John J. Gonzalez,Sr. MD, FAAD (retired)

Well I am not really sure how to start this but I will give it my best shot. I am 56 and I am a little over 6'2" tall and I weigh 330 lbs. I tried diets for years and seemed like it would work for a bit then gain it all back. Finally decided t take the step and get the surgery. Little nervous but this site has helped a bunch already. A couple of my friends have had the surgery and they have fantastic results. I would just like to be able to chase the grandkids a little and possibly even my wife, and maybe just win the race one time. So this is my start, I have had my first 2 Dr. visits and have started getting all my stuff together so it seems like it is going to be pretty easy for the office staff to get the paperwork through to the insurance. When the date gets closer I will post that on here. That's when I am afraid I may start getting cold feet.

Updated on 8 Feb 2016:
I made my third Dr. visit. It went pretty good. Seems like I have to make 6 visits before they can send it to the insurance for approval. I feel pretty good about it and so did the NP. I completed my psych evaluation, EKG, chest x-rays and lab work. Got the approval from my cardiologist so now I just have to make my next 3 visits and I should be good. They said the were looking at a date around the end of May or beginning of June. When they did the endoscopy, he said I had a couple of holes in the esophagus he would repair during the sleeve surgery. The up part is my weight was 325.5 so I had lost a couple.

Updated on 7 Apr 2016:
I made my 5th supervised visit Tuesday and they said everything looked really good. I was down to 313 so I was losing weight, I asked if it was too much and they told me no everything was based off my initial visit and weigh ins. I sure hope so. Even if not I am still big. I don't know if I ever put this down or not about some of the other conditions I had with this weight but a lot of mine are the same as the ones I have read on here with others. The high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and problems with my back and knees. While I have noticed my sugars are dropping to some really low numbers with what I have been eating I wondered if this is normal and when and if the wieghtloss group will take me off the diabetes meds or not. I wanted to update my news and with my surgery hopefully coming soon update some before pictures, just haven't had the courage to do that yet.

Updated on 11 Apr 2016:


Updated on 22 Jun 2016:
Well after 7 long months and being denied once and just about ready to throw in the towel I get approved. It looks like the surgery will be on July 26th. Now to try and get everything ready. I have some things such as protein drinks, any suggestions on what else I should get would be greatly appreciated. I have an all liquid diet for one week before surgery and I think two weeks after. Thanks for all the updates everyone post, it sure is great motivation.

Updated on 18 Aug 2016:
It has been a while since I have updated so I am going to do that now. I had my surgery on August 2nd and I made it through with flying colors. When I went in that morning I was at 295 lbs. so I had lost almost 35 lbs from my starting weight. The surgery took about 25 minutes according to the doctor and I really felt fine afterwards. I didn't need the pain meds like I thought I might which was pretty good in which I was able to get up and walk a lot. I let the hospital the next day and it has been really good since I have returned home. I am walking a lot so I guess that has been the key to helping me along. I went in for my 10 day check up on 8-11 and the doctor said everything was fine and I could start on soft proteins. That has been a little different. I thought that I was hungry enough to eat a whole side of beef but after about 8 oz of a protein shake I was full. So adjusting to the amount I eat and the time it takes me to eat it is odd but I am really enjoying the learning part of it. I went back to work on the 16th and it has been pretty good. I still have some restrictions but for the most part I have been able to do everything. When I weighed on the Monday before I returned to work I was at 275 lbs. The doctor said I may have a week or 2 where I don't lose anything due to liver regaining fat but I hope it doesn't. I am not sure if that is a normal thing or not. Anyway I wanted to give an update and thank everyone on this site, It has been due to everyone's life stories and success that has helped me along my journey. With all the support it has made the first part of this new life much easier. Looking forward to reading all the success updates and achievements of everyone.

Updated on 2 Oct 2017:
Well it has been a while since I have been on here and done some updating. A little over a year has went by and a whole lot has happened. I did lose weight, about 85 pounds. I gained some weight, about 10 pounds so I am currently at 253. It has been a bumpy road. I found that once I lost some of the weight I thought I could do anything. I forgot I was 57, and things seem to hurt a little bit more nowadays. Although I will say that getting out and exercising is the way to go. Just be cautious. I was able to get off all of my diabetic medication but I still have to take medicine for high blood pressure, haven't figured out that one yet. I really do feel a lot better and I am really glad that I had the procedure done. I don't think I would have been able to lose it on my own. If this procedure is something you are thinking about doing, I will say it worked for me. Reading the information on this site has been one of the best things for me though. It helps you through beginning and after. Thanks everyone for all the things y'all do.