Years Out
Where I was a year ago (from the two years out page)
From my plateau/lull that I had over the Christmas 2003 holidays (which lasted into early 2004), I kept inching down, pound by pound, over the next couple of months and then I got weighed at Dr. Fox's (my oncologist) on 6/2/2004 and I weighed in at 213.4 pounds - which put me at GOAL!!!! This is my goal as Dr. Raper never set one for me - from the time of my surgery on, my long-term goal was to get to 213 1/2 pounds. This figure was 1/2 my original body weight as the time of surgery.
Now, I didn't express this goal to Dr. Sarwer (the psychologist who did my psych consult) at the time of my psych evaluation as he would have thought it unrealistic (as it was, the figure that I gave him he thought was a little high), but it was the number that I was shooting for all along. And now I have reached it...
From then until now
Well, I have gone below goal, but not at much as I had hoped. I hit a low of 204 and have fluctuated between 207 and 210 over the past few months. All of that is my fault. Too much snacking and not enough exercise *G*...
As far as those future landmarks that I came up with last year:
a) getting to 207 pounds - that would be a 75% loss of my EBW (based on an "ideal" weight of 134 pounds...yeah, right *G*) MET
b) getting to 203 pounds - that would put me at a BMI of 35 (actually 34.94), which would mean that I was just obese and not severely obese and I would no longer qualify for WLS ***NOT YET � I WAS OH-SO-CLOSE ***,
c) getting to 199 pounds - I can't remember the last time my weight started with a "1" ***STILL HOPING IF I CAN GET MY BUTT IN GEAR***�
Oh, I got my story published in the Obesityhelp magazine (in their Summer 2004 issue (#3)) � here�s the links to the article.
Page 1 - http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/mempix/rushton_john/jr_article_pg1.jpg and
Page 2 - http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/mempix/rushton_john/jr_article_pg2.jpg
Plastic surgery
I had said all along that the only plastic surgery that I was going to get was on my chest. In December, I made an appointment to see Dr. Scott Chapin in Doylestown. A bit of a hike from Brookhaven (about an hour), but a few of my fellow HUP posties had seen Dr. Chapin for their PS and were well satisfied with his work.
I had my initial consult in early January 2005 and Dr. Chapin recommended a breast mastopexy which is considered cosmetic surgery and was not covered by insurance.
So then I had to find how to pay for this surgery that I wanted. I investigated various �Patient Financing� companies, but found their rates to be too high. I ended up taking a loan out from my credit union.
I scheduled my surgery for February 15. I did have some issues with post-op nausea which caused a decrease in what I was eating and drinking. This led to problems with a little bit of dehydration and hypoglycemia, but I worked through it.
I found that (for a while) I had to wear t-shirts under my regular shirts. I found that once the bandages and staples were removed, that my chest was extra-sensitive and it was very uncomfortable walking around without a T-shirt on underneath my regular shirt. (This got better over the next couple of months.)
I ended up with a post-op infection in my right breast � turned out to be MRSA (what a surprise as I have been colonized with MRSA since my days with cellulitis :-(...) I got put back on the Levaquin (which was a partial cause of my immediate post-op nausea) and between that and putting a hot water bottle on it several times a day, I finally got through the infection after I snipped a couple of �dissolvable� stitches that were not dissolving *G*� I also ended up with a small seroma under my right nipple.
I also ended up with some hypertrophic scarring (similar to keloids, except hypertrophic scarring remains within the incision line). Dr. Chapin wasn�t too happy with those and he�s injected them with steroids twice in an attempt to flatten them out (it�s working albeit slowly).
I was a little upset with the amount of side "boobage" I had left but when you look at my pre-PS pictures (in my pictures section of this web site), there's only so much that you can do...
What�s up in the year ahead�
My wife Geri and I are taking a cruise to Alaska the last week of August (to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary which was in May). We�re definitely looking forward to it � especially when we�ll be without the kids *G*�
I have a couple of business trips in September (Pittsburgh) and December (Chicago). I�m hoping to make some time to meet up with some friends (both WLS and non-WLS friends) that I either only have met online or haven�t seen in awhile�
Shameless plug #1: The Philly 3 WLS Gathering is September 16-18 (http://www.geocities.com/philly_wls_gathering/) and Geri and I will be going for the whole weekend this time (we only made it to the Dinner/Dance last year).
Shameless plug #2: I will also be going to the one-day Obesityhelp.com Regional Event in Philly on October 15 (http://www.obesityhelpevents.com/october2005-pennsylvania.html) - where I will also be speaking. I will put my Powerpoint presentation on this site after the conference for those who can�t make it.
What am I up to these days?
One thing is getting ready for the cruise in August. Geri wanted to get a new camera (we have a digital that we are taking, but she wanted an SLR with zoom lenses so I got her a Minolta MAXXUM 70 DATE AF SLR camera which came with a Quantaray 28-90mm 3.5-5.6 Autofocus Zoom Lens and then we got the Quantaray 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 High Speed Auto Focus Zoom Lens. These Auto Focus Zoom lenses are great � you hold the button halfway down and it automatically adjusts the zoom lens. A lot better than her old SLR zoom lens (which got lost with the camera down in Ecuador 18 years ago) which you had to adjust manually - I could never get the hang of her old camera.
With the filters (55mm UV, 62mm UV and 62mm Circular Polarizer), Lithium batteries, Maintenance plans (2 years on the camera and both lenses) and 3 photography books, it came to $685 including tax. I hope she enjoys her early Christmas present J.
What am I doing WLS-wise? I�m still Paying It Forward (as you can tell by the article and the speaking engagement at the Obesityhelp Regional Event). I still participate in the UPENN-WLS Yahoogroup (which has gotten better with some changes in the membership). The UPENN-WLS-Grad Yahoogroup is out there, but doesn�t seem to want to take off. I guess as most WLS posties get further out, they want to be considered normal people and tend to get away from the support that got them there. I�m still involved with going to the monthly Philly Team Gatherings lunches � a nice way to keep in touch with WLS friends on a more frequent basis than the annual Gatherings do. I unsubscribed from the Graduate-OSSG Yahoogroup � not that I couldn�t use it from time to time, but it was simply too busy for what I needed it for.
I still spend a lot of time on Obesityhelp.com, two WLS-related Delphi forums, Spotlighthealth.com and Amy�s site (WLSandYou). I walked in the Walk From Obesity in 2004 (drove 90 minutes in a pouring rain to Reading PA to end up walking laps around a parking garage *G*) and will be walking in the Walk From Obesity in 2005. I was hoping to walk in Philly this year as there is a Philly walk listed on the site, but in talking with one of the two co-sponsors, apparently the other co-sponsors walk is for more than obesity and they may not end up getting �certification� from the ASBS Foundation. So, back to Reading it is *G* But I pledged last year to walk in these walks as long as they have them, so another 90-minute drive to Reading is in my future.
Thanks to everyone who made these three years possible�
First and foremost, thanks to my wife Geri and my kids David and Rebecca for being with me every step of the way. I love you all more than words can say. Thanks to all of the people on the various support forums that helped me and were there for me before my surgery or during these first three post-op years. A special mention goes to two special HUP friends � Lyn & Mags. Mega-hugs to the both of you!!
And a big thank you to the medical professionals who helped along the way...to my primary doctor, Dr. Daniel Soffer...to my vascular surgeon, Dr. Robert DiGiovanni...to the staff at HUP...Susan, Katie, Rachel, Wanda, Dr. Sarwer...to my plastic surgeon, Dr. Scott Chapin and the staff at Chapin Aesthetic Center � especially Bob and Dora.
And finally and especially to the surgeon who saved my life - Dr. Steven Raper.
Some parting thoughts and wishes...
To those who are considering this surgery: Visit some of the above forums (if you haven't already). Talk to some of the post-ops and ask them questions. You'll find that 95% or more of post-ops are more than happy to help you out. Find a live support group in your area and make arrangements to attend their next meeting - it'll give you the chance to meet post-ops and pre-ops and, more importantly, find that you are *not* alone!
To those with surgeries coming up soon: I hope that you have a successful surgery and a quick and uneventful recovery.
To the healing newbies out there: Continue to get your fluids in (sip, sip, sip all day long *G*) and get what protein in you can (working towards getting to that 60g a day) and walk every day (more than the day before). You'll more than likely hit a point where you say "why in the hell did I have this surgery" - believe me, most if not all of us have been through that stage and survived and most of us now have no regrets about having had this life-altering surgery.
To my fellow post-ops (especially those that are less than 3 years out): Please make sure that you make those critical changes in your diet and your exercise lifestyle (yeah, I know I haven�t lived up to this 2nd one, but I am much more active than I used to be). Otherwise, when your window of opportunity has expired, you will not be prepared to deal with long-term post-WLS weight maintenance.
Take your vitamins every day � including the B-12 and calcium citrate. Make sure you are getting your protein in � and while our pouch capacity increases as you hit this period, make sure that you get the protein in first and then go for the other things. Try to make your carbs the �good� carbs. Set yourself up a free account on Fitday (http://www.fitday.com) and track your food intake and exercise/activity. Keep in touch with your fellow post-ops via support groups meetings. If your hospital doesn�t have a separate support group for long-term post-ops, ask them if they would consider doing so as �grads� have distinct issues that regular support group meetings (which are typically directed more towards pre-ops and new post-ops) don�t have time to address. And if your hospital won�t do a separate �grad� meeting, then consider starting a grad support group of your own.
Yours in weight loss,
JR
open RNY 07/17/02 (2 oz pouch, 75 cm bypassed)
Dr. Raper, HUP
440/427/204/213 (BELOW GOAL!!!)
Mastopexy 02/15/05, Dr. Scott Chapin
"Your past failures will always overtake you if you stop chasing after your future success!"