My doctor has my attention now

[missdiane]

 The good news is that my GP doesn’t think my blood pressure is too horrible even though it can stand to improve quite a bit. However she’s concerned with the fact that my back is keeping me from exercising and that I’m in a bad cycle because if I exercise it currently hurts my back but I need to improve my back with exercise.

Also, my weight has stagnated and I even put back on a couple of the pounds that I lost when adjusting to the new medicine and kept me from being hungry. She’s always been easy-going when it comes to how to take care of my medical issues. But she got my attention today for sure because she suggested something she never suggested before and even warned me in advance not to be mad at her.

Gastric bypass surgery. 😳😳
  
The thought of having major surgery like that scares the crap out of me. But if she’s that concerned, I have to do something now

Comments

[sparky955.livejournal.com]

The surgery can cause serious, lifelong gastrointestinal problems. It is a very serious surgery.

Most insurances require between 6-12 months of formal dietary counseling before they’ll approve the surgery. This is a very good thing.

Many of us, and I am including myself, who are overweight eat to try to ignore certain feelings or to comfort ourselves.

When the bypass surgery prevents you from overeating, you still have all those emotions inside that played a large part in your overeating.

Losing weight is one thing. Changing long-standing behavior patterns is harder. If you’d be willing to commit to counseling on an ongoing basis to help you face and work through whatever feelings are at the core of your overeating....after surgery ... you’d increase your chances of permanent weight loss.

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the information, Sparky. I truly appreciate it.

In 1972, my Dad had the equivalent of a gastric bypass to try to fix his ulcer and was in the hospital for a year (I was only 3 at the time so I don’t remember it). He still has gastro issues to this day. Also, I already have my own gastro issues which is a big deterrent for me. A woman that worked in the department I used to work in who wasn’t much bigger than me died from complications a few months after the surgery.

I want to avoid having it unless it’s the absolute last resort but for my doctor to even suggest it means she’s concerned about my health. So I have to figure out how to slowly and safely lose weight again and keep it off and also find ways to get exercise and not compromise my back.

One thing I did ask her to prescribe is an anti anxiety med that’s safer long term than Xanax. When I was going regularly to a therapist (yay, burnout from work stress), we tried the med (Buspar) and it did a great job on relieving my anxiety. Unfortunately I couldn’t adjust to the side effects of brain zaps. However, the psychiatrist had me on other meds for depression and I wondered if the problem was a med combo rather than the Buspar on its own. I figure it’s worth another shot because I know my main issue is stress eating/nervous nibbling. If I can reduce my anxiety, I will tend to have better focus at work and will usually be less likely to turn to food for comfort