Before & After RNY with Daniel B., losing 240 lbs!
January 23, 2018Why I Decided to Have WLS
Being from the Midwest and raised on a farm, I was always a “big boy” my entire life. Throughout school, I was the largest in my class and there were certainly some comments made about my weight from some of my classmates but I was surrounded by great friends who overlooked my weight.
Food was my best friend, as I could always trust food to never make fun of my weight or to use it as a joke. If there was a joke to be made about my weight, that was my job. I hid my insecurities about my weight with humor and being the funny guy.
In my 30’s, I looked into WLS and even met with a surgeon but got scared about the process and just never went back. In my 40’s, my weight was still increasing and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I was also starting to have shortness of breath while walking. I accepted the fact that I had to pay for two seats on an airplane. Every day was another excuse for how I got to this point and honestly, I accepted the fact that I would die a fat person, I was happy being fat (or so I thought)!
Thankfully in July 2016 while sitting on my butt surfing the Internet I saw there would be a WLS seminar in the next month at my local Ohio Health Hospital. I RSVP’d and attended. The seminar planted a seed and even more questions that I would need to research. Was this the easy way out? Could I be successful? I am just another static now and should I give up?
I took another step forward and went to my first appointment. The attending doctor told me that I could have great results with the tool and proper nutrition. How can they be so certain about this as I have been making excuses for my weight for my entire life? What tool are they giving me? I realized how naive I was and I needed to educate myself on this process.
Someone believed in my ability to lose weight so do I trust them or trust my own abilities that have failed me losing weight my entire life?
Making this decision is not easy and should not be easy for anyone. Educate yourself and know what your risks are but make sure you weigh those risks with the rewards of walking a 5K, biking a 5K, gardening in the sunshine or walking on an airplane not having to buy two seats. Stop accepting your excuses for why you can’t do something and start doing it! I successfully finished the nutrition counseling and all requirements of the Ohio Health program and had RNY on January 20th, 2017!
Before & After RNY with Daniel B.
OH Username: Daniel B.
Total Weight Loss: 240 lbs.
Surgery Type: RNY
Surgery Date: January 20, 2017
Surgeon: Dr. Sonnastine
My Surgery and Post-Op Life
January 19, 2017, was the eve of my new life. Why am I not nervous? I am just hours away from a huge surgery. Why am I not scared? I was ready, I made changes in my life during my nutrition counseling and lost 50lbs., I educated myself on what to expect and how my life would change. For once in my life, I had faith in myself and I knew that I selected the best doctor and hospital facility for me and I put my life in the hands of Dr. Sonnastine and the Ohio Health Team on the morning of January 20th.
I recall being wheeling into the operating room by Olga and moving from the bed to the operating table. Olga was adjusting my arms out and securing them to the arm extensions and then I see Dr. S entering the room and start washing up. They put a mask on me and the next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room.
I didn’t feel pain or nausea but I was out of it! The recovery nurse kept speaking to me and trying to get me to stay awake so I could be moved to my room and all I wanted to do was sleep. After going to my new home for the next three days, and seeing my family and the support they have given me throughout this journey, was emotional to me.
I was just given this tool to help me with my obesity problem and I was not going to fail for myself or all the people that had helped me on this journey.
A nurse comes in and it was stressed to us we would need to walk after surgery so I asked to walk. I was determined to be their best patient. I need my walks and was feeling good.
Around 7:00 pm on my first day, I was given more pain medicine and got up again to do my walk around the floor. I was standing on my own, my IV pole and I were headed out the door when I collapsed and passed out. Next thing I know there are at least a dozen people over top of me and I heard a frantic "Code Blue" with my room number. Why was I laying on the floor? How did I get here? Why are there so many people around me and why are they trying to keep me awake, I am tired, please just let me sleep!
Apparently, I had an allergic reaction to the pain medicine, stopped breathing and collapsed on the floor. I couldn’t sit up on my own and I laid on the floor while the doctors and nurses tried to figure out how to get a 400lb.+ person off the floor. I was embarrassed for myself as I got myself in this situation and I was now at their mercy to somehow get me back in bed.
I was hoisted back into bed and taken to the ICU for 24-hour observation. I knew there were risks in having such an invasive surgery but I was a healthy obese person and did not expect to have any problems. Upon returning to the bariatric floor the next day, it was back to a normal recovery.
On the following day when all the other patients were released, I had to stay behind at least another day. It was then that I had a pity party for myself, I cried and wondered if I made the right choice. It lasted less than 5 minutes and then I recalled that it was my decision to have this and the reasons I had the procedure done.
The nurses told me that the record for walks on the floor was 23 rounds and my goal was to break that record on Sunday and if I was there on Monday again to break my own record the next day. On Sunday, I did 48 loops on the hospital floor! My first success of many to follow.
I was released Monday to go home but I would still need my drain in as I had excess blood from my fall. Getting home was comforting to me. Even though I couldn’t do much, it was amazing to sleep in my own bed. I was walking and drinking as I was told to do and sleeping. The smallest tasks become quite huge after surgery, taking a shower was exhausting but each day got better! After just two weeks, I was released to go back to work and that was a real chore but I made it.
Every day gets better when you start this journey. My only complication from surgery happened in the hospital, and I have not looked back. Life is amazing post op, I can do so much more than I ever could and I no longer accept excuses from myself or others. I know that I need eat to live but I no longer live to eat.
Social gatherings can be stressful as we celebrate with food and, of course, I get the questions of what can I eat. My reply is always that I can eat anything, but what I choose to eat is entirely different. Just as I needed to be educated, I try to educate others on my journey. I have lost all of my weight so quickly that many people do not recognize me until they hear my voice.
Having WLS for me was the best thing I have ever done for myself as it has given me self-confidence and happiness.
As of today, the date of publishing my Before & After article, I am a few days past my one-year surgery date. Before my one-year surgery anniversary, I reached a big milestone of weighing 200 and now weigh 199 pounds! I can't remember the last time in my life that I saw a number that started with "1" on the scale!
I've even lost beyond the goal that I originally set for myself. I hoped I'd be able to get down to weigh 230 pounds and I would be happy. Well, when I got down to 209, I went for weighing 199, and I DID IT!
I have many years and chapters to write in my life book. People tell me how successful I am with my weight loss. I'm happy about my success but the best part is that I appreciate being the best I can be.
As I said, my journey is just beginning. After losing 240 pounds, I don't look the way that I want due to the excess loose baggy skin that hangs on my body. I was blessed to meet a wonderful plastic surgeon and her team at the 2017 ObesityHelp National Conference in Long Beach, California. The next chapter is I am having a lower body lift in April 2018 and the upper body lift in October 2018 after the 2018 ObesityHelp National Conference. I will be sharing my journey with Dr. Carmina Cardenas on Facebook and the OH Plastic Surgery forum.
Remember this is your journey and you decide how you continue. Do not let someone else’s successes or failures deter you from your goal. Be you and celebrate your achievements as they happen.
A Special Milestone / Non-Scale Victory
I have completed 2 5K’s, a 7K and a bike 5K in the past year. Honestly, the most special to me was the bike 5K as I haven’t ridden a bike in years. I also like to jog/run and can keep a consistent pace for a complete mile.
Has ObesityHelp.com been a part of your journey?
After deciding to have surgery, I wanted to educate myself as much as I could on the journey from learning from others and I turned to ObesityHelp.com. As I started exploring the site and reading from others, I noticed a national conference coming up in Anaheim, CA and I wanted to go to experience it first-hand. I asked my friends to join me in the travel. I thought that they could go to Disneyland while I went to the conference. As a backup plan, I thought if I didn’t enjoy the conference, I could just go to Disneyland myself and the trip would not be wasted.
Entering the conference on Friday morning, I was very nervous as I was not sure where I fit into this WLS world. I was still pre-op and I assumed most people there would be post-op. Needless to say, regardless where anyone is in the WLS world, we still share the commitment to each having a new healthier future.
I met some amazing people at my first conference that have laughed with me, celebrated with me and most importantly supported me throughout this journey. ObesityHelp.com has truly been a valuable tool in my journey, that combines everything together in one amazing weekend at an ObesityHelp National Conference.
For anyone on the fence of attending an OH National Conference, invest in yourself and do it. You will not regret it. Learn from others and walk away with some lifetime friends.
Share Your Before & After Success!
Do you have Before & Afters, special milestones and non-scale victories from your journey that you’d like to share? The OH team wants to hear from you! Visit our Before & After Submission page for details.
