Apparently I'm fat

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Really, REALLY fat. I’m like a skinny guy carrying a fat guy around all day, which explains why I’m so tired all the time and why I’m winded after doing ANYTHING. I’m so fat that I managed to gain fifty pounds in eight months without noticing it!

So my doctor pulled out the Big Gun, gastric bypass surgery. “You’re only forty-nine. You could have a lot of years left.”

Lordy, I hate surgery more than anything. I don’t fear death as long as it doesn’t involve surgery and dropping dead of a heart attack didn’t seem that bad a way to go as long as nobody noticed until I was dead enough to not care what they did with me. But abdominal surgery? Getting my gall bladder out was a walk in the park compared with this.

“Umm, what are the alternatives? I had good luck with Tenuate [editor’s note: known among the cognoscenti as “Pretend You Ate”] twenty years ago.”

“That’s an archaic drug, related to the amphetamines.”

“But I like amphetamines!”

He raised his eyebrows but understands how things used to be and continued, “Wellbutrin won’t interfere with your Prozac and is another antidepressant that is usually used to help people quit smoking. Let’s try that for a couple of months.”

So I have to work hard at this to get him to shut up about the surgery. Cripes, I thought Osteopaths were like Chiropractors with prescription pads. Who knew I’d find one who isn’t totally against surgery?

Hmmmm, let’s cherry pick the side effects…

“Complete or almost complete loss of movement.” I’ll skip that one since I should get MORE exercise.

“Confusion, irritability, blurred vision, breathing difficulty, suicidal ideation, incoordination and clumsiness.” How would I notice? Let’s find some that would be a change for the better, or at least a change.

“Episodes of over-activity.” Ah, the classic speed freak effect. I can live with that one.

“Elation.” If I’m going to alter my mood I prefer that one.

“Extreme calmness” Hmmm, would people recognize me? Let’s try it anyway.

“Increased libido, painful ejaculation, painful erection” One man’s pain…

“Retarded ejaculation” I’m not touching that one. :eek:

2

Wow. Good luck, dropzone, with the Wellbutrin. I hope it helps.

I officially want to know what ‘retarded ejaculation’ means. Will your spunk exit in short school busses?

3

Um…can’t you just exercise? I know it’s not the easy choice, but compared to the litany of side effects or the invasive and complicated nature of gastric bypass, doesn’t it at least merit some consideration? I’m kind of stunned that your doctor would suggest surgery as a first alternative.

4

As was I. The upside of being as fat as me (and, correct me if I recall incorrectly, you) is that ANY exercise is aerobic! :slight_smile:

I suspect he has talked with people who know me (yes, I’m surrounded by a vast conspiracy–aren’t you?) or, at least, people LIKE me and has realized that a good scare is what I need for motivation. I’m on such large doses of antidepressants he probably figures that I started out self-destructive so death isn’t a deterent so he’s trying scalpels. It’s working.

5

Good luck with your weight loss. I just dropped 50 lbs, as noted here in the bastard thread that dropped to the second page. I found it pretty easy to do, if that is at all encouraging.

6

If your doctor recommends surgery to get rid of the fat, I think you should get a second opinion. I would recommend changing your diet at least, and maybe trying some exercise. Having said that, I’m not a doctor, so maybe gastric bypass surgery is the only answer.

7

dropzone, sorry I didn’t see your second post. I didn’t know your situation was so serious. I really hope you can motivate yourself, and I hope your life improves as a result.

8

same here, im down over 40 lbs and 8" on my waist and it was effortless. Then again, losing weight is meaningless w/o keeping it off and neither of us have determined if we can do that yet.

Obviously i am not a doctor but I would wait, bypass is a major operation and there are other medications and surgeries in the works that will be able to help with obesity. Nerve stimulation for example i just read that that is only a few years away from FDA approval.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1419&e=3&u=/ap/20031012/ap_wo_en_he/na_med_us_tummy_pacemaker&sid=95832457

You could probabaly go to Europe and have one implanted.

Because bypass is virtually irreversable i would wait, but thats just me. Im not 49 with severe obesity.

9

Officially surgery sucks BIG TIME. I had to have a section of my small bowel removed for my Crohns disease in August this year.

The worst moment is waking up as the anesthetic wears off disorientated, in pain because they have not started the morphine yet, suffering from an overwhelming desire to vomit and not being able to move. I don’t have the words to convey the feeling of terror that I still get - even now 2 months later at the memory of that moment.

I hate surgery with a passion and whilst I wont be able to avoid it because I have a chronic disease - you can. So please dropzone do anything that you can to help reduce your weight through other methods. We are here to support you anytime you need it.

10

Oh dear. That does sound awfully drastic.

Let’s thinktank on this one first. What’s your diet generally like? What can you cut without making yourself miserable?

I’m not a fan of sugar substitutes, but if sweets are your downfall, perhaps that’s one option - eat more fruit and replace some of your sugar intake with some no-cal substitute.

Fatty stuff - they make all kinds of low-fat lunchmeats and snacks now. Look for the lowest fat versions of the things you already like to eat. If you throw some Bac-Os on a salad and dress it with a nice tasty vinegar instead of an oily dressing, you’ll cut some fat there and still feel like you had some FOOD.

Exercise - well, I’m with you there. I’m pretty sedentary and any exercise sounds like punishment to me. What do you like to do? The weather in your area has been cool and damp, so not so good for bike riding, but maybe do some walking to scope out the fall colors? How about dancing? Just throw some CDs in the player and bounce around a little for starters (best to do this when there are no teenagers about - they tend to mock us old people.)

I am scared of surgery too, and this one sounds icky. Let me know if I can help!

11

I don’t really have an opinion on this one way or another, since I honestly don’t know much at all about the surgery or the other options, but thought I’d point out that OpalCat had the surgery a while ago. I seem to recall that she was pretty pleased with the results.

12

Exercise only feels like punishment until you get used to it, and then it can almost start feeling like its own reward. I started going to the gym in January, and I had to force myself to go for the first three or four months. I felt like I was the clumsiest, fattest person in the gym and it was hard to quit speculating about how I looked to others and concentrate on what I was doing instead. However, I started to feel some grudging liking for it by midsummer, and now I hate to miss a day. My gym is having the fitness room floor replaced this week, and I’m pouting about having to go for walks instead of really working out.

You’re right, too - the beauty of being truly obese is that any exercise is going to be effective. If you can find a way to motivate yourself to start, even relatively short walks will start doing you some good right away.

Good luck with this. It’s not easy by any means, but it can be done.

13

I’ve lost 101lbs in 10 months following my duodenal switch surgery which is vastly different from gastric bypass and about a gazillion times better. Don’t get me started on comparing/contrasting the two because I’ll froth over. The info is on my WLS page for you to read. My personal opinion only–no offense to any RNY’ers here–is that I would have the DS again in a heartbeat, but wouldn’t wish the gastric bypass on my worst enemy.

Please do your research before you decide to have surgery–there are about 6 different ones out there which all have their plusses and minuses… and gastric bypass is about the worst.

Anyway, I now weigh 116lbs, wear size 7 pants and a size small shirt.

14

Oh, and I take Wellbutrin, too. Completely unrelated.

15

:stuck_out_tongue:

I’ve lost 119 lbs in 10 months since my gastric bypass surgery. (Mine was done about a week after OpalCat’s.) I’m quite happy with it. However, I agree completely that research is vital to making a decision about surgery.

3 weeks ago at the Columbia Dopefest, I was wearing size 16 jeans which were a little baggy. We went to Walmart before we went to the bar to see if I could fit into size 14 - instead I bought size 12. :eek:

Last night, I went to Walmart to see if I might be able to get by with 10’s for this weekend’s KC Zoo Dopefest. I bought size 8 instead and they fit great. :smiley:

Being thin for the first time in my life is an amazing feeling. I thought I knew how great it would be, but I had no idea. Physically, mentally, emotionally - the way I feel can’t be described. I even found the courage to do some things I should have done years ago.

If you haven’t tried diet and exercise, its always best to try those before you decide on surgery. I wonder why the doctor recommended it - have you been trying to lose weight with other methods?

dropzone, I wish you the best of of luck in making the decision that is right for you.

16

<mini hijack>
sperfur: I hope you don’t take offense to my comments :slight_smile: One of the big reasons that I prefer the DS over the RNY is the whole food thing. After gastric bypass you have a lot of limitations on the types of foods and the quantity of food you can eat. Me, I literally eat anything I want, and in almost “normal” portions. For example, I can have 3 pancakes for breakfast, or 2 enchiladas for dinner, followed by a piece of cheesecake… I can drink with my meals, too.

I know a lot of people who have the gastric bypass do very well and are happy. I just love food too much to give it up like that. I eat all day long!</mini hijack>

17

[hijack back at’cha]
No offense taken at all. We’re both happy with our decision and that’s all that matters.

I think we’re also both happy for each other. It took a lot of guts to do what we did, and look at the results! :slight_smile:
[/hijack]

18

sperfur, I can’t look at ALL of the results, at least not yours. OTOH, Opal, as Queen of the Internet and first generation web voyee, is hard to avoid. :wink:

Either way, EEEEEEWWWWW! Anyway, often my food flies through me (I could get very TMIish but I won’t. Suffice it to say that gall bladder attacks are a lot less painful when you don’t have a gall bladder to attack you but that doesn’t mean you stop making bile) so I don’t think this would be will be all that different. I am curious, though, whether either of you has suffered any gastro-intestinal upsets as a result of your surgery. I see those ads for starch blocking drugs and imagine the happiness of the model’s friendly intestinal flora on getting the carbs she normally keeps for herself, then I am glad that I can’t hear the model farting all through the photo shoot.

Folks, I ain’t gettin’ no operations. I’m doing this the old-fashioned way of diet, exercise, and prescription drugs.

“This other drug causes you to reach the point of satiation sooner.”

“Doc, please point out a fat person who stopped eating when he stopped feeling hungry. We don’t operate the way you skinny people do–that’s why we’re fat.” :rolleyes:

“Losing weight will also lower your blood pressure.”

“Your nurse just took mine and if it got much lower than its current 120 over 82 I’d be dead.”

He then looked at my chart, “Oh.”

19

hahahaha. Someone on SD had luck with using topamax as an appetite suppressant. However doing research i found that the reason topamax wasn’t approved for weight loss is because it gave dangerous side effects (they didn’t say what kinds).

20

I wonder if zonegran and topamax are the same. My shrink, who is nationally-known and widely respected, has put me on zonegran. He said that it is a anti-convulsant but that it has been shown to help control compulsive eating and shopping. I haven’t lost any weight yet but I do notice a difference in the shopping.

I had the gastric bypass and have been happy with the results in general. I lost half of my body weight but regained thirty pounds. I have stopped gaining.

I do not recommend any bariatric surgery unless the patient is absolutely certainabout wanting the procedure. It does hurt like hell. That is made easier by knowning that every day the pain is going to be a little less.

I would do it again in a heatbeat.