The ole 50% issue

[Guest guest]

Regina (one of the many heroines I have here) said: " My surgeon was very

clear that if I lost 50% of my excess weight, that I would be considered a

success. "

Just wanted to say, so did mine! It is in all the literature, it is on his

website, it is in every report, paper, weight loss surgery site I visited

online before surgery, etc. I always figured (like all other edge walkers)

that I would beat the odds and that really did not apply to me, just those

" others. " It almost reminds me of why a psychologist once told me that only

young men (just men at the time) were drafted. It is cause when somone

tells them they are gonna attack and expect 70% casualties, he feels sorry

for all the others!

There were a lot of things that I did not " see " before surgery for whatever

the reasons. Denial and my need to want a " cure " and an answer colored my

brain I guess. Kinda like the other day when I was using my hairbrush and

was absently mindedly pulling large handfulls of hair outta there and

thinking,,, " wow, must really be losing a lot of hair! " Of course,

DUH, it then hit me that she never touches my brush,,,and that hair must

belong to someone else The only other person in this household at this time

is 3.5 years old and gets her hair brushed after a battle worth of Hulk

Hogan,,,,so,,,,hmmmmmmmm,,,wonder whose hair this is?

After surgery, for some reason, I began to see words like " revision " ,

" staple line disruption " " hernia " etc,,,,,and wondered why I did not see

them before cause I worked hard at it,,,,,but I know that I tend to lie to

me when I need one and gloss over some things. One thing I have learned

about this surgery after a little more than 3.5 years reading about it and

others experiences is that the complications do not always happen to others.

It was news to me however, to read that the 70% applied to distals. I would

have to do some figurin,,,,,lemme see,,,,,,my first appt day weight was 294

with a BMI of 41.7,,,,,,the calculator tells me that for my height I need

not weigh one ounce over 176, so that would mean I needed to lose a total of

118 lbs. I was made a 75cm proximal with a horizontal pouch with a stoma

that is now estimated at 3cm or 30mm,,,,bout twice as big as it should

be,,,,,This morn I weighed 204,,,,,now - more numbers - my lowest weight at

about nine months post was 186 (in my half cup days) and I was at the gym

six days per week. That means that I lost 91% of my excess body weight.

For multitude of reasons, most of which are my whole reponsibility, and the

normal things that happen to some I guess, I did the bounceback to 218 at

the highest about 16 months post op. I have been within this five lb range

since I took that off and now the net regain is somewhere about 18 lbs. My

BMI this morning is 28.9.......are the numbers and stuff not the most boring

subject in the universe! I give this subject at least five good minutes of

my time every three weeks now,,just to stoy on top of it.

Sucess? I, with my regain, have kinda sorta leveled off for the time being

here at a net loss of 76%, not withstanding the chute for a pouch and

stoma,,,,,and a host of other interesting medical challenges,,,,and I do not

work very hard at it,,,,,truly. If I were to put some effort into it, I

could lose the 20 lbs or so, but I am not all that motivated. My labs are

better than they have ever been in my life,,,,blood lipids are important to

me,,,,and they are wonderful,,,,,,I am not deprived and eat pretty much what

I want when I want it, but I do notice I just always tend to shy away from

high carbs and work on protein pretty much, BUT I do eat carbs when I want

them. I just know my body and if I eat crap, I want more and more and

more,,,,,,,,I like the diabetes being gone,,,so it is a no brainer for me.

Thank God it is not much work either and requires no willpower, cause I have

none of the above.

I guess it is all relative. This morning, I am a success. I got the house

all sorted out, changed my wife's bed clothing, did all the errands and

household finances, got the laundry done and moved plants and repotted some.

In between all this I gave her meds, checked on her every 20 mins or so, and

stopped to admire myself in the mirror with my farmer brown overalls that

fit nicely at a 34 inch waist (did not mention the 28 " butt,,,,LOL)

So I judge me a success today and claim none of the credit,,,,,if I coulda

done it without surgery I think I mighta, but as it turns out, had I not had

the surgery the coronary artery disease would have rendered everything else

inconsequential,,,,,

Dan Slone

Surgery 5/2/2000,Yahoo Msg navwriter

AIM Navwriter58, ICQ 260890468