I am the son of an immigrant.

I am the son of a white, Catholic, Canadian immigrant.

See how the second point makes all the difference? That sucks.

So…It’s been a while. The last year has been pretty difficult, and updating the blog became more and more intimidating as time went on. I’m planning to post more regularly, but it’ll be less focused on weight loss, mental health, etc. I will post about those topics when I feel up to it, but at least I’ll be able to share more without freaking out about it.

Onward and upward!

-Scott

So, as I’ve stated on the blog previously, my fiancee Amber has chronic migraines resulting from Chiari Malformation, which is a herniation of the brain stem (literally, her brain is too big for her skull). She had surgery to correct it 6 years ago, but her symptoms have worsened since then, which only occurs in 10-20% of people after surgery. It’s been a tough time, and with some of her “pre-surgery” symptoms returning in the last few months, I did a lot of research into revision surgeries, which people do need from time to time. We saw her neurosurgeon yesterday, and unfortunately, there’s nothing indicating that a revision surgery is even remotely necessary.

We’ve tried so many things at this point. She’s had Botox injections, nerve blocks, multiple-day infusions of a drug called DHE, and a myriad of medications. I have to put her pills together every week, and we keep a spreadsheet handy for doctor visits. She’s on narcotics, muscle relaxers, triptans…It’s a lot. We’ve tried taking her off of things to reduce side effects or possible interactions, but nothing ever works. The only route we haven’t really explored at the moment is medical marijuana, which is still in a grey area in Massachusetts, as only one dispensary has been opened, and is an hour and a half away.

Of course, this has been affecting our mood in a very significant way, and our diets have suffered as a result. We’ve been getting back on track to an extent, but it’s really difficult to keep up the good fight when everything seems so impossible. We’re both lucky to have amazing friends and family that have supported us through all of this. Most importantly, we have each other. It’s not always smooth, but considering our daily challenges, that’s to be expected.

In any case, the point of this is that I have found it really important to let the people who care about you in. Before my weight loss journey, I didn’t talk about my health, be it mental or physical. It’s made a huge difference, and despite everything, I’m in such a better place than I was. As always, if any of you are ever in a situation where you need to talk about something that’s weighing on you, my door is open.

I had my “case ended” at my previous mental health facility in January due to a bad fit with my therapist at the time. Because of that, I missed several appointments since I dreaded seeing him (of course, I didn’t ask for a new therapist – brilliant idea). I spiraled pretty hard. My depression hit me like a truck, and being off my ADHD meds for 4 months really set me back a lot. It was like Old Scott was here to stay again. I stopped leaving the house, stopped talking to my friends, stopped talking to my family.

I’ve put 20 pounds back on. With depression comes food for me. I can’t overeat at meals any more, but I can eat all day long and I can make bad choices. Thankfully, those bad choices are still miles better than what they had been, but they’ve still been there. My willpower has taken a kick in the teeth. Make no mistake – there’s no excuse for this, but there is an explanation.

I’m back on meds now. I’ve gotten out more in the last couple of weeks than the previous 2 months or so. I’m making better choices. But it’s a hard road, and one I’m going to veer off of from time to time for the rest of my life. As always, I want to thank all of you for helping me find my way back during those times where I think everything is pointless.

Love to you all.

Hey everybody, sorry once again for the long time between posts. It’s been a difficult time for me the last several months. My fiancee and I moved, my father had some serious health problems, and my depression and anxiety took a nosedive. With regards to the blog, a week turned into a month, and with every passing day I became more terrified of posting new updates. In addition, my therapist and psychiatrist both moved out of state, and their replacements were poor fits.

I know I’ve said this before, but anybody that thinks this process is easy or a “quick fix” is full of shit. Physically, I’m doing so much better than any time since high school, but I’m still the same person mentally and emotionally. While I’ve made progress since my last post, I’ve stalled quite a bit and put some weight back on (not much, but even a few pounds is demoralizing). My habits are worse than they’ve been, though I’m taking some steps to correct that.

In any case, as things stand now, I’m down to about 250 lbs, 178 down from my high, and 133 since my surgery on 11/20/13. I still don’t feel like it’s enough, and I’m still not thrilled with how I look. I have a ton of loose skin, and even though looks weren’t my concern going in, I won’t lie that there are times my new body irks me. Regardless, it’s still miles better than being 420 lbs.

I’ll leave you with some before and after photos. The before photos are from 11/19/13, the day before my surgery, and the after photos are from my 1 year surgiversary.

Thanks always for reading. I plan to be more consistent in my updates going forward, though I can’t promise my brain will cooperate.