MADE GOAL TODAY! My complete story, 350# loss! (Warning! Long Read)

MY STORY

My name is Tim Dockery and I have a weight problem. I had a normal childhood, no weight problems until I reached the age of 16. I, of course, was the only member of my immediate family with any kind of weight problem. However, at the age of 16 my parents took me to see a weight loss specialist. He prescribed amphetamines (speed). I had success until I stopped taking the pills then it was back to the same old habits. At graduation from high school my weight was approximately 240 pounds.

I met Pat Detamore in 1973, we were married September 13, 1975. At that time I weighed 279 pounds. People have asked me how I went from 279 to 537 and the answer is “I did ¼, ½ and one pound at a time!” When we first married we ate a lot of fast food during the week and on the weekends we had big “Southern Style” meals. The above diet, a sedentary lifestyle, a pack and a half a day cigarette habit along with the sleep apnea that I didn’t even realize I had led to a self- perpetuated, downward spiraling, out of control Tim Dockery.

In late June, early July of 1995 I thought I was just having trouble sleeping because I was extremely tired and run down all the time. (My weight was 537 lbs.) One of the problems I encountered was that I would actually fall asleep while driving to work in the mornings. I had such severe sleep apnea that my blood had built up dangerous levels of carbon dioxide.

I went to my family physician on 07/10/95 and he took one look at me and immediately sent me to Medina General Hospital. I was admitted directly into the Intensive Care Unit. They tried to give me oxygen and I immediately passed out. They thought they’d lost me and even told my wife to call the family. I was so big that it took them 40 minutes to intubate me.

On 07/12/95 I was taken by ambulance to the Cleveland Clinic where they put a central line into my chest and treated me with antibiotics and steroids for pneumonia. I was released on 07/18/95 and was to return on August 4th for them to put in a reversible tracheotomy. The tracheotomy will allow me to breathe thus solving my sleep apnea problem.



After a rough surgery I developed a near fatal blood infection. The Clinic had to call in staff from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta GA. to analyze and prescribe a treatment. The tracheotomy procedure that was suppose to have me hospitalized for 7-10 days ended up putting me in for 47 days.

I was released on 09/20/95 and from that date until the end of 1999 I was hospitalized at Medina General more than 10 times for Major Respiratory Infections, Congestive Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. My total hospital bills for the period of time from 07/10/95 to 12/31/99 exceeded $293,000.00, with total health care costs exceeding $337,000.00. Thank God for good health insurance!

This period of time is what I call my personal Dark Ages. When I came home from the Cleveland Clinic I was on a walker and was very weak. My knees and hips hurt 24/7. My physical activities for the day consisted of walking from our bedroom to “my chair” in the living room in the morning and making the return trip in the evening! That trip was only 73 feet in distance, but when you’re in the physical condition I was in, it seemed like miles.

My “chair” that I sat on set in a special wooden base that my brother fabricated out of 2x8 lumber. It raised the chair up 10 inches so that my knees wouldn’t have to bend as much to help alleviate the pain. I also had to have an extension on my toilet seat, once again to try to help alleviate the constant pain. We eventually bought a bedside toilet to set next to my chair so I wouldn’t have to walk to the bathroom.

My wife would fix my breakfast in the morning and pack my lunch in a small cooler that I could keep close by; once again, I was unable to walk into the kitchen to fix my own lunch.

I was also unable to stand to take a shower or sit to take a bath. My wife would fill our disposable hospital basins with water, one to wash with and one to rinse with, and we would bathe me by the ole sponge bath method. We also used the two basin method to wash my hair.

I was so weak that I couldn’t turn myself over in bed. The nurses at the hospital taught my wife how to “rig” an extra bed sheet underneath me to turn me over.

In order for me to go to the doctor’s office my wife would have to load me, my walker and enough oxygen tanks in the car to last for the entire trip. Once at the doctor’s office she had to find a wheelchair for me, not just any wheelchair, I had to have the “extra wide” model.

If my health problems had only affected me, well, that would have been bad enough, but it also adversely affected my wife too. She certainly did not deserve to be put through everything she’s had to endure. She has proven the “for better or for worse” part of our marriage vows.

My health problems also caused many emotional problems that no doubt made me a real “bear” to be around. I eventually became a “prisoner in my own home.” I could no longer do the simple things that everyone takes for granted. I couldn’t safely fit behind the steering wheel of my car. I couldn’t go out to do any shopping or go to the malls. By the time I made it to the door of the store I was so winded I couldn’t walk any farther, plus I always thought that other people were ridiculing me behind my back. Restaurants, forget them, I didn’t know if I could sit in their seats and heaven help if they only had booths! Indoor movies?? Don’t even think about it! Clothing was another major problem. Try to find fashionable, colorful clothing when you’re at 537 pounds. You usually had a choice between a lovely black or a lovely navy, not to mention the expense if you could find the clothing!

I became very dark emotionally. I had to depend on my wife, family and friends for practically everything. My self-esteem was completely gone. I was never suicidal but I really didn’t care if I lived, or, if I died. I thought everyone would be better off if I was out of the picture! I guess God wasn’t quite finished with me yet!

My health finally revived a bit in 2000/2001. I started a walking program on the treadmill on 02/06/02. I was only able to start at one minute, which was all I could do! I would increase the time in one minute increments until I could do 30 minutes at the slowest speed.  From 1996 through April 27, 2003 I had lost 145 pounds.







On April 29, 2003, I joined the Creston OH  #1971 Chapter of TOPS. (An acronym for Take Off Pounds Sensibly) My weight at joining TOPS was 392 pounds, and needless to say my life has changed dramatically for the better. My wife had joined TOPS in February of 2003 and is close to her goal today. She would always tell me about these wonderful people at the club and ask me to join too. When I did join I found out that what she said about the TOPS folks was absolutely true! Everyone from the people that weigh you (the weight recorders) each week to the folks in the leadership positions really want to see you succeed and offer tremendous amounts of encouragement and support.

I told my wife that maybe the TOPS motto should be “TOPS, where the people make the difference!” Many of the people that were there when I joined have now become good friends! I absolutely could not have been successful without their help!

I started my actual program on 05/01 with a limit of 1200 to 1500 calories a day and walked on the treadmill 30 minutes 3 times a day. I joined our local Recreation Center in December of 2004 and had a personal Trainer design a program for me to help me lose those last pounds.

It’s not been a complete walk in the park, I actually had to raise my weight loss goal from 188 pounds to 220. On November of 2004 I got down to 197 pounds and really didn’t feel well, everyone told me I looked too thin! (That’s a first!) My problem was and is that I’m carrying an additional 20 to 25 pounds of excess skin. My physician decided to raise my goal to 220 pounds. I started adding weight and went over 220 to 234 pounds. That last 14 pounds was killer for me to lose. It does give me a deeper sense of empathy for those folks that have only a small amount of weight to lose!  
On June 28, 2005 I realized my dreams of hitting my goal! It was a joyous occasion, one which I’ll never forget!






From my heaviest weight of 537 pounds I have now lost a grand total of 330 pounds!!!! My waist size went from 66 inches to 36 inches! My shirt size went from size 24 (That’s a 5X, if you’re counting!) to a size 16! My shoe size even drop in size both in width and length! Subway’s Jared has nothing on me! Ha! We were on vacation in September and all of my relatives were just shocked when they saw how much I’d changed. Some of them said that they wouldn't have known me if my wife Pat wasn’t with me
I know it’s not possible to see what the future holds for me however, I can now say that for the first time in 15 years I can see a little light at the end of that long, dark tunnel. As bad as my “bad times” were then, they cannot be compared to how good my “good times” are now!

My life has changed for the better in so many ways that it would be impossible to list them all!  But…I’ll try… I can now travel by myself anywhere I need to go. When I go to restaurants I look for the booths! It’s a real blast to slide in and sit down!



I now love to shop at the malls. The bigger the mall is…the better I like it!
I also LOVE to shop for clothing! Now instead of just black and navy my color selection is vast and ever widening! I’m not quite ready for GQ magazine but hey….give me a couple of months and check back with me!

I used to take 18 pills a day and supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day just to survive. I now take 2 pills a day and no longer need to use supplemental oxygen. In July of 2003 I mowed my own lawn for the first time in 15 years. On August 3, 2003 I was able to wear my wedding band, it had been over 12 years since I was able to do that!
Needless to say I am no longer a prisoner in my own home! I feel so much better about myself that I know I also treat others better.

There are times that I look back at my life and I really have a difficult time believing how far I’ve come. If anyone would have told me 9 months ago that I would be doing the things that I’m doing today, and feeling as good as I do well…let’s just say I would have seriously doubted their words!




I know that having an excessive amount of pride is a bad thing and, I could never be a cocky, braggadocios individual but, I do have more confidence in myself. I’m no longer afraid or ashamed to walk into a room full of people that I don’t know and try to mingle! I in no way consider myself better than anyone but I also no longer “beat myself up” with self inflicted, destructive thoughts like “Tim, you’re just not good enough to be here.”


It’s all been so good!!!!! I’ve also noticed that people out in the general public treat me better and with more respect than they did when I was obese. Maybe that’s a problem we all need to work on! Another thing that I’ve noticed is that there is a double standard on weight issues for men and women. If a man is overweight it’s “he’s just a big ole boy.” But if it’s a women then it’s “what’s wrong with her, doesn’t she care anything about herself?” That’s another wrong that we need to try to correct.

 Doing my daily workout routine gets tedious and boring at times however, whenever I start feeling that way I take out a picture of myself at 500 plus pounds (I call him “Evil Tim”) and pretty soon I find myself back on program. I actually have a “Trail of Sweat” on the tread belt of my treadmill, and I’m proud of it! I had my tracheotomy reversed on 12/18/03 which was also a wonderful event for me!!
 
I believe that God has given me a second chance at life with the stipulation that when I get to where I should be (weight wise) that I need to help other people who might be struggling with their own weight problems. You don’t have to be 300 pounds overweight to have a problem! If you’re 10 or 20 pounds overweight and don’t feel good about yourself, then, it’s a problem.








It’s NOT been an easy road! YOU do have to be responsible for your own actions. YOU are the only one who controls what YOU eat! YOU are the only one who controls how and how much you exercise!! THERE IS NO MAJIC PILL!!!!!!!!

It’s really all about personal responsibility!! Some folks want to put the blame on the fast food industry, but hey, like I said, you have a CHOICE when you go in there to decide WHAT to eat.


I hope I can be an inspiration to anyone that needs help and to know you can do it the old-fashioned way that is diet and exercise!
The main thing is though, you have to start! NOW, not tomorrow! Too many times tomorrow never comes, diet wise anyway!


An addendum:
A Few More Quirks Along The Journey

I need to update my story and add a few more facts for clarification:

On September 5th of 2007 I had an Abdominal Panniculectomy, the removal of my “apron” of skin from my belly area. As usual, anything I do medically turns into a circus! Lol  After the surgeon finished the panniculectomy, his assistant ( someone yet unnamed) was to close and accidentally left a few “bleeders” open. A few hours after surgery my blood pressure started dropping and the area around my incision started hardening due to the excess bleeding, anyway, back to surgery I go, and they have to reopen my incision, find the bleeders,  cauterize (I think that’s correct, I’m NOT a doctor ) them and sew me up again……UGH!

The next morning while in an ICU unit my heart rate jumps up to 180-200 bpm! Oh joy, something new! Two days later I’m having a Catheter Ablation done on my heart! I tried to look at it like this , “well, I’m already in the hospital, might as well get the “two-fer”” that is, the Panniculectomy & the Ablation! Lol I was having some tachycardia problems before surgery but they THOUGHT they had it under control with the Toprol XL I was taking.
I had to have an Echo & stress test before they would admit me for the panniculectomy! The Ablation was a 6 hour deal, with a little discomfort, but it WORKED! I haven’t had any more electro physical heart problems and they took me off the Toprol XL , which slows your heart rate, making it harder to get it in the burn zone when ya exercise! YAY!

The Panniculectomy………&hellip ;…I’m often asked about this procedure, whether or not it was worth having it done etc.. I have to be honest & tell ya it took me a good year to recover from this procedure, I had drain tubes in me for longer than a month….I was unable to do any of my Weight Loss Motivational speaking & gained close to 40 pounds from lack of exercise & my own mental funk. It took me 5 months at the Rec Center to lose that plus a few pounds as I am at around 188 now! I DO have a flat tummy…looks like Dr. Frankenstein sewed me up (ok, not really) ! Would I do it all over again?…simple answer……Yep!  Any medical folks reading this please forgive my lack of proper medical terminology.

My overall health is excellent, and I kick butt at  the Rec Center 6 days a week!


My affiliation with TOPS…………… I am no longer a member of this organization  & here is the reason. First a little background…When you join TOPS you are required to submit a “goal weight slip” from your doctor. When you achieve your goal weight & have kept it off for awhile you are moved into KOPS status. This stands for Keeping Off Pounds Sensibly! Well, during my down time from the Panniculectomy/Catheter Ablation surgeries, I was inactive (DUH) at TOPS. I had all of the proper documentation needed to be excused but one of the Ohio Area Coordinators ( semi quasi state bosses at TOPS) decide that I didn’t have every “T” crossed & “I” dotted and stripped me of my KOPS status!  I was furious, I was TOPS 2006 International King, as such, they flew me to Atlanta, GA, put me up in the Hyatt..a big deal! So, I decided if they were gonna play games than I would no longer speak on their behalf and not renew my membership. It’s their loss, they got a big bump in membership when I was their king. The local TOPS chapters are filled with good folks, and I appreciate the love & fellowship that I received on my way to my goal weight! The organization is good for reaching your goal.. not so good after your goal is achieved.

 What I’m Doing Now Weight Loss Wise
 

 
I’ve been doing it on my own but found this great web site called Calorie Count!  It’s a  FREE web site that contains a nice calorie database,  activity logs plus many other wonderful features. I really enjoy the memberships great success stories! I find journaling my food & exercise really helps, With the exception of my down time after my surgeries I’ve always kept a food diary… It helps!     

I joined on June 10, 2009 and as of today, September 20, 2009 I’ve lost a total of  26 pounds and am at goal! It’s a goal that is higher than I wanted, but due to still having some excess skin issues on the upper legs it’s a goal my doctor said I should stick to.

Wow, congratulations on your achievements!  That is amazing.  I'm glad you are doing well and enjoying your new life style.

Congratulations!!! You've done an amazing thing!

I feel ashamed for being discouraged about losing from 180 to 140! And I should be ashamed of it!

I can't imagine where the internal strength came from but I'm so glad you found it!

I'm happy for your wife that she isn't watching your suffering any longer because sometimes it's harder to watch than to go through.

Wow - what an AMAZING story!!! Many congrats on all the success you have had.  I think you sound absolutely inspiring! 

You are a true inspiration. I'm so happy for you and your wife. I'm glad you saved yourself from "evil Tim" :) This world is lucky to still have after so many close shaves.

AMAZING! You're really an inspiration. Many congratulations on your success and congratulations for having an equally amazing and supportive wife. Excellent job td47 and Pat!

WTG Tim!  Congratulations on your weight loss.  Doesn't it feel great to know you had what it takes to improve your health?  Being able to set goals and stick with the plan until you meet those goals is wonderful.  Keep up the good work.

Original Post by td74:

YOU do have to be responsible for your own actions. YOU are the only one who controls what YOU eat! YOU are the only one who controls how and how much you exercise!! THERE IS NO MAJIC PILL!!!!!!!!

It’s really all about personal responsibility!! Some folks want to put the blame on the fast food industry, but hey, like I said, you have a CHOICE when you go in there to decide WHAT to eat.

I hope I can be an inspiration to anyone that needs help and to know you can do it the old-fashioned way that is diet and exercise!
The main thing is though, you have to start! NOW, not tomorrow! Too many times tomorrow never comes, diet wise anyway!

I love your practical, "common sense" approach to weight loss - it's so true.

Congratulations Tim.  You've come such a long way - you should be proud of yourself.  Your story is truly inspirational - thanks for sharing it.

hey, super congrats!  :D

yeah, i'm with you.  i could lose 1000 pounds now, if i had 'em.  LOL  i always thought i was born to be fat until i found this site.  now i realize that i can weigh anything i want & it's ALL up to me.  it's MY decision. 

thanks for posting.  that's awesome!

Tim, thank you so much for posting your story and congratulations! You are an inspiration to all of us!

I can see in your story the trurth so many fail to see. It is ALL a personal choice and decision ... what we eat, how we exercise, what we weigh and who we are. You are an example of the best part within all of us, the challenge to succeed at our goals! Comgrats and God Bless. (God has a funny sense of humor sometimes. Just take a look around)