Friday, October 5, 2012

A Visit To The FAT Doctor

No, my doctor isn't fat. I am. Okay, so that's not the politically correct word. I guess I should say I'm "big" or "overweight". But really, I'm fat. Medically speaking, I'm "morbidly obese." That sounds scary and it should. It scare the hell out of me. So, I visited the fat doctor.

I use the term "fat doctor" because I watch a show shot in England called "The Fat Doctors." These two surgeons do nothing but gastric operations on people whose lives depend on whether or not they lose weight. Some of these people weigh as much as 500 lbs. While I'm not quite there yet, I've elected to go forth with a gastric bypass operation.



I'm 45 years old, weigh 340 lbs (my highest was 360 lbs), I'm 5'5" and my BMI (Body Mass Index) is 56. Those numbers alone qualify me for the surgery. Add that I have sleep apnea and diabetes and it's a no-brainer; a no-brainer that took me a few years to decide.

I was a paramedic/firefighter (yep, even fat people can do it!) and I suffered a debilitating back injury that ended that career. At the time, I had hired a trainer and was going to the gym twice a week and using all the training equipment at the fire house during each shift. I felt strong, was losing weight and was very happy.

After my injury, I was unable to walk far, sit long, move a lot for weeks. One foot was in a brace because it stuck out to the side instead of going straight so it took 9 months to get it working properly. I gained a LOT of weight during this time frame. My injury caused a lot of pain, I was depressed at having to retire from my life long profession, and I found out I was diabetic just a month after the injury.  And, I was still coping with the death of my father 6 months previous to all this.

So, blah blah blah, I got fatter. I tried to diet -- lots of them -- Atkins, Weight Watchers, medication from my doctor, exercise is nearly impossible to do since it causes such intense pain at times. (even now, 5 years later). So I felt stuck. Moving to the Netherlands changed my diet and I lost a few pounds. No more McDonalds (even if we have them), no American fast food--and not so much processed food--helped a lot. I have maintained my weight for one year.

But I'm diabetic. I have neuropathy (from the diabetes and the back injury) that has caused a loss of sensation in my feet to the point where I cut my foot once and only realized it after Sandra saw a trail of blood on the floor. That scares me. I don't want to end up losing my feet/legs to this disease. Or my sight or anything else. The number one way to fight Type II Diabetes is weight loss and a strict diet.

Not so good with diets. I simply don't have the discipline.

I'm healthy otherwise. Blood work shows no issues--all my "levels" are normal. The diabetes is under control for the moment. No high blood pressure. Lung function is excellent. Heart works just fine. So it's the perfect time for this surgery.

A lot of thought went into this and a lot of research as well. I'm medically trained. I looked up everything I could before making this decision. While surgeons have no idea what the long-term affects are, since this is still a fairly new procedure, I decided to go forth anyway. Like any surgery there are dangers and side effects, but in the long term it's worth it. It's my best chance to beat diabetes.

It's my best chance, period.

2 comments:

  1. I think that this is a great, brave thing that you're doing, Patty. And I think it's excellent that you're making the decision to take your health into your own hands and act on it in a positive way.

    I battle my own weight issues -- am currently heavier than I've ever been -- and am struggling to figure out how to structure my life and to find the will power to do something about it.

    I can find any number of reasons/excuses why I haven't started. I know that I've succeeded at weight loss in the past. Now I need to find a way to do the same in the present.

    It's a hard thing to do. Maybe I haven't scared myself enough yet. Maybe, mentally, I have to believe that it's worth it. Not sure. You are an inspiration though, to be making this decision.

    Thank you for sharing :-)
    Love and Hugs, mb

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  2. Hey Patty
    It's pretty brave of you to put this up on your blog. It's even more brave to do what you have decided to do. I can only speak for myself - but I totally respect your decision, and I am proud of you. I would like to be friends for a very long time, and that won't happen if we don't take care of ourselves. No-one else can do it for us...

    Just so you don't feel alone - I weigh 310 pounds (ugh), and Today is my first day on a medically supervised fasting program. It was time to bite the bullet - I am getting too old, and I am starting to pay for my many years of being overweight. Your body went the diabetes route, mine went the high blood pressure route, with a little pre-diabetes thrown in this month for good measure.. So - time for me to seriously do something about it as well.

    Besides, when I get my citizenship papers, I don't want to be this big for my photo on my first US Passport photo!!

    In June, no-one will recognize us... LOL!

    Multiple high fives, Kiddo!!
    Love
    Liz

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About Me

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Pat Cronin grew up in a family of cops, was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for 17 years, and recently retired as a paramedic/firefighter. Now working in IT, Pat is the Goldie Award-winning co-editor of Blue Collar Lesbian Erotica and the author of the 2010 romance Souls’ Rescue. With Verda Foster, she also co-edited the 2010 anthology, Women in Uniform: Medic & Soldiers & Cops, Oh My! Pat was raised in Ohio but has moved to Yerseke, Zeeland in the Netherlands.