My Health Profile

      The second day to a really rainy and dreary weekend offered me a great deal of time to ponder my life and its direction.  I have a number of medical conditions that all seemed to be getting worse as the years are going on. I had been 230 or more pounds over my ideal weight for the vast majority of the last 20 years. I must have been blessed with good genetics because it took awhile for that abuse of my body to start breaking it down. But, good genetics or not, when my body started to break down, it took off with a vengeance. After I turned 35, I developed high-blood pressure.  I am a borderline diabetic and am headed for full-blown diabetes. I started having really bad lower back pain whenever I had to walk for more that a few minutes. I developed chronic pain in my left knee and developed severe lower leg edema.  I underwent a sleep study thru DHMC and found out not only do I have sleep apnea, but severe.  I was waking up 162 times (episodes) per hour during my old sleeping pattern.  I suffered from drooling, bed wetting, chronic snoring to list a few.  Having since been on my CPAP/BIPAP machine since December of 2008, has changed my life, for the better.  I now have 2 episodes per hour and wake up feeling better than I have in years.  Your body decides that breathing is more important than sleep, so that is why I woke so frequently before CPAP.  The next shoking news.  My family doctor told me that if I did not get the weight off, I was going to die in the near future. Things have gotten so bad that I literally cannot reach my feet to tie my own shoes.

     The term morbid obesity refers to patients who are 50 - 100% -- or 100 pounds above -- their ideal body weight. Alternatively, a BMI (body mass index) value greater than 39 may be used to diagnose morbid obesity.  My current BMI is 60.  Thats despicable.  Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women. BMI Categories:




Underweight = <18.5

Normal weight = 18.5-24.9

Overweight = 25-29.9

Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater


Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a person's weight and height. BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.

Today has been a day of great sadness, however the realization of knowing that I am breaking the cycle of my morbid obesity makes it a bit brighter.  I have always said, "I have a thin inner child waiting to be born".  Their birthday is nearing & I am going to join everyone in welcoming them into the world with the greatest part of myself -- self- worth, self-esteem, & self-preservation.