A "Lurker" Exposed!

Greetings Connecticut People; I have been posting on the "March 2004" board for several months and lurking on this board. I thought that it was time to introduce myself. My name is Mike and I am a patient of Dr. Aranow. I had my surgery on March 8, 2004 and have lost 105 lbs. since surgery plus a 39 lb pre- op loss for a total of 144 lbs. I feel like I have been granted a second chance at life!!! I feel that I have lost 20 years of age in addition to the weight. My blood pressure is normal, my cholesterol has gone from over 200 to 140 and my C- PAP machine is collecting dust in my closet. In case you were wondering.....YES, IF I HAD IT TO DO AGAIN I WOULD DO SO WITHOUT A MOMENT'S HESITATION!!!!! I sincerly believe that Dr. A. saved my life. I try to attend the Post- Op support group meetings at Middlesex Hospital every month. I noticed that several of you were at last night's meeting and thought that I should introduce myself. Mike

Welcome! Congratulations on your new chance at life. You are doing great! I hope to see you posting more! Carmen

Hi Mike, Good to see another guy on the site. I know for myself one of the most important tools is support. Being in pre-op is very nerve racking for me. So Far I have offically lost seventeen pounds since December 27th when I was weighed a week ago Monday. I probably have lost another five pounds since than. I cannot have surgery until April 1st at the earliest due to a medical condition. Everything else I believe is ifalling into place, Insurance, upper GI, Physc test, Sleep Test, Nutrition, etc. I am really motivated to get myself into the best physical condition I can for my surgery. Since I am physically handicapped I am limited in the exercise I can do. I am obtaining professional physical rehabilation therapy to help me in an intense exercise program for the next two months to get myself in better physical shape for surgery, my primary physican has given me a rx and my cardiologist has given me an okay and soit will be covered by Social Security and by my co-insurance. I am going to try to make as many meetings as I can and use this website and also I am diabetic and I was taking 140 units of insulin a day and since I have been on this food plan I am down to 60 units of insulin a day. Earl

Too many women for ya huh Earl? Glad you posted..looking fwd to your input and/or questions on this board Joanie

Hi Earl; I know what you mean about the stress of the Pre- Op period. It can be frightening and frustrating as well as exciting. I really want to stress that you are doing the right thing by trying to get in the best possible condition before "The Big Day". I worked very hard to do everything Dr. Aranow required before surgery and have been blessed with no complications at all in my first 11 months. He was very concerned about the fact that most of my excess weight was hanging around my belt which , of course was right where he had to do his work. He insisted that I lose at least 20 to 25 lbs. before surgery. He was very pleased when I weighed in at minus 39 lbs. on surgery day. He said that as a result, my surgery was "Textbook" when he expected a difficult time. I don't know about you, but I'm all for making the job as easy as possible for the guy doing the cutting!!!! LOL. Hang in there, your day will be here before you know it and you'll be a "LOSER" like the rest of us!!! Good luck and stay in touch. Mike

Hi Mike, Thanks for the encouragment. I need to hear the positive reenforcement to get ready for the big day. I am going to the VA tomorrow and I can get weighed on their scale. I am afraid if I don't have a good weight Loss 5+lbs I will be disappointed and discouraged. What do you think I should do? Wait until the end of the month or weigh myself tomorrow? I would be interested in feedback. I have been following the food plan and am curious to see where I am at. It will be two weeks Monday since I was weighed and I feel I lost more weight. I know I shouldn't focus on the amount of weight loss but that is my reality and concern. Earl

Hi Earl; You are now facing one of the big frustrations you will face when you are Post- Op.......when and how often to weigh in. There are as many theories on this subject as there are people on this board. I don't think that weighing yourself after 2 weeks is too soon. The best advice that I can give you is regardless of when you weigh yourself, don't let it totally govern your thinking. I know that this is easier said than done, but you will find that you make very little progress for a long period and then for no apparent reason, you will show a substantial weight loss. Instead of only dwelling on the "tale of the scale", you should pay attention to other indicators such as: how you are feeling in general and how your clothing fits. I have noticed periods where the scale has hardly moved yet I had to move on to smaller clothes or tighten my belt another notch to keep my pants up. If you are really following your food plan and not cheating too much, you will be successful. Good luck and I hope that this helps somewhat. Mike

Hi Mike, Thanks for your kind reply. I will keep that in mind. I guess the weight won't be so much of an issue once I get down uder 350 lbs and can use a regular balance scale whichI have. I probably will get weighed today and I will let you know howI did. Thanks again. Earl

Hello Mike: Welcome to the WLS CT Board family. Congrulations on your great success too, that is so wonderful. Everyone here is so supportive and kind on this message site. I have met a lot of wonderful friends. I did not have my sugery with Dr. Aranow, but I have heard wonderful things about him from others who did. I had Dr Barajas at St Raphaels and this group was wonderful too. I had my laporscopic gastric bypass on December 30th 2004 and so far have lost 36lbs. I am so happy and proud of myself, I have tried so much over the years and this was the best decision I have ever made. Your quite an inspiration for all of us on your success and we hope to hear from you more. Keep up the good work. Hugs Kim Callahan

Hi Mike I was at post op support meeting last night. My name is Kathy and I am Dr Aranow's patient too. Welcome to Ct Message Baord and hope to see you more often on this board. I am looking forward to go Post op meeting in March too! Congrats for your successful and you did it because you are using of your tools Kathy K