Bariatric Surgery Pre-Operative Instructions

When you asked for a picture of me doing something that I can do now that I could not do prior to my surgery, I thought about it long and hard for several days. I thought I can send you a pic of me on the treadmill, playing freeze tag with my kids, going down the slide or across the monkey bars, I could even send you a pic of me tying my shoes. I thought about taking a picture of my shadow, the one thing I use to hide from. I hated my shadow…it looked like a huge marshmallow with arms BUT now I love my shadow; I jump at the chance to chase it. But, the biggest change in my life is one that is hard to capture in pictures. Prior to my surgery I had so many medical issues like gout, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fatty liver, severe sleep apnea, Meniere’s, arthritis throughout my spine, gull and kidney stones and I was just plain miserable. I remember lying awake at night fantasizing about what would make me happy again…a big house, winning the lottery, a fancy car or maybe moving out of the state or even the country…surely those things would make me happy. All the pain and discomfort and the sadness masked the fact that I had so much to be happy for because I have always had love in my life but I could not see it; I even think I stopped feeling it for a long while. I would smile at my loved ones and occasionally I would laugh too but it was more mechanical than anything else. It broke my heart the day my youngest son told his teacher that I never laugh. I thought he had to be wrong; surely I laugh but you know kids…they are not easily fooled. I think Jayson knew that I wasn’t feeling what you should feel when you are laughing or smiling. Finally I made the decision to go with the gastric bypass surgery and I can tell you, with each day of recovery after the bypass I began to feel again; I was crawling out of a depression that I did not even know I was in. Before I knew it I was even laughing and smiling and I was truly feeling it. I am off the c-pap machine and all of the medicine I was on and the nights of fantasizing about what would make me happy were replaced by happy memories of the day’s events and making plans for the following day. My happy memories are now of silly little moments like playing with the kids, dancing with my daughter, walking the dogs and laughing at random things my loved ones do. The plans I make for the future make me giddy; these aren’t huge plans of travel or spending money…these plans are bigger than that, they are of living my life…baking cookies, coloring with my kids, playing freeze tag, and walking my dogs. You see Cindy, the biggest thing this surgery did for me was to allow me to smile at my life…and truly mean it. So…I am sending you a picture of me smiling.

Hi, I’m Rudy. It will be ten years on June 21, 2014 I started on a remarkable journey; I had gastric bypass surgery. Five months before that day, I was at my primary care physician’s and he asked me if I ever thought of having bypass surgery. I never gave it a thought. I was on three blood pressure medications, cholesterol medicine, and 100 units of insulin every day. I had trouble breathing, just walking up a slight grade I had to use an inhaler.
At the end of our conversation, the doctor said I would most likely have a heart attack or a stroke within five years. That was a real eye opener. I was just 53 years old and heart problems ran in the family. My Dad was 56 when he had his first heart attack. I could not lose weight. I had no will power. I kind of blamed by Mom for my weight problem. As a child I was taught to clean my plate, which I often over ate. That carried on into my adult years. I was running out of medical insurance and wanted the surgery. All went well the first month. I went back to work and was losing weight. The second month I couldn’t eat anything. The intestine scarred where it was joined to my pouch and shrunk shut. Nothing could pass through. I went from 283 lbs. To 137 lbs. in five months. I lived on banana popsicles. I got my medical insurance back; within two days I was in the hospital getting dilated. I could get food down for days then everything would shut down. I was dilated six times with no success. I was getting for surgery to reconnect the intestine to my pouch when I got a bowel blockage. Out patient surgery took care of that problem. No more sever cramps. A month later I went in for the reconnection. Before the surgery, Dr. Mike (Felix) remarked how calm I was. My wife was a nervous wreck; Dr. Mike was real concerned. He asked me why I was so calm. I said my wife was upset for the both of us. I had confidence in his skills; and there was nothing I could do anyhow except go along for the ride. So why worry about something you have no control over. Surgery went well. Recovery didn’t take long and I was eating real food. I’ve been around 180 lbs. for 10 years now. I went from a 44 inch waist to a 34 inch waist. I feel strong and I have a lot more energy.
I don’t use an inhaler anymore. I’m off all my blood pressure medications, cholesterol medicine and I went from 100 units of insulin down to 20 units of insulin a day. At my heaviest, I weighed 283 lbs. and I have managed to keep 100 lbs. off for 10 years.
One thing I’ve learned is that I can leave food on my plate when I’m full.

I have struggled with obesity for over fourteen years. I tried Weight Watchers, Optimum Weight Loss Center, Weight Loss programs with professionals, exercise programs, being hypnotized, Bible studies wanting to help people lose weight, the whole gamut. I felt like this struggle would never end. I HAVE to eat in order to survive but the feeling of being out of control when it came to food was never ending.

It wasn’t until I walked into an introductory seminar for bariatrics in January 2014 that I truly found HOPE! As I sat and listened to the information being presented, I felt an excitement rising inside of me. HOPE Bariatrics was going to be my lifeline. I started making the appointments necessary to begin this process. I wasn’t sure if I would qualify for this program, but I was going for it. As I began to go through the check list and six months of doctor visits, I grew more and more excited about it. I began going to the support group meetings and hearing the stories of others who had bypass surgery. I knew that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, but I was ready.

It was at one of the support group meetings that I found out that a friend from church was also on this journey to have surgery. It was wonderful to have someone to go through this with. We found out that we were both approved through our insurance and a date was set. The SAME date, we would have surgery on the same day and share a room in the hospital together. Only God could work out something like that! The surgery went well and recovery was difficult, but every day I felt a little better. I had a whole new way of eating, drinking, taking vitamins and exercising. I needed to set alarms on my phone to remind me to take vitamins. I was now looking at labels to check for the amount of sugar, calories and protein. I needed be eating/drinking 60-80 grams of protein a day to help with the burning of fat.

With the support of those from HOPE Bariatrics, family, friends and those who have had the surgery, I have come a long way. I am one year out from my procedure and have gone down 14 sizes and 90 pounds. I have so much more energy and I feel better. I actually look forward to exercising and showing my kids that I can water/snow ski. I enjoy jumping on the trampoline and being active with them.

I know that I still have to follow the program and watch what and how much I eat. This will have to continue for the rest of my life, but it’s worth it. I don’t ever want to be obese again! If you are reading this and wondering if this is something you should do, I say, YES, DO IT! The only regret that I have is that I didn’t do it years ago.

What a journey it has been! About a year ago, on my 39th birthday, I had an epiphany. I realized that I had a wonderful life. I was married to an amazing man; I had a great job, and was surrounded by lots of people who loved me. So why was I slowly killing myself? I had never had a weight problem...up until the age of 14 or so. From then on, it was all downhill, or in my case up on the scale. I graduated from high school at around 180 pounds. In college, while they talk about the freshman 10, I put on the freshman 40. Every year I'd put on a few more. But it's not like I didn't try to stop it. Over the years, I tried Weight Watchers countless times, Jenny Craig, Atkins, grapefruit, cabbage soup, and all the other fad diets out there. I don't think there is one I didn't try.. and fail at. So, as my confidence in myself went down, my weight went up until that 39th birthday when I weighed in at whopping 250. That is the day that I called my doctor who I'd seen for more than a decade for an appointment. When I finally got in to see her, she asked me if I was finally ready, as if she had been waiting for me to make this decision all along! She taled to me about Hope Bariatrics, and I was on my way to changing my life...at last. On the day of my surgery, I weighed 278 pounds, thanks to a few months of ice cream for dinner. I was very nervous, but I had my wonderfully supportive husband by my side. He kept telling me that he married me when I was a positively svelte 230 pounds and that no matter what happened, he would be with me. With those words, I went peacefully to sleep. The initial surgery went well, an I was home within a few days. I was incredibly nervous, but I had all the literature that Hope Bariatrics had given me to refer to. I followed the instructions to the letter, felt really good, and ready to go back to work. At that point I had dropped 10 pounds, and was feeling great. As the weeks went by, I began to notie that my clothes were fitting a little looser, and that people were beginning to say things about my weight loss. A few months in, and I ha to give all of my old clothes to charity. I also had to buy a belt, which I had never needed before. These days, I'm about 165 pounds, an even though I don't feel like I look that much different, to everyone else the change is dramatic. Recently, I had to give a presentation to a group of people at work that I had not seen since before my surgery. As I introduced myself, I heard a few gasps from the audience. Afterwards, at least a half a dozen people said they did not recognize me. So, that's my journey, and I have to say that even though there have been moments along the way where I questioned by decision, now that I've arrive at this wonderful place, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Thank you to Hope Bariatrics for all the support and encouragement you have provided along the way.