Off to see the wizard...

I went to the doctor today, having not gone to see one in about... 2-3 years. Here's how it went.

I get weighed by the nurse lady and I'm at 479 pounds. Last time I'd weighed myself I was 449 (see below), so this came as a bit of a shock; I know I'd stopped trying, but I didn't think I'd gotten THAT big. I'm the biggest now than I've ever been, which was freaky. She took my blood pressure (97/160) and the nurse seemed startled she asked me if I was lightheaded, or needed some water. Embarrassing. -_- Declinign politely, she took me to the room where I waited for a bit.

Dr. Huang Trinh is an awesome guy. Very personable, charismatic, understanding and positive. He knows how to drop bad news without making you feel like a shit, and with every bit of bad news he told me he matched it with a positive note and a clear and definite way out. Also, he kinda looks like a darker Donnie Yen, which is good, since Ip Man is the bomb.

After a quick meet and greet, I went straight to it, cutting to the bone: I wanted to lose weight and wanted to talk about options. He suggested the surgery, the same surgery that worked so extremely well for my cousin and my aunt, and I perked up; it was what I was hoping for, but had trouble outright saying.

For some reason I had this negative outlook on any type of weight loss surgery, like they were extremely hard to get, doctors hated them and they were looked down upon. Dr. Trinh responded extremely positively to my willingness to commit to the procedure, and said he had about 10 patients in the last few years who all got the surgery and have had nothing but positive results. He explained the process a small bit (four quick incisions, everything's done very easily) and then explained the road to getting there:

Apparently, the biggest issue with operations like this are with Insurance companies. Since I have an HMO, they may be reluctant to pay for the surgery. He told me he had to make a case for me and kind of plead it to them, to prove that I need this surgery. The process includes a lot of tests, bloodwork, sleep studies, and other types of examinations to see my physical status. I'm really psyched to do it all, to be honest; I've been planning/hoping for this for a long time, and now it's finally happening!

I know the surgery isn't some magical procedure that'll suddenly make me skinny. It can, however, be an amazing help in my recovery and help me down to the healthy weight I should be. I'm stoked.

So, he put me on some medicine for my high blood pressure (a once-a-day pill to take in the morning), gave me a list of places I can get my labwork done (in about 1-2 weeks, he said), put in the order for a sleep study (which he told me is like a hotel room where they connect diodes to me and watch me sleep lolsleepfarts) and scheduled a followup with em in 3 weeks. He said something that kinda blew my mind: the process might not take as long as I'm expecting.

Fingers crossed!

Anyways, to help the process along, I've decided to start working on my diet. No more soda, no more fast food and no more unnecessary sweets. I'ma fill the house with healthy stuff to snack on. Also, I'ma start figuring out an easy, doable exercise plan to get my body used to the idea of having to move more often.

480 pounds no longer!

I'ma start taking pictures, too. I wanna be a gif on Reddit one day.

Once more into the breach.

I kind of gave up a while back. ^_^* Ironically enough, it was right around the time my friends from Pogo started a weight loss challenge that I kind of said "fuck it" and forgot all about losing weight. I don't know why, but I kind of just... stopped.

This, of course, was a huge mistake. I'm at the size now where if I don't do something about it, I will die. I learned this the hard way a few weeks ago.

I was in the shower just doing my thing (no, not like that you jerks) when I suddenly feel my heart start to pound. It was racing like I was being chased, and when I put my hand on my chest I could actually feel it hammering. It really freaked me out, as it wouldn't stop and I started freaking out. I was planning what would happen with Archer, how my funeral would go, everything. I haven't felt religious in a long time, but I started praying, though it was more apologizing and confessing than anything. I was standing there, trying to make peace with the thought of dying in the shower.

I didn't die. My heart just stopped pumping so furiously, like an old washing machine switching cycles. I literally felt the *KA-CHUG* of it suddenly stopping, beating like normal as if nothing happened.

This was just a few days before Disneyland. I'd put together a huge family thing wherein all of my cousins come with Archer and I to Disneyland. Well, we went, and the night before I told my cousins what happened (a shorter version, anyway) and asked if they could take Archer on the rides with them, since I wouldn't be going on any of them. Not only was I too big to fit, most likely, but I was afraid of my heart freaking out again. They agreed.

Though I had lots of fun in Disneyland, it was still a huge disappointment to not be able to ride anything with my son. When my cousins all wanted to ride the more adult rides, someone had to stay off with him since I was too tired to follow my cousins around. I spent the entire day as a fat lump who did mostly nothing in the Happiest Place On Earth. I did my best to hide it, but I felt miserable with myself.

I got back home and scheduled a meeting with a doctor. Enough is enough, I thought to myself. Next year, Disneyland will be awesome, I'm going to rock out and look like a badass at Cathy's wedding, and I'm going to be the dad Archer wants; someone who can run around with him, ride on rides and actually take him places that don't involve a game controller.

I'd been stupidly waiting for a warning, and nwo that my body smacked me upside the head, I'm finally listening.

TL;DR

Assuming my next post is going to get long, I'll put the bullet points here:

1. After a nasty heart attack/heart palpitations care, I went to the doctor today to begin talks about weight loss and surgery.
2. Discovered I weigh the heaviest I've ever weighed at a whopping (and scary) 479 pounds. My blood pressure is 97/160.
3. Dr. prescribed me a diuretic for my blood pressure, a bunch of lab tests and sleep study. He's doing this to build a case for my HMO to get my weight loss surgery.
4. Going to the lab next week, seeing the doc for a followup in three weeks and starting my diuretic tomorrow. Doc'll call me about when the sleep study will be.
   
5. Also gonna cut soda and any place with a drive-thru window out of my diet.

Feeling good about this one. Spending this past month with Archer has really showed me how cut off I am from living life to its fullest and how weak I truly am, physically. This'll be the change I need. I'ma come out of this like the bionic man, only brown and awesome!