I've started this blog because I have many friendships that are carried solely via computer screen. Many people that I consider to be my friends have never met me and will, sadly, never meet me. I also created this blog to show people the trials that one is faced with on a daily basis when one chooses the path of weight-loss surgery AND to show them that it can be done. In a way, I'm creating this blog to keep myself accountable to my new lifestyle and to those of you who read it, I'd like for you to do the same. So, some history and background!
I've struggled with weight my entire life. At the age of five I weighed one hundred pounds. Around the age of eight, I was tested for all kinds of disorders, diseases and imbalances including Diabetes and Hypothyroidism. The doctor couldn't find anything. I was never a very active child. I went through a time where I particularly enjoyed riding bikes and playing outside during the summer, but for the most part I stayed inside because one of my hobbies as a child was movies. I adored Disney movies and TV. The problem was that I also adored food.
My reasons for being so in love with food are too vast and complex to delve into on an internet blog. Suffice it to say that by the time I was seventeen, I weighed four hundred and nine pounds. When I was fifteen, my parents had approached me with the idea of Gastric Bypass surgery. My dad had undergone the procedure in 2003 and had lost nearly two hundred pounds and my family was concerned for my health. My answer was quite firm at first: absolutely not. I hated doctors, needles, hospitals, pain, and everything that the surgery involved. My parents had planted a seed, though. I couldn't shake the idea that maybe this was something that would finally be able to help me conquer the "unconquerable".
I started researching the surgery online and joined a group on Myspace dedicated to it. One night, as I was chatting with a woman I met from this group, she recommended the site Obesity Help, which I looked up immediately. They had a breakdown of surgeons by state and I spent all night looking for surgeons in Michigan. None of them would operate on someone under eighteen. I was devastated.
Then, a genius idea occurred to me. Why not look at other states nearby? We weren't THAT far from parts of Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. I found a surgeon in Illinois who was nationally recognized for his work. He had helped to develop many of the tools used in laparoscopic surgery (a type of surgery where they don't use a large incisions, but many small incisions through which scopes with a tiny camera and the tools needed for surgery are inserted). This man had so many letters after his name that you could have fashioned a new name with them. I wrote down his number and begged my dad to call him. It took a few weeks, but I finally got an appointment for the end of January 2007, right after I turned seventeen.
I was thrilled. When I met the surgeon, I was even more thrilled. He seemed cool and confident with a good bedside manner. His secretaries, assistant and fellow were all wonderful women who put me at ease. We talked about surgical options and insurance and he assured me that we'd make it work. He said that he suspected I had a condition called a Hiatal Hernia which causes Acid Reflux Disease. His plan was for me to have a test done to confirm the presence of a Hiatal Hernia and work some magic with the insurance company so that they would approve my surgery.
It didn't work. The insurance company wouldn't budge. There were many circumstances as to why they wouldn't approve my claim, but I thought all hope was lost. I'd have to try my best to get by without dying until I was eighteen and then start the process all over again.
At the end of March of 2007, I was riding home from school one day and my mom said, "Your dad has a huge surprise for you when we get home." Wonderful girl that I am, I thought to myself, "I bet we're going out to dinner." HA! When I walked through the front door, dad said, "Sit down. I've been on the phone with the surgeons office all day." Huh? Why? "Well, you know we were going to call them to see if there was a way we could work out a self-pay plan, but his secretary had told us they didn't do that. Then she told me to hang on a minute. When she came back, she said, 'Mr. Montgomery, I have to be honest with you: no one has been able to stop talking about Ashlee since January. We know she needs this surgery and we've been chewing the doctors ear off about it since she was here. At the same time, we've been contacted by the CBS Early Show. They'd like to do a piece about juvenile weight-loss surgery and currently, Ashlee is our only file in the practice whose pre-operative. The doctor would like Ashlee to appear on the Early Show. He'd be willing to perform the surgery pro bono.'" For those of you who don't know, "pro bono" means "free".
We thought it was a miracle. I did all of the pre-operative testing that Wednesday, the CBS news crew was at my home that Friday, and on Tuesday, April 3, 2007, I had Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass with Hiatal Hernia and Adhesion Repair. The surgery was quite extensive and I was in the operating room for much longer than was expected. I lost fifty pounds in a month and eventually got to my current weight of two hundred and eighty pounds. That's a one hundred and twenty-nine pound weight loss.
In January of 2009, two years after my initial appointment with the old surgeon, I had an appointment with a new surgeon. I discovered that the reason why I had noticed a dramatic increase in my Acid Reflux and appetite, and the reason I could eat tons more than I should have been able to is because I have a rare post-operative complication called a Gastrogastric Fistula. Essentially what has happened is that scar tissue that built up between my new pouch stomach and the old stomach, (called the Remnant Stomach), wore down due to acid, I believe, and left a big, gaping hole in my new pouch. Food travels down my esophagus, into my pouch, through the hole into my old stomach and is digested as it was pre-op.
The worst symptom according to my surgeon, Dr. Laker, is the horrible Acid Reflux. I'll agree it's not fun. The worst symptom according to Ashlee is the fact that I don't get any of the benefits of my surgery. My weight loss stalled at two hundred and sixty-five pounds and then I regained fifteen of those pounds, maybe more, (I haven't weighed myself since my last visit to Dr. Laker). I don't keep feelings of fullness, I don't have "dumping syndrome", (a classic post-op complication that causes intense nausea, intestinal cramping and other horrid things... kind of like a built-in food cop to aide in the hinderance of incorrect eating as a post-op), and I can't lose any more weight.
My revision to correct this is scheduled for April 6, 2009; two years and three days after my original surgery. I start a one-week liquid pre-operative diet tomorrow, actually. I'm nervous as hell, but I'm ready to reclaim my spot on what the weight-loss surgery community calls "The Loser's Bench". So tomorrow, I'm going to eat some final meals... I'll be having everything I shouldn't even be able to eat.
Life is only just beginning. I'm thrilled to be along for the ride.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment