Who Am I?
I am an open and honest person (too open I have been told) and I try to not sugar coat what I post, I hope in people who maybe looking into having weight loss surgery can gain some knowledge from my experiences. We are all different but I hope by putting this out there it may help someone who needs it.
For most of my younger life (up till I was bout 14 years old) I wasn’t overweight, I was a lean skinny kid, it wasn’t until I was in high school that I started to gain weight.
I can honestly say I thought I was always healthy, even at my heaviest, which was 432 lbs.
My biggest issue, in my opinion, with my failure to lose weight was due to over eating (never knowing when to stop).
I used to be the guy who would go to a BBQ and have 3 hamburgers, 2 hotdogs, a large amount of potato salad, chips and a 2 liter bottle of Diet Mountain Dew soda, then go home a few hours later and then order a large pizza or Chinese food and eat 90% of the pizza by myself and finishing any leftovers my wife or kids had.
For most of my younger life (up till I was bout 14 years old) I wasn’t overweight, I was a lean skinny kid, it wasn’t until I was in high school that I started to gain weight.
I can honestly say I thought I was always healthy, even at my heaviest, which was 432 lbs.
My biggest issue, in my opinion, with my failure to lose weight was due to over eating (never knowing when to stop).
My main reason for getting the weight loss surgery was to be around for my family, my wife had lost her mother due to being obese and started her own weight loss journey, and this in turn helped motivate me to look into finding something that could help me lose the weight.
My second reason for wanting to lose weight was, In all honesty, was the fact I wanted to get on the rides at any of the amusement parks that was denied in the past due to not being able to fit on the ride.
I started my research on weight loss back in 2000, at the time I was around 380 lbs, I did some research and talked to my doctor who agreed and I started to do the insurance required weight loss plan. I worked hard and lost over 70 lbs for 6 months.
My weight loss plan back then was going on the Atkins plan, I was eating high protein and under 30 carbohydrates a day, worked quite well for me at the time as I had a co-worker who was doing the same plan with me.
I started my research on weight loss back in 2000, at the time I was around 380 lbs, I did some research and talked to my doctor who agreed and I started to do the insurance required weight loss plan. I worked hard and lost over 70 lbs for 6 months.
My weight loss plan back then was going on the Atkins plan, I was eating high protein and under 30 carbohydrates a day, worked quite well for me at the time as I had a co-worker who was doing the same plan with me.
I then contacted my insurance company at the time to let them know I completed the 6 month weight loss as instructed but was denied because I needed "Special Paperwork" from them before having my doctor sign off on it each month, and that I would have to "Start" all over again and do it for another six months, I gave up at that point and figured I would just keep going.
310 lbs was the lowest I got, around the same time I met my future wife, I got comfortable and eventually went back to my old habits along with feeling defeated by the insurance company I started to gain back the 70 lbs I lost and then some.
310 lbs was the lowest I got, around the same time I met my future wife, I got comfortable and eventually went back to my old habits along with feeling defeated by the insurance company I started to gain back the 70 lbs I lost and then some.
In 2010 I was now working for a different company and decided to try to go for the surgery again, as it was covered by the insurance, and found a local hospital in Lowell, MA that would take it.
My heaviest in my entire life (up to and at this time) was around 432 lbs, I say around because the only scales at that time that could weigh me were full pallet shipping scales at my place of work at the time.
I went to all the meetings, had lab work completed and was all set to have the The LAP-BAND procedure (appointment was set for the actual surgery in 2011), but due to a change of my health insurance (going into 2011), the new insurance no longer covered weight loss surgery and I was not able to get the procedure and again had to work on losing the weight on my own.
I went to all the meetings, had lab work completed and was all set to have the The LAP-BAND procedure (appointment was set for the actual surgery in 2011), but due to a change of my health insurance (going into 2011), the new insurance no longer covered weight loss surgery and I was not able to get the procedure and again had to work on losing the weight on my own.
Over the next 4 years I tried many different things to try to lose the weight, I joined Weight Watchers and would lose 30 lbs then quit, thinking “I can do this” without having to go to the meetings and then would gain it all back and then some more like before.
Once I again had an insurance company that now provided coverage for weight loss surgery, I was told by a friend about the Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts and went to the new members meeting.
After listening to Dr. Bloominthal (pictured above) at the new members meeting, talking with some people who had either the Gastric Sleeve (Sleeve) or Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y) Surgery, and doing some personal online research, I discovered that a Sleeve Gastrectomy was what I wished to have.
My first appointment was on Aug 8, 2013, I came into the office and weighed in starting at 416 lbs. with a BMI of 53.4, which is considered Morbidly Obese.
I had my blood taken for testing and then talked with the Dietitian, Sue Miller, about what I was currently eating and what to expect going forward.
I did not know at the time I was diabetic nor that I had high blood pressure!
I was put on medication, that day, to keep both under control, and during the next few months for each check up meeting I was asked to:
Once I again had an insurance company that now provided coverage for weight loss surgery, I was told by a friend about the Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Massachusetts and went to the new members meeting.
After listening to Dr. Bloominthal (pictured above) at the new members meeting, talking with some people who had either the Gastric Sleeve (Sleeve) or Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y) Surgery, and doing some personal online research, I discovered that a Sleeve Gastrectomy was what I wished to have.
For more information on the differences between the surgeries please view my "What's the surgery differences?" page which can be found here: <LINK>
I had my blood taken for testing and then talked with the Dietitian, Sue Miller, about what I was currently eating and what to expect going forward.
I will ALWAYS remember meeting Dr. Bloominthal in his office, when came in he introduced himself then he asked "What are you taking to control your diabetes and high blood pressure?"
I was put on medication, that day, to keep both under control, and during the next few months for each check up meeting I was asked to:
- Lose weight
- Give up my diet soda
- Give up smoking (luckily for me I never smoked)
I ended up losing 36 lbs. on my own before I had the surgery to meet the weight loss requirement (pretty much they were looking for 10 lbs a month) and I still to this day have not had a drop of soda in over 4 1/2 years (as of 2018).
I had the Gastric Sleeve surgery on November 26, 2013. Yes, it was the day before Thanksgiving.
During my stay at the hospital (over 3 days total), I was up and walking, very surprised with little pain, I stopped taking my pain medicine after the first night (found out later on I tend to have a high level of pain tolerance).
I actually wondered if I had the surgery, even went as far as asking Dr. Bloominthal if he actually did the surgery, who did confirm he had.
I started with High Blood Pressure (Blood pressure is now NORMAL and PERFECT) and I had Type II Diabetes (A1c Level 9.2 at the time but now NO longer Diabetic A1c Level 3.9).
Since having surgery I have run in a bunch of 5 & 10 K running events, can do a few chin ups (I NEVER could do that, even when I was younger) went from a 5XL shirt now to a X-Large or large, a men’s pant size 62 now to a 40-42 and had no complications from surgery (during or after).
The surgery has been a GREAT tool (just as someone would use Weight Watchers) in helping me to change my life, it has helped me to know when to stop eating and to listen to my body to know now when enough is enough.
Support is always a big deal, from family, Online (Facebook) support groups, and physical (hospital) support groups have helped me on many occasions.
I currently volunteer as a support group administrator on special weight loss surgery Facebook page, to help those looking for surgery or just had surgery. We try to answer, guide and give advice\tips using our experiences of what I (and others) have gone through when we had our surgery.
So if you have read this far thank you for your interest in me, and hopefully you will either gain something from my experiences or at least find a laugh when reading through some of my posts.
During my stay at the hospital (over 3 days total), I was up and walking, very surprised with little pain, I stopped taking my pain medicine after the first night (found out later on I tend to have a high level of pain tolerance).
I actually wondered if I had the surgery, even went as far as asking Dr. Bloominthal if he actually did the surgery, who did confirm he had.
I started with High Blood Pressure (Blood pressure is now NORMAL and PERFECT) and I had Type II Diabetes (A1c Level 9.2 at the time but now NO longer Diabetic A1c Level 3.9).
Since having surgery I have run in a bunch of 5 & 10 K running events, can do a few chin ups (I NEVER could do that, even when I was younger) went from a 5XL shirt now to a X-Large or large, a men’s pant size 62 now to a 40-42 and had no complications from surgery (during or after).
The surgery has been a GREAT tool (just as someone would use Weight Watchers) in helping me to change my life, it has helped me to know when to stop eating and to listen to my body to know now when enough is enough.
Support is always a big deal, from family, Online (Facebook) support groups, and physical (hospital) support groups have helped me on many occasions.
I currently volunteer as a support group administrator on special weight loss surgery Facebook page, to help those looking for surgery or just had surgery. We try to answer, guide and give advice\tips using our experiences of what I (and others) have gone through when we had our surgery.
So if you have read this far thank you for your interest in me, and hopefully you will either gain something from my experiences or at least find a laugh when reading through some of my posts.
Ira Locke
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