A new resolve

The other day I wrote about how I have taken responsibility to make myself healthier through the WLS weight loss and other life modifications that I have made. I talked about the heart catheterization I was going to have last Monday and what that meant to me both physically and mentally. I went into that procedure two days ago with a positive attitude and little apprehension. Some cardiac emergencies came in while I waited and my schedule got pushed backwards an hour and a half. But finally it was my turn. A few needle sticks and I was asleep, sort of. When I awoke an hour later it was over and they slid me over on to my bed again and said they were taking me over to the hospital so I could stay overnight, That meant they had put in a stent. The nurses and the doctor were all quite positive about the procedure so I was too. No pain or discomfort and I got a private room, because there were no more rooms available.

I was starving since I had not eaten in almost 24 hours, so they brought me a turkey sandwich (actually very good). I got a phone call from a friend checking to see how I was doing and then a second call asking if I was going home that night and needed a ride. The nurses kept a check on me all night so there was actually little sleep, but I was not in any discomfort, and felt pretty well. The doctor had told me that if everything was okay he would discharge me in the morning so I just dozed off until he came in. He told me about my stent and how it had gone well. Then he told me about the other problems that they had found. Apparently the blood vessels downstream from my bypasses done in 2006 showed signs of heart disease. They were in locations that apparently could not be stented or bypassed. This meant that the only recourse I had was medical therapy. So we discussed the long term issues and options and while they were not determined to be of immediate concern I would have to deal with at some point in the future.

Needless to say that was not the news I wanted to hear. I was a bit down the rest of the day and when I got home to the empty house, it was awfully quiet. But then I started to consider all of the things that have happened in my life and I realized that while I had done everything I could do to change the health status of my life there were still things created many years before that were hanging over my head like Damocles’ sword. Thirty to forty years of poor diets, lack of exercise, diabetes, and the weight gain were superimposed on top of that my family genetics. It was an equation that did not balance well. And frankly I should have realized that a long time ago. But I thought that all I had to do to become healthy is lose the weight and get rid of the diabetes.

So as I sit here this morning thinking about the message I received from my doctor and drinking a cup of coffee I realized that I had gotten up this morning just so that I could start all over again, again. I try to think that way every day. Each day is a new beginning. The problematical stuff with my heart will likely become an issue in a few years. But also will be managed medically. There are apparently no surgical options available at this time. I stress the "at this time" as this may change with our changing technology. I am not expecting medical technology to make my life perfect, but I do expect that technology may very well change how they treat this problem. But until they do, I am pushing forward doing what I have to do.

These back side health problems almost always started many years earlier and to me that meant that your healthy life’s choices need to be made better and earlier than we think now. I guess any special insight I may have is based upon accepting who I was and why I was where I was; and doing what was necessary to change as many risk factors as I could. After that, I then have to deal effectively with those factors that are either genetic (and to some degree out of our control, though not totally) and/or self-driven. There is a lot to be said about looking critically at yourself and your life and evaluating these things.

Accepting some responsibility for changing the front side is very important. I have only watched the Biggest Loser a few times and didn’t particularly like the way the heavy people were treated by the trainers and to a more significant degree by the public. We applauded their successes and seemed to almost gloat in their failures, almost like we expected them to. And as a heavy person, we sometimes start to look at ourselves as a failure. That perception causes us to spiral downwards. Weight does not affect your intelligence and yet many people perceive heavy people as not that smart. “If you were smart, you can change.” To me the biggest perceptual problem with people who are getting heavier is their general unwillingness to critically look at their life simply from the point of health maintenance. It can be said as an excuse, “Since everyone is heavier, what is so wrong with me?”

Now as I look down the path I am on I realize that issues created many years ago under conditions where I was not particularly responsible for my health are going to cause me problems in the future. The weight loss was a positive step; and the elimination of diabetes was also a positive step. But they were probably insufficient to make up for all those years prior. In reality, what other choice did I have? If I had not done what I did to improve my health, I probably would not be writing this or anything, ever again. I probably would not have made it to this point. But I have, and now I know I have some more work to do to ensure that I live as long as possible.

So in ending this entry, I would ask you that if you are considering weight loss surgery or have had it and are moving along, do not be surprised if more health problems are encountered. The WLS is not a total health “fix”. It is really just a reduction or elimination of one risk factor for heart disease. The additional elimination of diabetes also reduces the risks. But other risks are not going to go away. A family history and genetics is an important element and will never go away. Be sure you stay active and exercise as much as you can. Eat as well as you can, given the limitations the Eight Bites life will allow you. And do not fear the future, for it is the only one you will ever have. Your future will last as long as you do. You can do some things to influence it though. You have taken or may be preparing to take your health into your own hands. Handle it with courage, care, and gentleness, but look back at where you were and then do the things you need to do to reduce as many health risks as possible. You also must look forward to dealing with more health issues in the future. Just don’t let them freeze you in place or make you hesitant to act now to reduce your risks.

People do respond to a rational discourse in this increasingly irrational world and I guess that is what I am trying to do. If I manage to get people to think differently about their own health, that is an admirable goal. Maybe I can get some to realize that detection and action, when there is a problem, may simply not early enough. You almost always have to think a long ways back and then a long ways forward, don’t you?