X Posting: Hubby Getting VSG'd Too!!!

So, this has been a VERY interesting couple of weeks.  I guess I should give some background to this story

The hubby was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension about 2 years ago.  There was no warning and before this, he was a very healthy and active man.  Fast forward to this year, he now has pacemaker, a myrid of pills and several co morbidities that appeared after the heart failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc etc etc.  Every appointment we go to, someone will say, "losing some of the weight would help your situation tremendously". Ummmmm......REALLY????? The man can't walk up the damn stairs without sounding like he's coughing up a hairball, so how is he supposed to exercise enough to get the weight off??? He's already on a low sodium, low carb diet and he STILL fluctuates between 294 and 303. (the weight has crept up over the last couple of years).

Fast forward to last week. Hubby went with me to my surgeon's appointment. Dr. Elirany took the time to explain to him exactly what he would be doing to me and the science behind it.  Before I knew it, my hubby begins asking Dr. Elirany if he has ever operated on a heart failure patient before.  Turns out, our cardiology group refers patients to Dr. Elirany when they believe WLS will be beneficial to the patient!!!! Dr. Elirany recommended we discuss this option at our next appointment, which was today.

Our cardiologist has given hubby cardiac clearance for the WLS as long as we utilize a cardiac anesthesiologist!!!! OMG!! I didn't even know he was giving this any consideration! Hubby said after watching me do all of my research and listening to me talk about the pros and cons, he decided why not.  The hope is that he will have a better quality of life if his heart doesn't have to work so hard carrying around the extra 100 lbs. he's gained. It will also help with the diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea (all of which exacerbate his condition but didn't appear until AFTER the heart failure was diagnosed! We know that he will eventually need a heart transplant, but the longer he can keep his own heart, the better.

I'm beyond excited about this and wanted to share with my OH family. 

There's blessing to be found everywhere!..........I'm so happy to hear that your husband is taking the initiative to get his health in order while you work on yours as well.  Team work!!  That's a winning combination!  I wish you both well in your wl journeys.

JJ

Thank you JJ! I'm excited he's decided to take control of the things he has control over. The rest of it is out of his hands.

"The man can't walk up the damn stairs without sounding like he's coughing up a hairball..."

Sorry but that line cracked me up!  But the next part of that sentence is really no joke: 

"so how is he supposed to exercise enough to get the weight off???"

That's what the medical community used to tell me too before my RNY: "Start exercising...blah, blah, blah..."  But how can ya do that if exercise may cause you to have a stroke or a heart attack.  For years my doctors would look at me, my weight, and my BP numbers and act like I could just start jogging that instant; jogg right on out of their office; and miraculously come back two months later skinny as a bean pole.   Nah.  Ain't gonna happen, Chief.  Thank God for my RNY! 

Best of luck to you and your husband.  

With all the drama and trauma (EXTREME MADNESS) that has been our lives for the past 5 years, the one thing that keeps us sane is our sense of humor.  We've had some really bad things to deal with but prayer and laughter are constants in our marriage.

Life keeps throwing us curve balls and we choose to continue hitting homeruns. My hubby is an amazing man and I'm truly in awe of his ability to deal with his illnesses with the grace he does. I was already secure in the knowledge he would support me with my WLS revision, but now, to know that he will be on my team right there on the loser's bench, well, that just brought me to tears. THIS is something we can control and I'm very proud of him for taking this step.  His illnesses are very serious, but he chooses to live fully in every minute.  Now we get to do that from a lighter and much healthier standpoint.

congrats congrats !!

thank you, thank you!!

Wow, this is great news and congratulation! Please do keep us posted on his journey as well as yours.

Congrats to him and your surgeon too.  Many practices exclude the high risk patients to the point of telling them that they do not qualify at all for wls.  Thankfully your surgeon does not stick to the open and shut cases. 

With the smo and its complications your dh may not even make the transplant list.  This gives him a real chance at a the opportunity for a long healthy life. 

The catch 22 of not being able to excercise wich created the morbid obesity; wich created the co morbidities; wich lead docs to recommend weigh loss to reduce co morbidities; yet, without offering any real proven assistance to aid the patient in achieving that weight loss is maddening.  Thankfully your dh is off that downward spiral. 
 

Awesome!!!  Becca and I both have WLS and it is great having your spouse know exactly what your going through.