Just like individuals addicted to alcohol or drugs it is often necessary for the morbidly obese individual to hit bottom before they do anything about there own addiction.  I hit bottom or you might say got my wake up call on January 2, 2001.  On this day I was at a clients residence when I was hit with a deep pain in the chest and was having difficulty breathing.  For the last week or so I had been fighting a cold and thought that I may have developed a touch of pneumonia.  I figured it would only take me another half-hour to complete my work and then I could go see a doctor so I continued.  After about another minute I realized that I should go to the doctor now and finish the job later.  Embarrassingly I went to the client explained to her the problem I was having and asked to use her phone to call my HMO, Kaiser Permanente.  The client whose daughter is an emergency nurse asked, “Should I call 911?”  I replied, “No, I think I will be able to drive to a clinic.”  I phoned a Kaiser health nurse who asked me to describe my symptoms. The advise nurse told me that it could be my heart and not pneumonia, to hang up and call 911 and have them take me to St. Vincent’s Hospital emergency.  With continued embarrassment I asked the consumer to call 911 for me so that she could give directions to her house, which was out in the country.

Here I was, possibly suffering a hear attack and I was embarrassed because I had to stop before completing my job and was leaving the job in an ambulance.  Embarrassment was an idiotic reaction under the circumstances but that is what I felt.  Within minutes medics from the fire department arrived and were giving me oxygen and treating me.  Within a few more minutes an ambulance crew arrived.  On the way to the hospital the medics on the ambulance were finding symptoms that indicated to them that I had experienced a heart attack and were treating me as they could.

Arriving at emergency I was immediately moved into a room and test were started.  This came as a big surprise to me for a few months later I had driven my wife to emergency as I felt she had experienced a stroked and it took them two hours to see her.  What I learned from this, if you think you have an emergency call 911.

At emergency an EKG was performed, blood test taken, a chest x-ray was made, constant monitoring, nitroglycerin patch applied.  The testing went on for an hour or so and the doctor stated that I did not have pneumonia and that they had not found any positive indications of a heart attack.  I have a hyatal hernia and the doctors stated that they thought I was experiencing a gastric reaction but they were going to keep me overnight for more testing and monitoring.

I was moved into a hospital room.  I asked the nurse to bring me some pajama bottoms and she brought 3 pair but none were large enough to go around my waist.  A bit later I called home to speak with my wife Lynda.  Lynda had been hospitalized recently for a stroke and they had inserted a catheter as she was confined to the bed and could not get up to use the bathroom.  Lynda asked me if I had been castrated? Now I knew that this was a slip of the tongue and she meant catheter, but I still kept my legs crossed the rest of the night.

During the night I require oxygen off and on.  A 24-hour monitor was attached to me, A variety of heart test were performed that night.  They also rolled a huge scale into the room to take my weight (301.1 pounds) Three hundred and one was bad enough, why did they need that point one?

The next morning I saw a doctor who stated that all of my test for heart problems had been negative but they were going to perform an echo-ultrasound and if that was negative a treadmill test.  The echo was negative and I was taken downstairs for the treadmill test.  Now this test is embarrassing in itself.  Here I am a bloated whale with globs of fat hanging around my midsection.  Wires are hooked up to me and I am gasping like the totally out of shape person I was.  Still, I was going to do my best to hit the maximum on the treadmill, as I don’t quit easily.  Huffing and puffing through this test I keep saying continue.  Finally the doctor tells the technician to stop the test.  The doctor then says to me, “You looked down and when someone looks down I figure they are about to get off so I stop the test.”  While I was tired I was disappointed as I felt I could have gone a bit longer even if it killed me.  The doctor informed me that he had stopped the test at 86% of a normal heart range and he saw no indication of a heart problem.

Back in my room my doctor comes in and informs me that I don’t have a heart problem at this time but if I don’t do something about my weight and exercise he can not guarantee that I wont. I was told that I could go home.  The nurse removed the i.v. from my arm and left the room.  He had not removed the heart monitor so I figured no problem I will remove it myself.  Just as I took it off the nurse enters back into the room and says what have you done they will think you died.  I said what do you mean, wasn’t the monitor turned off?  No he replies as he runs out of the room to inform them that it was all a mistake and I was still alive.  When the nurse returned to the room I asked why they had not ran into the room to try and save my life.  The nurse replies, “Sometimes they fall asleep at the controls.”  While I hope that he was kidding, I certainly don’t want to find out at some later date.

This was my wake up call.  I had been given a scary and expensive warning.  I had suffered embarrassment at the clients, my wife had asked if I had been castrated, I had exposed my flabby fat for all to see, and had flat lined (accidentally thank you).  I do not want to face these experiences again and the best odds I have are to get and keep the pounds off and get some exercise.  My doctors and many others had warned me but it took hitting close to bottom.  Bottom is six feet under and I do not want to hit it.

My wake up call was also a wake up call to my wife.  Lynda has diabetes and a lot of problems of her own and was in and out of the hospital twice this past year.  Even so, she had difficulty controlling what she ate and drank even when I would try to control what I ate.  These changed things, we were both on a diet now realizing that if we want to reverse any terminally it would have to be now.

Back home we started our diet.  We also gave up coffee, which for me was difficult, as I looked forward to its jolt.  The doctors had previously encouraged me to give up coffee as they felt that it was contributing to my prostate problems, high blood pressure and hiatal hernia problems.  Withdrawal was not as bad as I had figured it would.  While we did switch to decaffeinated coffee I was still getting some caffeine through ice tea and an occasional diet soda.

Today, several years after writing that article I look back and think of the constant yo-yo diet that I continued on after hitting bottom. At the time Lynda passed away, shortly after my own hospitalization I has lost a few pound but soon went back up to about 300 pounds before heading back down again. You see, though I had hit bottom I had not learned how to control my emotions and with those the food would go in and the pounds would go on. Since gastric bypass surgery in July of 2008, I have not become thin but have held my weight at a comfortable level and the doctors tell me I am very healthy. For those of you that hit bottom on your weight loss diets, are tired of yo-yo dieting weight loss surgery is an option that you may want to consider. Surgery alone will not do it though for you must also learn how to control your emotions for even with surgery the weight can be put back on.

So what is acid reflux disease? Acid reflux disease is short for gastro esophageal reflux disease often referred to as GERD. Acid reflux occurs when the acid content found in the stomach returns to the esophagus. If this happens several times weeks then you have to deal with this issue which is very common among many individuals of any age today. As a matter of fact, infants and elderly people are prone to having acid reflux and this is particularly due to the diet regime that the individual goes through during the day.

I suffered from this disease not realizing what it was until rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after experiencing a severe case of it while at a client’s home. This client was a registered nurse and she thought I was having a heart attack. At the hospital I went through about 3 days of testing before they determined it was GERD and not a heart attack.

From personal experience I can tell you that GERD can be very painful. While antacids can often bring comfort to a mild case of acid reflux they can also create a worse condition.  The only thing that can be done to attenuate this illness in some way is by following a specific diet avoiding certain foods and drinks that could trigger the acid to form such as citrus, caffeine, alcohol, anything fried or full of fatty substances like onions, garlic and fried potatoes. You know, all of those good things so many of us enjoy.
Not only foods and beverages are to blame for this health issue, but even the kind of lifestyle one chooses to live in. For instance, people who smoke, drink or who are constantly overweight are more prone to suffering the devastating consequences of acid reflux. Following the right change in the lifestyle habits of these individuals could save them from having a burning sensation in the stomach and ease the complications that consequently come out of it.

There are some other activities that one takes for granted too that could bring forth some uneasiness in the esophagus such as lying down after having a meal in the middle of the day, eating big meals all at once instead of pacing it a little at a time. Even bending forward or picking up heavy weights are all acid reflux triggers to pay very particular attention to.

One must also consider the genetic factor which plays a fundamental role. Some individuals belonging to the same family could have the same issues related to this health symptom that if not treated or put under control could worsen and be more serious condition known as heartburn. This is a grave form of acid reflux in which the excruciating pain can be felt in other parts of the body such as in the upper chest area.
After spending several years on medications to control my GERD I had gastric bypass surgery, not because of the acid reflux but because I just could not control my weight with diet. I was told that weight loss surgery helped control GERD, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and a lot of other health problems. Having had my gastric bypass surgery over a year ago now I can tell you that I have not experienced GERD since. Additionally my cholesterol is not completely normal, I no longer use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, my blood sugar levels are normal and my high blood pressure is completely under control. I may be nearing 70 but I am in better health today than when I was 50.
Am I telling you to have weight loss surgery for your GERD? Absolutely not, weight loss surgery is serious business and not the best way for everyone to lose weight. While I am please that I had the surgery and have experienced so many benefits from it you still want to know all of your options before you go under any type of surgery. Once you do I am sure you will make the best choice for yourself.

Qualifying for a gastric bypass is not as difficult as some would lead you to believe  and you certainly don’t have to be terminally obese to qualify for it. On the other hand it is not as simple as just consulting with a physician and requesting one for it is only for those that are morbidly obese or super obese and even then you may not qualify. There are several guidelines that limit the administering of a gastric bypass procedure to someone. Some of the more common things that restrict any prospective recipient of the procedure are the following: the patient must have been obese for more than five years; the patient must not have a history of alcoholism and psychological disorders.

With gastric bypass surgery there are age restrictions. Commonly the person should not be younger than eighteen years of age or older than sixty-five years old. Even age requirements are changing all the time and do differ among surgical centers, physicians and your physical health, as an example, I was one week short of my 67^th birthday when I underwent gastric bypass surgery.

Most surgical centers and surgeons also require that you have exhausted all other weight-loss measures for yourself. You go under a psychological examination to make sure you are a good candidate for the procedure. You will also undergo a thorough physical not only to determine if you have qualifying conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or high blood pressure but also to make sure that you can handle the surgery for gastric bypass is still a major operation and cannot be taken lightly.

If you do pass all of these tests and have either the insurance coverage or money to cover the surgery you will usually be set up for the procedure. The good news is that many insurance companies along with Medicare do cover much of the cost of gastric bypass surgery for qualified patients.

Here’s a simple explanation of gastric bypass surgery: Gastric bypass surgery is essentially, having your stomach capacity lessened and making your digestive tract skip a part of your small intestine. The procedure creates a small pouch in the upper part of your stomach, usually via surgical staples or a plastic band. This stomach pouch is usually small – it can get to the size a walnut for some procedures. After this pouch is created, the middle of your small intestine, the jejunum, is connected to it. This means your food will skip the main part of your stomach and your duodenum, the upper portion of your small intestine. The result is lower stomach capacity and a lower calorie intake. You will be able to satisfy your appetite more quickly and have fewer calories inside your system, creating a consistent and quick weight loss for you until your body has adapted to it. Over time you will find yourself starting to eat larger amounts than when you first had the surgery so you must continue to be careful for even with surgery you can gain your weight back.

It may sound easy but still it’s a long road after a gastric bypass. After about a four-hour operation you will be under observation for the next few days, while being limited to liquids only so that your stomach can heal. Some people stay in the hospital for up to a week after surgery. My stay was 2 days and 4 days later on my 67^th birthday I was already walking over a mile.

Following surgery you will spend the next several weeks on liquids and soft protein foods. As your new pouch gets use to the strain you will progress to more solid food. The length of time nor the prescribed diet will not be the same for all. You will also be taking many additional vitamins and nutrients for life.

Some individuals will continue to experience side-effects for their whole life. You must still continue to exercise for lower energy intake can be detrimental to your health. Over-eating or eating the wrong foods can cause you to vomit or feel great pain. Gastric bypass is a great tool but not the best tool for all. As a gastric bypass surgery patient that is happy they had the surgery I do here stories of those that are sorry they had it and some say that they would go with the gastric band if they were to do it over. Each and every person considering any type of weight loss surgery should first try diet and exercise, and gastric bypass surgery should be a last resort for anyone who’s suffering from obesity.

As fat people most of us have heard over and over again that learning self control is the best way to control our weight. This is no doubt true yet many of us still have difficulty controlling our weight by self control alone.

For some people there are medical conditions that make self control alone more difficult. I am a true believer that heredity and the environment we grew up in also plays a very big roll in our ease or difficulty in losing weight. Even with these conditions if we are able to maintain self control and eat less we are going to lose some weight and maintain a lower weight.

We can also lose weight by eating more instead of less. The trick here is eating more of the right foods and less of the wrong foods.  By having a better understanding of what we are putting into our mouth and learning to take control we can certainly do a better job of controlling our weight.

Exercise is another way of controlling our weight. With or without weight loss surgery exercise is one of the most important things we can do to improve our health, lose weight and maintain our weight. We need not work out at the gym for 3 hours a day.  Exercise is easy really, just physically do a few of the things that you would use an exercise machine for. Get a push mower instead of a ride on. Wash your dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher. Walk to McDonalds for your diet coke and Big Mac instead of using the car. [well just skip the Big Mac and fries] Vacuum the house yourself instead of using a maid service. Use the stairs. If you like to go to the gym stop looking for a parking spot next to the front door and instead warm up by walking from a distant space in the parking lot. Avoid the gym and instead take an evening walk after dinner.

The third easy way to lose weight is to worry and fret about it. No, scrap that, but how about setting realistic goals for yourself that you can easily achieve. Do not use huge unachievable steps but little incremental advances to your goal weight. Do not cut out everything at once but break down your goals into daily and weekly things to do. For instance, how about replacing your snack chocolate for a nice healthy apple and going for a 15 minute walk every morning before breakfast. You are the best person to decide on these things but discipline yourself to do it and carry it through. As you succeed at each goal you will gain more confidence and be more assured of success. That is why it is so important to use small achievable goals. Forget about trying for the impossible.

What ever way you choose, just do it and you will be glad that you did!

Each of us needs to understand that despite the success of weight loss surgery there are not only advantages but also disadvantages to take into consideration. We need to make an  informed decisions before jumping into extraordinary weight loss measures.

The most common procedure today are gastric bypass surgery and lap-band surgery where the individual’s stomach capacity is made smaller. Following surgery food intake is drastically lessened and as a result we lose weight due to smaller food intake and the effects are quick.

The benefits can be enormous. Troubles with medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and sleep apnea are  reduced and often eliminated. Exhaustion due to high body mass is also lessened. The main benefit would be a more secure sense of well being which could result to greater opportunities for social interaction.

Despite the benefits an individual still has to take into account that because of lower food intake one has to make sure that daily nutritional intake remains balanced. While we find that we are generally taking less medications after surgery we will find ourselves taking more vitamins and nutritional products.

Like any other surgery, sufficient time is also needed for the body to recuperate and to adjust itself to it’s new condition. We eat the wrong foods such as too much sugar or pasta and will many of us will experience  what is known as dumping. With dumping we will experience symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Dumping can be very painful and as such are awareness of it will often help keep us on track and eat the right foods.

Medical tests are required to ascertain if surgery is possible for an individual. Surgery could have serious consequences if sufficient analysis has not been performed.  Following my own gastric bypass surgery I had a complete blood work up 6 months and 12 months following the surgery. From these tests your physician is able to determine if you are getting the proper nutrients and if not prescribe what you need. Generally these tests will continue on an annual basis.

Individual lifestyle is also taken into account. If a person has not reacted favorably to weight loss programs the underlying reasons has to be analyzed. The mental health of the individual also needs to be tested. Does the patient have the mental agility and strength to meet worst outcomes?

Even after surgery I find that I often still have the tendency to cheat and eat the wrong foods.  This can result in weight regain if it becomes excessive. Having the support of other weight loss surgery patients will help you achieve and maintain your weight loss success.

Even prior to surgery it pays to attend seminars and to talk to other people who have undergone a similar surgery. Many weight loss centers actually ask patients to be involved in a weight loss program prior to becoming eligible for surgery. These are meant to allow you to be more at ease with what is to come.

While surgery provides a quick fix it is best to find out if such is your best option. A thorough and open discussion with your doctor is extremely important when considering weight loss surgery.

According to the CDC – Center for Disease Control a person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The body mass index or BMI is the most common measure of obesity.  A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over 30. “Morbid obesity” means that a person is either 50%-100% over normal weight, more than 100 pounds over normal weight, has a BMI of 40 or higher, or is sufficiently overweight to severely interfere with health or normal function.

Weight loss surgery from lap-band to gastric bypass continue to grow in popularity. In the United States alone over 200,000 individuals a year are now having bariatric weight loss surgery. While these numbers are big weight loss surgery may or may not be right for you.

There are many factors that each person needs to consider when they are trying to determine if weight loss surgery is right for them. There are also a number of factors that your physician is going to consider to determine if you are a good candidate for this type of surgery.

A major factor is your current weight.  It is extremely common for a bariatric weight loss surgeon to require that their patients be at least eighty pounds overweight and have a BMI equal to or greater than 40. Naturally the same requirements are not going to be in place for the person that is 4’ 9” and the person that is 6’ 9”. If you are not morbidly obese you may not even be able to undergo a weight loss surgery.  That said, not being able to undergo surgery does not mean that you cannot lose weight as surgery is just one of the approaches to weight loss.

To be a good candidate for weight loss surgery you must also be able to demonstrate to your physician and yourself that you can lose some weight by healthy eating, exercise and traditional dieting. While weight loss surgery, like gastric bypass surgery or lap-band surgery, is a valuable tool it is just that and if you are not motivated enough to lose some weight without surgery you are likely not a good candidate for bariatric surgery.

Another factor that you should take into consideration, when determining if weight loss surgery is right for you, is your health.  If you are overweight, have health problems such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart problems, high cholesterol or sleep apnea surgery may be a good choice as is often corrects these health problems. For some individuals with these and other weight associated health problems weight loss surgery may be lifesaving.

The surgery that you would like to undergo is an important consideration in determining whether or not weight loss surgery is your best option. The two most popular surgeries are gastric bypass and lap-band. Both of these surgeries are used to create a smaller stomach. In simple terms gastric bypass surgery requires the stapling of the stomach to create a small pouch, lap-band surgery involves an adjustable or removable band that is placed around the stomach to create a smaller pouch. When deciding which weight loss surgery you should undergo, your decision will need to be made in conjunction with a healthcare professional.

Since weight loss surgeries reduce the stomach pouch size you will be eating a lot less. Failure to eat properly can result in this smaller pouch continuing to get larger and the patient actually regaining much if not all of the lost weight. For that reason, you must be willing and able to follow all instructions.

You will be required to undergo a psychological profile to determine if you will be a good candidate for surgery. Do you become depressed easily and if so how will this affect your success. Following surgery the attitude of most people changes for the best as their image of themselves and the way other people see them improves. For some individuals though psychological problems may result in depression and patients have even been known to become suicidal.

Age is also a consideration for weight loss surgery. Most bariatric surgeons have age requirements covering both those that are too young and those that are too old. I was just a week short of my 67^th birthday when I had gastric bypass surgery. For me it worked out great yet I was at or near an age where many physicians would not have performed the surgery.

Following weight loss surgery, like lap-band surgery or gastric bypass surgery, your healthcare professional will have you on an exercise and healthy eating plan that will usually include a lot of protein.  It is important that you follow all advice given to you. With weight loss surgeries that involve the reduction of the stomach pouch, an over consumption of food can be harmful to your weight loss, as well as dangerous to your health.

The information presented cover many of the facts that you will want to consider in determining if weight loss surgery is right for you. In many communities medical professionals will hold free seminars where these surgeries are discussed. I would strongly encourage each of you considering this surgery to call a bariatric surgeon or surgery center in your local and obtain more information. Once you and your physician have all of the facts it will be much easier to determine if weight loss surgery is right for you.

Next month is my 50^th high school class reunion for Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove, California and I am looking forward to attending. While I certainly won’t be the slimmest person there I will weigh a whole lot less than what I did when I graduated in 1959.

Some of the good news since my weight loss surgery is that I weigh nearly one hundred pounds less than I was at my heaviest weight and feel great.

Before the gastric bypass surgery I had sleep apnea and slept with a CPAP machine. The machine now just collects dust for it is no longer needed.  Where I used to take several medications for high blood pressure I now only take a small dose of medication as a precaution and absolutely no other medications. I used to take a lot of medication for back and neck pain I went off of it a couple of months before my weight loss surgery in order to prepare for the surgery. It has now been over a year since I have had any pain medication not even a Tylenol. Where I used to have a problem with GERD gastroesophageal reflux disease it is no longer a problem and I have not needed any medication for it.

I can now work in the yard, go for a long walk and climb stairs and do not tire easily. I can bend over and tie my shoes and if fact can even look down and see my feet. I can set in a booth at the restaurant or in an airline seat without the embarrassment of asking for a belt extender.

Some people experience side effects after gastric bypass surgery such as nausea, dehydration, food intolerance, Dumping and bowel problems, and depression. I am happy to say that I have not experienced those problems. Where some people fart a lot after gastric bypass surgery and I may be an “Old Fart” I have not experienced an excessive farting problem. (Knock on wood.) While some people experience

My one-year follow up with the doctor will be next week and while I expect to be chastised a bit for not exercising as much as I should or getting those last 25 to 40 pounds off I really do feel good about my self. The thing I am perhaps the most anxious about is wondering how my blood tests turned out. In the mean time I am happy just being chubby instead of morbidly obese.

For those of you not familiar with Bariatric Advantage, they provide a complete line of nutritional supplements that have been specifically formulated to meet the unique demands of both the pre-operative bariatric surgical candidate and the post-operative bariatric surgical candidate. I learned about this company through my own bariatric surgeon prior to surgery in July 2008. I have since use the products and have been extremely pleased.

Thia new assistance program will be administered through a 501(c) (3) accredited foundation(s) or charity(s). Bariatric Advantage expects to be able to serve the vitamin needs of 500-1,000 patient’s in 2009, and expects the program to expand even larger in 2010 and beyond.

Tom Kinder, CEO of Bariatric Advantage stated, “We are grateful to the bariatric surgical and patient marketplace that we have been serving since 2002 and welcome this opportunity to help those patients and programs to “Recover” and to maximize their outcomes from this new lease on life”

The program details including the process required to participate in the “Recover” program will be available by July 20, 2009. If you are interested in learning more CLICK HERE by doing so you can go ahead and submit your information at this time.