With excessive weight gain, other medical issues tend to develop that compound the issue.
Brett Hobson, 63, traces his health problems back to a debilitating injury he suffered several years ago.
“I fell and broke my back,” he recalled. “After surgery to reconnect my spine and tailbone, I was inactive for many months. I gained nearly 100 pounds.”
Hobson also developed high blood pressure, high cholesterol and started having blood clots. He later suffered cardiac arrest and had a pacemaker implanted. The cardiac arrest event severely limited his ability to drive, which led to losing his job.
“From then on,” he said, “I kept getting bigger, eventually weighing 320 pounds. I had a lap band procedure at another hospital, but that never really worked for me. I couldn’t work, couldn’t breathe well. I was just miserable.”
Searching for a solution
Despite his unsuccessful lap band procedure, Hobson continued to research other bariatric procedures. That’s when he connected with Alexa E. Roth, MD, a board-certified bariatric surgeon at Portneuf Medical Center.
“Dr. Roth is awesome,” said Hobson. “Her staff is very professional and responsive. Whenever I called with a question, if they didn’t know the answer, they would find out and call me back with the answer. I could tell that they really cared about me and other patients.”
There was one concern when he discussed options for surgery. “I told Dr. Roth that I was on blood thinning medication to help with my blood clots, which can be a problem during and after surgery,” said Hobson. “She was concerned but said she would confer with other doctors who had experience managing this situation. When we met later, she told me about the plan she had developed with the other doctors, and I agreed to the surgery.”
Hobson received information about what to eat during the two weeks before the surgery. “They wanted me to lose a little weight and get down to 260. The two-week preparation time was also to get my stomach used to a liquid diet since that was what I would have immediately after the surgery.”
This presented quite a change for Hobson, but one he was willing to do.
“I was used to eating meat and potatoes, drinking coffee, beer and soft drinks whenever I wanted. But when I talked to the staff, they said, ‘You can’t drink any carbonated drinks. No bubbles. Is that going to be a problem?’ I told them it would not be a problem. ‘But you like to drink beer.’ That’s when I said, ‘The way I look it, if I don’t drink beer, I can have the surgery, lose weight and live longer. That’s my goal.’”
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery
With Dr. Roth’s recommendation, Hobson underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.
While there are a few versions of gastric bypass surgery, the basics are the same. The surgeon divides the stomach into two parts: a much smaller pouch and the larger remaining portion of the stomach. The pouch is then connected directly to the small intestine, which bypasses the rest of the stomach.
This results in a smaller stomach that gets filled quicker, thus keeping the patient from eating as much as before.
Watch a video about Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery at Portneuf Medical Center
There were no complications during Hobson’s surgery, though during the first week post-surgery he needed to balance his blood thinning medications. “There was one night when the nurse needed help, but the team arrived and took care of everything. Since I was on a liquid diet, it was good for me to be in the hospital that week.”
After beginning his recovery on a liquid diet, Hobson made the transition to eating soft foods like applesauce, low-fat oatmeal and yogurt. He often supplemented his diet with a protein drink in between meals.
Eventually, Hobson got on a regular diet of eggs for breakfast, cottage cheese and fruit for lunch, and then a chicken breast or small hamburger for dinner, with protein drinks in between. He also got used to taking small sips of water so not to fill up his stomach with liquids. He concentrated on consuming proteins that can be converted to healthy muscle.
“My wife Jane got used to the changes in my diet,” Hobson recalled. “She’s just happy that I am getting skinnier. I weighed 200 pounds this morning.”
Increasing activities
When he was well on his way to recovery from surgery, Hobson started to increase his activities. He focused first on walking to build up his strength, endurance and balance. He also went to a gym where he would ride the stationary bicycle or walk on the treadmill, two activities he did when going through cardiac rehab years earlier.
He also likes to hunt and fish – two activities he has done since he was a little boy.
“My dad and brother were hunters,” he said. “I remember Mom made a carryall that Dad wore over his shoulders to carry me outside while they hunted. I was probably six to eight months old at the time. Later when I could hold and shoot a rifle, we hunted elk, deer, moose, geese and upland game birds.”
Through his bariatric surgery experience, Hobson maintained a great relationship with Dr. Roth and her staff.
“It was like they were my family,” he said. “Any questions I had, they answered. Their professionalism, their consideration, the way they connected with me – I have never felt that way with a doctor’s office before.”
He has also noticed a change in the clothes he wears. “I have no memory of buying a shirt that is a large size. They have always been 2X or 3X. Eventually, I got done to 1X and now I’m down to large. This surgery was the best thing I ever did.”
Hobson also learned a lesson one day when his cousin told him to pick up an 80-pound bale of hay, which he did. “Now carry that around with you all day,” his cousin said. When Hobson said he couldn’t, his cousin reminded him that he carried that same weight around with him every day before his surgery.
“It made me realize that my surgery was the best thing I ever did. My thanks go to Dr. Roth’s team who were so great to work with.”
For more information and to find out if you qualify for weight-loss surgery, visit our web page or call our office at 208-239-2760.