JR's legal - one year out today!!

[Guest guest]

(Sorry if this is a duplicate - I sent the e-mail from Outlook

Express two hours ago and it's still not out on the yahoogroups site,

so I am posting this from the web).

Hi all,

My name is Rushton (aka JR). I'm had my surgery at HUP on

7/17/02 and have been lurking here for several months. I know many

of you from your posts on the ObesityHelp Q & A. I'm the one that

posted through C. about turning off the Messenger Service for

those pop-up ads.

I started out at 5'4 " and 440 at the time of my initial consultation

(4/25/02) with Dr. Raper at HUP. Both my primary care physician and

my vascular surgeon (I suffered from severe lymphedema in my left

leg) had recommended gastric bypass because of several co-morbidities

(sleep apnea, diabetes type 2, knee pain, inability to stand for long

periods of time or walk more than a short distance and in January

2002, I was hospitalized for bi-lateral PEs (blood clots in both

lungs). I am now on Coumadin (aka rat poison) for the rest of my

life.

At the time of my surgery on 7/17/02, I was 427 pounds. I am now 247

pounds (as of 7/12) and still shrinking. I had been losing 5-10 pounds

a month recently, but had my first plateau last month where I actually

put on a pound. I started a new job where I had to go into the

office instead of working from home as I had for the last 2 1/2

years, and I think that there is some extra fluid in my left leg that

is accounting for the non-loss of weight. That and my increased

exercise on my exercise bike at home and at the Y that I just

joined. I know that either my pants are getting bigger *G* or I am

losing inches, if not pounds, the last month...

My wife Geri had her lap RNY at HUP with Dr. on 5/6/03 (she

is about 40 pounds down). My sister Sherri had her surgery in

Baltimore, MD on 1/27/03 (Dr. Vanguri) and was down 78 pounds as of

6/20.

I have a Nectar shake every morning to start off the day (Caribbean

Cooler flavor) and occasionally have a Detour, U-Turn or One Way Bar

in place of a meal. HUP's nutritionist discourages excessive use

of protein bars, so I try to be a " good boy " .

My best post-op moments were: 1) Going to Walt Disney World last

December for a week, being able to do all of the walking that involves

and being able to fit on every ride that I wanted to go on and 2)

Having to introduce myself to my former officemate in March (who

hadn't seen me since before the operation) because he didn't recognize

me.

I've been lucky so far not to have too much of an overhang as my

formerly 64-inch waist has shrunk down to a 46-inch waist - the rashes

I had as a pre-op are almost non-existant now. However, I do have

a rather unslightly chest area, sharpei thighs and batwings - probably

none of which my insurance (Aetna-USHealthcare) will pay to fix.

I haven't started my fight for plastic surgery yet. My health's more

important to me than my size, so if I can't get the PS, then so be it.

JR

open RNY 07/17/02

(2 oz pouch, 75 cm bypassed, non-transected)

Dr. Raper, HUP

440/427/247/213???