This is a post that I made to my support group that I  have not been going to since last year. Since writing this I have thought about it a lot and have realized that another and probably the biggest reason for not going to the support meeting is that I gained weight since I saw the group last. It is really hard to admit that I failed at this “last chance”at being a normal weight. Well…..I have not given up and I continue the fight.

 Thanks for asking about me.  I am back in Costa Rica ….. San Jose till tomorrow when I will go into the jungle. I came down last Saturday.

I have not kept in touch with the group because I came to the conclusion that I was not a good influence to my fellow bandsters.  I do think that the band works for a lot of people but it did not help me with my obesity problems. I will try and explain. The reason I am obese is because I am hungry….. Simple as that. The band does not control hunger , it controls the intake of food.  To control my obesity I need hunger control not volume control. We (Drs and I) tried to control my hunger by going tighter and tighter with my band. Twice till I couldn’t “swallow spit” ( Dr. Ds words). The “problems” that I was expressing to the group were from trying to make the band do what it was no designed to do. If your band is too tight you will have problems …… guaranteed. I was fortunate that I did not do serious damage to my stomach.

I need to mention that I have been diagnosed with Hemochromatosis. This is a hereditary blood disorder that affects the iron levels in your body.   My body does not “flush” the excess iron that I take in; instead it stores the iron in my organs. If untreated this is fatal. The treatment is simple enough ….. Draw a pint (500cc) of blood a week till the levels of iron get down to normal. Unfortunately this might take a year or two.  I have arranged for this weekly procedure to be done in a hospital in San Jose while I’m in Costa Rica. First one today in Costa Rica; 6^th overall. The medical term for this procedure is phlebotomy. This is just a fancy word for giving blood.

But this is a WLS forum not a HH (Hereditary Hemochromatosis) forum. I can only hope each and every one of the group is in good health and are having a great summer.

P.S I have started a blog that I will try to update regularly. The primary function of this blog is to try and share the feelings that I have for the jungle.  I have a section in my blog about my WLS but I have not written much. Maybe I should try and share my defeat with WLS.  The address is www.airdriecomputer.com   My blog is not fancy ….. Come to think of it, it is pretty poor but my expertise is with hardware not web design. There are some decent videos of the jungle (crocs and monkeys) that I took last winter if anyone is interested.

1. Bob Roges Says:
   July 15th, 2009 at 2:42 pm

   Hello Terry,

   As odd as this may seem I am happy to read that you’ve been recently diagnosed with hemochromatosis (HHC). So many people in the world go undiagnosed, only their symptoms treated and they suffer and die early. In your case, your diagnosis and treatment will likely reduce suffering and save your life. In addition, this now alerts your entire family and they need to get genetically tested (all first relatives) to know whether they carry the genes responsible for the disorder.
   More information about HHC is available on our website http://www.toomuchiron.ca. If our organization can be of assistance to you, we are here to help. Please feel free to contact me directly by email or phone at your convenience.
   Sincerely,
   Bob Rogers
   Executive Director
   Canadian Hemochromatosis Society

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