I made it to the century mark... WOOO HOOO!
07/17/05 My weight has stayed steady at 195 for the last two months. I am relieved that my metabolism has reached equilibrium with my altered digestive system. Yeah, I have another 10 pounds to lose but I'm not concerned with it. I'm just happy that I am in good health and the surgery has worked so well for me.
08/30/05 It's been over a year since my surgery and I feel great. My three month plateau is over and I'm now hitting the scale at 192.
12/20/05 Just checking in. Feeling GREAT!!!! Current weight 185 (hard to believe!!)
04/01/06 My weight hasn't moved a bit in 4 months and I'm digging it. I still take all my supplements and get moderate exercize and feel better than I have in 12 years! I just had an annual medical checkup and ALL of my blood and fluid test result numbers are VERY satisfactory (good and bad cholesterol, triglycerides etc. etc....) Keeping on & going strong!!!
04/22/06 I've started to exercize more since the weather is warmer here in Massachusetts and my weight has dropped to 175 pounds. I am actually thin... a healthy thin. My wife had her lap RNY bypass two weeks ago and is recovering quite well. She was so far ahead of the game regarding surgery since she lived with my surgical experience and she helped me out first hand in my post surgical diet and procedures. I'm SOOO happy for her since I'm sure it is changing her life as it changed mine. It's great to actually look forward to the future and know we'll be healthy rather than dieing slow deaths from obesity. My ulcer has totally cleared up although I do get some acid reflux and my stomach occasionally burns. Getting acid reflux is not likely a result of my surgery. All of my mom's family has the same problem with stomach acid so I inherited her family's disorder. To deal with the acid reflux, I occasioanlly eat three cheap knock-off TUMS tablets since the cheap knock off antacid tablets have the same active ingredient (calcium carbonate) as the pricy alternative TUMS tablets.
05/31/06 My stomach acid has cleared up and I believe it is from me eating goats milk cheese. Seriously!!! I was eating three TUMS after each meal for acid burning and one day about a month ago I ate a chunk of goats milk cheese and my problem went away. From what I understand, goats milk has very beneficial enzymes for digestion. Also, when I told my farm raised mother in law about what happened, she said it was common back on the farm to drink goats milk if you had stomach problems. All I can tell you for sure is that eating the goats milk cheese apparently fixed my problem. Also, I now weigh in at 175 and my wife has lost about 50 pounds since her surgery five weeks ago.
08/01/06 Everything is fine with my health although I think I may be losing some enamel on my teeth. Could that be a side effect of the nutritional changes? I've been doing flouride rinses etc. to stem the problem but its hard if not impossible to replace enamel I believe. My wife, another RNY patient, is now wearing a size 12 and weighs below 200 pounds.. woo hoo!
10/20/06 I'm feeling fine but have gotten out of the habit of drinking my water, taking my supplements, and having my protein shakes. Also, my dentist confirmed that I have some tooth decay going on. My weight is still steady at 175 and my wife is now 5 pounds heavier than me. She is thrilled with the results of her lap bypass!!
12/10/06 I put on five pounds. My wife and Mom think gaining five pounds is a good thing since they thought I looked too thin. My weight gain could be the effect of the Thanksgiving and holiday season with me doing less exercise and naturally storing fat for the winter, but gaining a FEW pounds is not that important, if it's just temporary and does not continue. My clothes still fit fine and my health is great!
05/03/2008 I almost died today. I had terrible abdominal pain and had emergency bowel resection surgery. When all was said & done, I lost 10 inches of small intestines which had wrapped around my large intestines, strangling the large intestines. I was 2 hours away from death!! I had a Petersen's hernia, a fairly common complication.
12/01/2008 My health has gotten bad. I have blood clots, pitting edema, & rapidly decaying teeth as a result of the bowel resection surgery in May. My mental health has also suffered with anxiety and depression over my health.
08/31/2011 I have recovered pretty well but my 20 years marriage fell apart and my teeth are in sorry shape. I do not regret the surgery but the follow on problems have been a huge trial for me. I'm thin & single now!!!
Weight Loss History
Date Weight
05/20/2004 318 BMI 41.6
08/09/2004 302 Day of surgery
08/16/2004 288 One week after surgery (-14)
08/25/2004 285 Post Op follow-up (-17)
09/15/2004 270 Follow-up appointment (-32)
10/27/2004 239 Update (-63)
12/08/2004 225 Follow-up appointment (-77)
01/04/2005 219 Update (-83)
02/07/2005 212 Update (-90)
03/11/2005 205 Doctor's Appointment (-97)
05/17/2005 195 Update (-107)
07/17/2005 195 Update (-107)
08/30/2005 192 Update (-110)
12/20/2005 185 Update (-117)
04/01/2006 185 Update (-117)
04/22/2006 175 Update (-127)
05/30/2006 175 Update (-127)
08/01/2006 175 Update (-127)
10/20/2006 175 Update (-127)
12/10/2006 180 Update (-122)
05/03/2008 175 Update (-127) Bowel resection surgery from Petersen's hernia malrotation.
12/01/2008 160 Update (-142)
08/31/2011 165 Update (-137)
