(no subject)

[the_rck]

Scott and Cordelia biked to the Traverwood library last night. Scott said it was farther from where Traver came out than he'd thought. I'm not sure if that puts it too far for Cordelia to go on her own or not. They came back along Plymouth and found that easier, even with the big hill.

This morning, I finally saw the surgeon about repairing my hiatal hernia. This is the surgeon my sister-in-law (also a surgeon) recommended as the best. He said that, given my weight (230 lbs at 5'2"), the only way to do the repair and have it stand a chance of working is to couple it with bariatric surgery. Without the bariatric surgery, the repair might last a couple of years, but it would pretty certainly fail. He thinks that, with the bariatric surgery, the whole thing would be permanent.

I accepted a referral to the bariatric program. It's a long process involving a lot of appointments for counseling of all types. He said it might take as long as three years. I am by no means certain I want to go through with it. The reflux is well contained right now with the new medications I'm taking. I don't know. This isn't a minor thing, and apart from my knees hurting sometimes, I'm not particularly unhappy about my weight. I don't want to gain more weight because I want my clothes to continue to fit, and I don't want to lose more than about fifty pounds for the same reason. My dresses are made for me by a seamstress, and I'm not sure we could adjust the pattern (made from a old dress of mine) down a size. Nobody else makes dresses in that pattern anymore so it's not a matter of just finding something else.

It's rainy right now. I hope it clears up and warms up as the day goes on. Cordelia's school is having its ice cream social tonight, and most of that is outside. Some things can be moved inside, but the bounce houses, ponies and petting zoo have to be outside. At least, I volunteered for something indoors. I'm doing two shifts with the cake walk.

Comments

[heavenscalyx]

... that tying hiatal hernia repair to bariatric surgery sounds super-duper-fishy to me, just based on some cursory research I did on hiatal hernia repair surgery a few years ago. I'd look at a second, and perhaps third opinion before going for something with so many horrendous side effects.

[the_rck]

Yeah. I'm side eying the entire notion. On the one hand, this surgeon came highly recommended. On the other hand-- surprise bariatric surgery referral.

Of course, the reason my previous gastroenterologist recommended against surgery was because it pretty much universally failed after a few years. He didn't feel that something that invasive was justified when it wasn't really a fix. So the risk of failure is probably not exaggerated. I just don't trust the idea that bariatric surgery would make the fix permanent (and I'm not sold on the idea for other reasons).

[hopeofdawn.livejournal.com]

As a friend, I would say be very, very careful about considering that bariatric surgery--from what I've read, it changes people's lives forever, and not for the better. There are a whole host of medical complications that come along with that sort of surgery that, especially with your current health challenges, could make you even sicker.

I'm also skeptical of this surgeon's requirement that you lose weight before he performs the surgery. What is his rationale? What purpose would weight loss serve that couldn't be better served by, say, physical therapy or other exercises to strengthen the area instead? There's a lot of bias towards weight loss as a cure-all in the medical industry, and a lot of really good doctors fall victim to it. Maybe you should get a second opinion?

http://healthateverysizeblog.org/2013/03/05/the-haes-files-the-high-costs-of-weight-loss-surgery/
This one is more ranty, but she does make a lot of good points: http://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/mandatory-weight-loss-surgery/

Anyway, just be careful--I do want you to feel better, not worse! *hugs*