an introduction

I just signed up a day or two ago, and made a couple reply posts... this is my first thread creation here, and figured it best to start out with a "hi, how are ya" introduction post. I'm a 36 y/o male from Schenectady NY Married and have a 3 y/o son ALWAYS been "the fat kid" in school (k-12) tried just about every diet known to man (and some still not known :crazy: )... most of the OTC "diet pills" and herbal supplements, weigh****chers, phen-fen ****il they pulled it), phentermine... either it didn't work at all, or only worked slightly. I was actually doing OK on the phen-fen, but became tolerant to it until even the maximum dosage wasn't working anymore.... and I still had quite a bit to go, but at least with the max dose, I was able to stay where I was... then they pulled it, and I blew right back up... and beyond. as a young child, my doctors used to yell at my mother accusing her of feeding me too much (she wasn't)... as an older child (as well as adolescent, teen, and adult) my doctors switched their aggression/anger/ignorance from my mother to ME. Finally I got fed up with it and gave my last doctor exact details on how, where and when he should go F___ himself :-@ I gave up on doctors for about 4 or 5 years... going to an "on call" type facility only when I was sick and would basically tell them "I'm here because of a sinus infection (or whatever problem). fix that, and I don't want to hear anything not related to my current specific problem" Then a couple years ago I got a new job, which changed my insurance and I lost the ability (unless I paid full) of going to my on-call doc. At my Wife's suggestion, I made an appt to see her doc (who also happens to be my son's doc.. I've met her before and liked her demeanor) I think I threw her (the doc) for a loop at my first appointment... I was very up front and held no punches. I said to her "I smoke, I know it's bad for me, but I've tried several times in the past and failed horribly. at this time I'm not ready to try again, but when I am, I will certainly ask for your assistance if that's OK... otherwise, I don't want to hear about it" Then I said to her... " the reason I left my last 2 regular doctors is because I'm a fat-ass and they didn't do anything but yell at me, offering no help. are you going to yell at me too? or will you try your best to assist me?" of course, I immediately apologized if I came across like an ass, but explained my past frustrating experiences and my reluctance to even SEE a doc except for illness. then she pulled up her rolling stool and sat down (probably to prevent falling over :haha: ) and said she appreciated my being upfront and that she understood where I was coming from... then assured me that she has yet to yell at or belittle any of her patients. I was skeptical for a short time, as they all say that (so to speak)... but she really proved herself. because of her diligence and thoroughness, I have been diagnosed (just over a year ago) as being a type-2 diabetic... I'm at the low end, so (at least so far) we're trying the diet modification approach (no pills, no shots..... yet) also, her initial bloodwork showed elevated liver enzymes. She referred me to a specialist who performed more tests, then finally about a month ago, went in for a liver biopsy which showed "non-alcoholic fatty liver disease" Upon the results of this, I decided I've finally had enough. I made an appt with my doc and told her my desperation to lose weight. Until now, I've dealt with and/or buried the embarassment and humiliation of being fat, but now I had health complications and a family I want to be around for for a while. The only medication I HAVEN'T tried is Orlistat, which I refuse to take, as I'm not inclined to wear diapers at my relatively-still-young age. I'm on the road 1500+ miles per week as a rep for a building materials manufacturer, covering the whole northeast... bathrooms aren't the most convenient thing, especially given what Orlistat has the potential of doing. :-o I have fully disclosed my partying past to her, and jokingly (well... HALF-jokingly) told her that I might have to go back on coke... the best shape I was ever in, was for about a year in my early 20s when I was doing coke on a semi-regular basis (6'2" 220) ... of course, I was killing myself in other ways, but my weight and overall fitness and health was awesome. so after she finished smacking me upside the head, I asked her if I would/could be a candidate for surgery. She re-took my height/weight (even though the nurse just had) and then referred to a chart taped to the inside of one of the cabinet doors... she said that I would be (albeit close) with my weight alone... but given my diabetes, liver issues, and artritic knee, I'm a definite. That's pretty much where I am today... been doing lots of research on my own, as well as info my doc forwards to me as she gets it from her bariatric colleagues. She set me up with a consult appt at one of the local bariatric centers and on starts the process. from both of our research, I feel that my situation and lifestyle would be best suited for a BPD-DS procedure... she agreed, but said that the RNY would be ok too, though with some different lifestyle change requirements (vs the BPD-DS).... as she pointed out (and I confirmed by calling and calling and calling an ever increasing radius) if I REALLY wanted to get the BPD-DS, I'd have to go down to NYC ..... a 3+ hour drive... a long distance to be if I should run into post complications, let alone simple follow-up appts. So unless I can convince the local bariatric guy that he should start offering BPD-DS, it looks like I will be going with the RNY. it's not THAT bad... apparently, many of you here have had the RNY... as well as a good friend of my wife who had it just over a year ago, and is down over 90 lbs. I know I need to lose at least 100 lbs "according to the charts"... though I can't imagine being 200 or less... I haven't weighed 200 lbs since 8th or 9th grade. currently... 6' 1" - 310 sorry if long-winded... sometimes I get that way :shrug:

Greetings from NYC! I went to Rochester this past weekend to visit family and I remember seeing signs for Schenectady on the way. Well anyways, wanted to welcome you and say hello. I too am still hoping for surgery. I have, at this point, gone through all the medical testing they had sent me to do. I am now just waiting on my medical info. to be sent in for an approval. I am very nervous now, not just about the surgery, but whether I will even get approved for it now since I have been hearing negativity about my HMO, and this coming from the lady who has to send in my info. Like you, and many here, this has become a last resort for me. I have had several doctors tell me also all the basic things they are trained to say, but very few understand the actual struggle and that everyone is not the same. This surgery is a big step. My family doesn't see why I should be doing something that I know they consider to be too dangerous, but I think my very life as it is now is in a danger zone. You are a grown man and no one but you truly knows the fullness of your own struggles. I pray that everything goes well for you and that you find the strength to get through this process, before and after surgery, God willing. OH is a wonderful site with wonderful people who understand and are with you. Take care and God bless. Liz

hi sean without a doubt you are making a wise choice to have wls .... for me it was the best thing i ever did i also have liver problems and am on interferon ..... i had surgery in july 04 and have lost over 100lbs like you im not a big fan of doctors but my wls is my knight in shining armor.... he helped give me my life back.... i wish you all the best in your desicions and i hope you stay posting on the boards!!!! Stacy

Hi Sean I am sorry to hear about your frustration w/doctors. I know the feeling. Sometimes you have to go through a few rotten apples to get to a good one. It sounds like your new PCP is very supportive and willing to help. You will find we are a great supportive bunch of people on this board. Feel free to jump on in! I wish you nothing but the best with your journey ahead! Take care and good luck.

Hey Sean, I had the DS 6 1/2 months ago, and it's been life changing. Literally the easiest weight loss I've ever had in my whole life. I wouldn't let the travel concern you if your still thinking about the DS, lots of people travel for this surgery (Just check out www.duodenalswitch.com or the DS forum on OH). I travelled 2 hours to my sugeon, because I wanted the best surgeon my insurance would pay for to do the DS. You really want a surgeon that has preformed at least 100 BPD/DS's rather then someone who is just doing it because you "want it". It is a technically more diffcult surgery and you don't want a surgeon who hasn't been trained to do it messing you up. As you said in your post, the RNY does require that you make significant lifestyle changes in order to be successful, same with the lap band, and the vertical sleeve gastrectomy. While some lifestyle changes are needed with the DS, it's minimal. Whatever surgery you decide on getting, we're here to support you. Scott

Thank you all for the kind words. and thank you Scott for the encouraging post... I checked out that link, as well as some of the links found on that site. after reading some of the patient "reviews" as it were, I sent a long e-mail to Dr. Pomp at Cornell Weight Loss Center which mentions some of my concerns in having a procedure done at a distance. I know some people travel great distances (even out of the country) to have the DS procedure done... but I still have my concerns. I'm still at the beginning of my travels, so nothing is irreversible at this point. Thanks again.