January 9, 2005 186 lbs - BMI 29.5 Waist 38

July 1, 2003 310 lbs - BMI 48.5 Waist 50

My quest for finding a solution to controlling my weight is not very dissimilar to many others.   Diets have come and gone throughout my life.   I failed for numerous reasons.  The truth is, I just had not sunk low enough to force myself to change.   Suddenly, I was 50 years old, terribly overweight, suffering from numerous ailments, my knees were so weak I could barely walk, and taking several medications, all related to my weight, and I was miserable.   I hated the world mostly because I hated myself for being and looking like this.   Doctors told me I could find a solution or face the final solution soon. 

I began researching the newest diets and alternatives in 2001.   The more I read, the more I became convinced that a surgical solution was the only answer.   During a routine visit to my family doctor, I asked about gastric by-pass surgery.   He did not recommend the surgery but only suggested that if I felt strongly about pursuing that course of action I should investigate having the procedure done at a teaching facility such as Vanderbilt Medical Center.   Late in 2002, I made first contact with Vanderbilt and began the process of interviews and evaluations for becoming a candidate for gastric by-pass surgery.

February 14, 2003, was the date of my first visit to Vanderbilt to begin the evaluation process.   I met with the dietitian and Dr. Lapre.   April 23, 2003, I returned to Vanderbilt to meet with Dr. Starr, a psychologist, and Dr Houston and Dr. Richards, both surgeons.   Two weeks later, Vanderbilt sent a letter accepting me as a patient for the surgery and notifying me to expect about 12 weeks before a surgical date became available.   Since February, I had been attending local support group meetings for individuals seeking the surgery or who had completed the surgery.   Support groups are a very important part of the entire process.   I should state that my wife was not supportive in the beginning of the surgery.   She was very afraid of the surgery and had seen only the horror stories on TV and in the news of the people who had died as a result.

On the first of May, Vanderbilt called and said I was scheduled for surgery in July.   This was weeks earlier than originally projected.  I checked in to Vanderbilt Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 6 A.M. for surgery.    My surgery lasted for about three hours.   Dr. William Richards was the lead surgeon.   He performed a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric By-pass procedure.  Two days later, Friday, July 18, 2003 I was on my way home from the hospital.   The staff at Vanderbilt was wonderful.   I never once felt uncomfortable or that I was not getting the best medial care possible. 

On the other hand, I was not prepared for the diet.   Oh, I read the literature, listened to the dietitian and to Dr. Richards talk about the food immediately after surgery.   But, I still was not prepared for the few ounces of clear liquid each meal and nothing more.    The clear liquid diet for the first 10 days after the surgery was probably the hardest adjustment.   However, I believe the puréed diet, which followed, was the hardest to handle mentally.   Once reaching soft food such as mashed potatoes the diet became much easier to handle.   The dietary literature provided by Vanderbilt was excellent and a great guide.   My wife is an insulin dependant diabetic and because of our experiences with managing her diet, preparing my requirements was no challenge at all.   I think in fact once I was able to eat solid food, following the diabetic diet regimen she did for meats, fruits and vegetables each meal, was one of the reason I was as successful as I was with maintaining my protein and vitamin levels.  Eighteen months after the surgery, I still manage my day-to-day diet based on a standard diet for diabetics, always striving for meat, vegetables, and fruit with each meal.   I do no suffer from diabetes.   Daily I take a regular multi-vitamin and four Tums for calcium.   This is in stark comparison to the six medications I was on prior to surgery.   My blood pressure is controlled now, all my aches and pains are gone, I walk the golf course every chance I get and feel great.

The road was not a bed of roses.   There were some rough places along the way.   The first three weeks after surgery I was in constant pain.   Nothing that Dr. Richards prescribed seemed to help and I bugged his office a lot for help.   I do not want to scare anyone here.   At Vanderbilt, I met another patient who had surgery with Dr. Richards immediately behind me, leaving the hospital on the same day I did.   We exchanged emails routinely; she experienced almost no pain, and was out shopping within a week.  I could not get out of the chair at home and forget lying in the bed.   For three weeks, I sleep in a recliner in misery and almost like turning off a light switch, one morning I woke and the pain was gone and has never returned.   I was off of work for six weeks returning to full duty September 1, 2003.   Some foods are still not on my diet now.   Red meat (steaks), rice, lettuce, salt, and sugar are the things I stay away from.   The only times I have gotten sick from foods, I can attribute to eating too fast and not chewing properly.   Lettuce, rice, and steaks do agree with me even now.   Salt and sugar I just stay away from as a matter of principle and good practice.

At six months my weight had dropped from 310 lbs to 203 lbs.   At the time of my annual checkup with Vanderbilt, my weight was 186 lbs.  I have been relatively stable between 186 and 190 since that time.    The clinic at Vanderbilt thinks it is possible for my weight to go down to between 160 and 170.   I am not so sure.

For exercise, I walk the golf course when I play (couple times a week).   I have bought a treadmill recently, which I use daily.   This is especially good in the winter.  I also try to workout a couple of times a week on an exercise bench I’ve had for years, which I should mention that prior to surgery was collecting a lot of dust.   Many patients develop a great deal of loose skin after the surgery.   I have some loose skin, but I do not plan to seek the surgery for removal of the skin.   The amount of skin depends on the amount of weight loss.   I still attend support group meetings and feel this is very important for every weight loss surgical patient.   I tell everyone who asks me about the surgery two things:   1) Surgery is not the answer for everyone; it was, however, the correct solution for me.    2) Yes, I would do it again, I just wish I had not let myself get in the condition that made it necessary.