Guys in September...

Hey, did any other men get surgery in September? What's up with guys not getting the surgery?

My brother and I were discussing this - I think it's because there is less stigma for "big men" than there is for "big women", so women who are 'only' 100-150lbs overweight are more likely to consider surgery because men feel more accepted at higher weights. Also men often hate going to doctors anyway, and can hide some of their heft as 'muscle', so until they are SMO, the doctors are afraid to suggest it to them. A number of guys that I've seen on here were the ones who were REALLY large - 400, 500, 600lbs - which seems to support that idea. It's too bad really, as this surgery is a life saver, both in quality of life and life itself. BTW - there's also a men's board if you'd like to chat with some other testosterone producers ;) --BT

I guess I fit in that REALLY large catagory at 450lbs. Well, just before surgery I'd gotten down to 427, and as of today I'm at 381.5 But hey! Why would I go hang out with guys when I have all you lovely ladies to chat with?

Hey, that's fantastic! (And you can do both - chat with us, and still have Boys Night Out) But seriously - did anyone suggest WLS to you when you were 275-300lbs? Probably not. And I think that's a big factor in why more men aren't having WLS.....the doctors are just afraid to say anything to men who would be WLS lightweights. I don't know what their threshold is for deciding to speak up, but 400lbs seems to be about the place - whereas for women, it's MUCH lower....perhaps 225-250lbs. That's a staggering difference, and it's affecting men's health. --BT

Perhaps that explains the recent study showing men twice as likely to die from surgery as women? An no. No one ever suggested WLS until after I hit 400lbs. It was never discussed until my wife and I discovered our infertility. By that point I was living large at 420.

Could very well be! I don't think it's inherently riskier for men - just that men are more likely to have waited longer & perhaps be in poorer health. One of the men I knew (as an acquaintance) in real life that had it lost several hundred pounds, but it was too late - he'd already damaged his heart, and he didn't have enough time as a thinner man to recover from that. If he'd had the surgery a decade before, a hundred pounds before, maybe he would have had a better outcome. That's one of the reasons I've been very open with everybody in real life about what I'm doing....you never know when someone might say "If BT can do it, so can I", and be inspired to change their life. And maybe they won't wait so long, or spend years feeling hopeless or defeated. I see a lot of people here who say their only regret is not doing this years ago, and in some ways I have to agree - if I had known about this ten or twenty years ago, I would loved to have had those decades back to relive in a younger, more vibrant way. So they suggested WLS for infertility in a man?? I knew it made us women more fertile, but didn't realize it could help you guys, too. Did they say how they expected it to help?? --BT

I hate to hear that about your friend. I need to get back and see my heart doctor. He keeps wanting a follow up and I keep not wanting to go see him cause I'm a little afraid of what he'll say. Stupid, huh? Yea, infertility in men has been linked with obesity, but no one is sure of the exact cause. Infertile obese men often have normal sperm counts (as I did) and yet can't seem to get wives pregnant. Personally, I think its physics more the medicine... if you get my meaning. Fortunately we adopted two wonderful children. Wife is currently successful on Weigh****chers (she needs to lose maybe 60lbs) and I'm doing this lifealtering surgery. So who knows... Maybe in another year or two, we'll add child #3 to our growing family.

WOW !!!! i THINK YOU WILL HAVE LOTS MORE CHILDREN... I heard this surgery really helps in that department. Have fun trying BARB

Let's not hope for LOTS more. After adopting two... both of them now under the age of 2.5, we are rapidly going broke on daycare tuition alone. Besides, don't think we have too many baby years left in us. We're getting older, and mywife has, in our dotors words, old overies. Quite possible we missed our window. But I have two wonderful children that I couldn't love more if I tried. What? Pictures? Sure! http://homepage.mac.com/totalriot13 Plenty to be found there!

You are both wonderful parents. and those little children are blessed that your love came to them... Having 2 small ones like that is very hard. I have 3 grandsons 2-3-7 They are a blast. But my they are also a handful. Never say never. But it sounds like god has blessed you all in his own way Take Care I am so happy your surgery is doing so great Barb