In our society, women tend to worry more about weight than their male counterparts. As demonstrated by the success of our patient Milton Cooper, weight management is equally important for men. And, as we often say, the health benefits of weight loss are much more important than a change in appearance.
When Milton Cooper of Maryville first came to our office, he was 39 years old and weighed 378 pounds. He first tipped the scales at over 300 pounds when he was only 18 and was diagnosed with diabetes about a year later. Cooper’s struggles with diabetes led his doctor to recommend weight loss surgery and ultimately brought him to us.
In Cooper’s words: “I was taking three to four insulin shots a day, plus diabetes medication, and still my blood sugar wouldn’t come down. I knew if I didn’t do something quickly my diabetes would catch up with me. Two days after my surgery, I was off all of my medications. Gastric bypass cured my diabetes. It has been amazing.”
Cooper says that, as was the case with him, a lot of men believe they were meant to go through life overweight and that our society doesn’t really push them to lose weight even if it could save their lives.
I performed Cooper’s gastric bypass procedure in March 2010. Now that he’s a much healthier 209 pounds – and off his diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol medications – Cooper hopes to convince more men to consider the benefits of weight loss surgery.
“Now that I have had the surgery, I don’t see why any man wouldn’t want to do it,” says Cooper.
If you’re a “big guy” who’s struggling with health problems related to your weight, we encourage you to attend one of our free seminars to see if weight loss surgery is right for you.