S05.E12: Tracey's Story

[TurtlePower]

Here was a woman whose legs were pretty bad and was in constant pain. Yet, we were not subjected to "Ow mah leygs" for 2 hours straight. James, this could have been you. Nice work, Tracey!

[Miss Ruth]

6 hours ago, legalwriter said:

Does anyone else think that Dr. Now is a little "pudgy" and could lose a few pounds himself? 

Yes.

[Showthyme]

I am passing the hat to get Tracey a makeover and a fabulous weekend getaway for Tracey and hubby. Who is in?

A lot of prayers are going her way for a full recovery from her lymphedema.

[Hockeymom]

10 minutes ago, Showthyme said:

I am passing the hat to get Tracey a makeover and a fabulous weekend getaway for Tracey and hubby. Who is in?

A lot of prayers are going her way for a full recovery from her lymphedema.

Me! Me! I'm in!!

Set it up and I'll donate!

[cpcathy]

Can we also vote to get Brandi and Kandi their own weekly series?

[Lizzie Jones]

7 hours ago, legalwriter said:

 

Does anyone else think that Dr. Now is a little "pudgy" and could lose a few pounds himself?

I've thought that for a while. I'd be dying to ask him how is eating habit is.  :-)

[Lizzie Jones]

6 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Regarding comments about what Tracey ate when she was nauseous.  I had the two worst morning sickness pregnancies in the history of modern civilization.  I threw up all day every day for months.  My doctor told me to eat what I craved, and that I'd be more likely to be able to hold it down.  So I lived on grilled cheese sandwiches and spaghetti.  

I ended up losing 20 pounds with my second pregnancy due to morning sickness. Could not stomach any type of meat at all. I pretty much lived on cheese, eggs, and loads of fruits and vegetables. I could only stomach fish the last couple of weeks of my pregnancy. Now that my son is an adult I've often told him he was the best diet ever. LOL

[karenkarenbobaren]

Houston is a really sad place to be, health wise.  My in laws live there and the first thing I noticed when driving up and down the roads past shopping centers was that there is a diabetes clinic in almost every one of them.  Kind of like how there are frozen yogurt shops in every shopping center.  Everything is big in Texas, for sure.  It doesn't surprise me that Dr. Now has an office there.  Even though people come from different parts of the country, Houston is like the epicenter of obesity.  Don't quote me on that, but I'm pretty sure it's at least high on the list.

Not to mention that there is a PLETHORA of drive through fast food places.  And drive through liquor stores.

Granted, there ARE grocery stores, but it's no surprise that when the patients and their families get lazy, they're going to a fast food place.  It's almost as if there's nothing else there.  It's just too easy.  

[meow-mah-leg]

drive through LIQUOR STORES???? I have never heard of such a thing. Holy smokes! That should be outlawed!!

[meow-mah-leg]

Anthony is also one of the few partners who is not overweight her/himself.

What I miss with these families is the lack of positive attitude, go getter style, make it fun, do it together like behavior. Like, let's set a goal for all of us (because usually the whole family is too heavy) and weigh together each week, make a command center, exercise together, find healthy recipes online, reward anyone who loses a certain amount of pounds (can be simple, as in, the person who has lost the most doesn't have to empty the dishwasher for a week or whatever). I don't know, just ANYTHING.
All I see, with a few exceptions, is (very) overweight family members not doing a darn thing to change their own weight. Instead, they all seem to keep eating all the crap they have always been eating. As if it's only important that the 600 lb person loses weight. You never see, during all those months, any of the family members slimming down themselves. I just don't get that. As if the 600 lb person is the only one who has a problem. 

It's like "Hugo" on the series "Lost". I honestly thought he would lose weight to be more realistic as an actor. Instead, he only got bigger. How in the world can you get bigger on a deserted island, only eating fish and fruit? ;)

[Ocean Chick]

3 hours ago, Lesia said:

you can't get fat eating fruit.  it's impossible. 

Blueberries are a superfood for their nutritional value.  Cantelope is a superfood for its nutritional value.  It's ridiculous to say that eating fruit would be bad for these people.  They may end up sh!tting themselves even more, but hey, the vitamins alone are probably something they've never had.  OMG strawberries, grapes, oranges, watermelon, honeydew- and then add in veggies with hummus, that would be so good for them.  Despite being 600 + lbs they are severely malnourished. 

The problem being is that if they do have the surgery, the ability to eat normal sized meals is gone.  They will only be able to eat a couple of ounces of food at a time.  Protein will need to be the highest priority, to keep their muscles from being cannibalized.  Fruit and vegetables will never be able to be eaten in any normal amounts, so Dr. Now is probably trying to get them to adjust to their new diet even before the surgery.  Vitamins and minerals can be gotten in supplements.  Which I know is not optimal, but you do what you have to do.  And that's why this surgery should be something that's not taken lightly, and should be used only as a last resort.

[Tenarife60]

46 minutes ago, meow-mah-leg said:

drive through LIQUOR STORES???? I have never heard of such a thing. Holy smokes! That should be outlawed!!

There's a lot of those in the South because we got them in Louisiana also.

[SouthernCross]

4 minutes ago, KittyKat94 said:

There's a lot of those in the South because we got them in Louisiana also.

Im not sure what difference it makes if you drive thru verses get out of the car and walk in. Youre still leaving with booze. 

[xwordfanatik]

4 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I kept looking at her legs and just trying to imagine the pain.  The pain from the condition, the pain from the surgery, OMG.  It really boggles the mind. I now view other's pain much differently than I used to.   A little over a year ago, I sustained an infection in my middle finger tip.  It was cellulitis. I ended up in the ER, then Urgent Care, then, hand Specialist.  THEN infectious disease control specialist. It was antibiotic resistant. Finally, after 3 surgeries, many meds, and doctors later it finally healed. (Still numb.)  The pain from that little finger tip caused me so much anguish that I consider it PTSD.  I CANNOT FATHOM HAVING LARGE PIECES OF LEG INFECTED WITH CELLULITIS.  It's really heartbreaking.  The pain alone........I PRAY that she is getting relief.  Prayers and well wishes to her and her family. 

Sunny, your post makes so much sense to me!  I had a severe cat bite probably about 20 years ago, and my index finger had severe swelling. One shot of antibiotic at the Dr.'s took care of it.  But just recently, I had a sore on the same finger, and luckily I was able to get rid of it with antibiotic ointment, but it took a couple of weeks.  It just may be that I am more susceptible to infection in that same area.  IDK.

I'm just now watching Tracey's episode, and I cannot believe how terrible that kind of pain must be, with legs she can't even lift herself.  I am so wishing her well!  She seems like such a nice lady and has a supportive family from what I've seen so far, and Anthony can hopefully love and care for her through all this.  

[OSM Mom]

56 minutes ago, meow-mah-leg said:

drive through LIQUOR STORES???? I have never heard of such a thing. Holy smokes! That should be outlawed!!

Yup. Welcome to Texas. As long as the driver has ID and isn't drunk, they can buy. Just like if they walked in. 

[DeeReynolds]

I just started watching this episode and I thought my wtf factor was pretty high for this show, but I literally am sitting here with my mouth hanging open at her legs. What an odd place to carry weight! And I thought Charity's butt wings were bad... 

[aliya]

21 hours ago, Awfarmington said:

It can't be the pay they may receive for being a caretaker because they could make more working less hours at most jobs. 

Yeah, but they'd have to get up and go to work. This way they can stay at home all day, with occasional grocery store runs. If the obese person can make it to the bathroom, much of the really unpleasant part is taken care of. We've seen people playing video games or on their phone all the time - shoot, you don't even have to sit in the same room with a lot of them. I can see why a caretaker job would be appealing, even if it pays poorly.

[aliya]

10 hours ago, legalwriter said:

Does anyone else think that Dr. Now is a little "pudgy" and could lose a few pounds himself? Overall he looks pretty good for a 70 year old man. He seems to carry more weight around his abdomen which is more of a concern. He wears a lab coat most of the time which hides some of his belly fat. He could probably do a little more exercise and benefit from eating more fruit.

Somewhere (maybe here, I don't know) I recently read that the pudginess was caused by his internal organs kind of changing position because he is bent over the operating table so much. There were a number of responses where people cut him major slack if he became misshapen in the service of others.

[Ivylady]

16 minutes ago, aliya said:

Somewhere (maybe here, I don't know) I recently read that the pudginess was caused by his internal organs kind of changing position because he is bent over the operating table so much. There were a number of responses where people cut him major slack if he became misshapen in the service of others.

He does look more stooped over than he did in the beginning of the series. That sucks. 

[bethster2000]

2 hours ago, meow-mah-leg said:

What I miss with these families is the lack of positive attitude, go getter style, make it fun, do it together like behavior. Like, let's set a goal for all of us (because usually the whole family is too heavy) and weigh together each week, make a command center, exercise together, find healthy recipes online, reward anyone who loses a certain amount of pounds (can be simple, as in, the person who has lost the most doesn't have to empty the dishwasher for a week or whatever). I don't know, just ANYTHING.
All I see, with a few exceptions, is (very) overweight family members not doing a darn thing to change their own weight. Instead, they all seem to keep eating all the crap they have always been eating. As if it's only important that the 600 lb person loses weight. You never see, during all those months, any of the family members slimming down themselves. I just don't get that. As if the 600 lb person is the only one who has a problem. 

Couldn't, and won't, change a word.  My latest post over on the James K board shares your sentiments.  Husband and I are in the process of low-carbing to lose 50 lbs. each.  Would you believe me if I told you that we are actually having FUN doing it?

[Stephanie1216]

I haven't watched yet I've just read some posts. My sister has cancer had her lymph nodes removed from the hip area and as s result one of her legs has lymphoma. It's noticeable and it's painful but it's nothing like what we see in this tv show. I really don't understand the lymph system but to save her from the cancer the doctors had to cripple up her legs, as she says. Lymphdema is a terrible mess

[MichelleTX]

1 hour ago, OSM Mom said:

Yup. Welcome to Texas. As long as the driver has ID and isn't drunk, they can buy. Just like if they walked in. 

Yes, here in my part of the Lone Star State we have a drive through daiquiri hut. A delicious frozen drink to go!?

[SunnyBeBe]

4 minutes ago, bethster2000 said:

Couldn't, and won't, change a word.  My latest post over on the James K board shares your sentiments.  Husband and I are in the process of low-carbing to lose 50 lbs. each.  Would you believe me if I told you that we are actually having FUN doing it?

I believe it.  I'm eating really healthy right now and it's amazing how delicious the food is. It's not deprivation, it's a treat for me.   I think a lot of it has to do with just getting your head in the right place.  I think that's what happened with Tracey.  She really got into a groove and stayed there.  I'm delighted for her. 

[Trees]

29 minutes ago, Ivylady said:

He does look more stooped over than he did in the beginning of the series. That sucks. 

Dr Now is old.  It's he over 70?  I think his pudge comes from age.  I'm sure he eats very well.

[meow-mah-leg]

21 minutes ago, bethster2000 said:

Couldn't, and won't, change a word.  My latest post over on the James K board shares your sentiments.  Husband and I are in the process of low-carbing to lose 50 lbs. each.  Would you believe me if I told you that we are actually having FUN doing it?

I believe it!! And I am jealous that you are dieting with your husband. My husband never has to diet. He is a marathon runner who eats frog shakes for breakfast. They are nutribullet shakes with all kinds of stuff organic healthy leafy stuff in there. He also grows his own wheatgrass. I can't stand wheatgrass. It's like drinking your freshly cut front lawn.  It's one of the reasons he doesn't want to watch "my 600 lb life" with me. He says that he can't watch people abuse their bodies like that. He always says that they must hate themselves. I am more forgiving and understanding and explain that most people don't do this by choice and that it's an addiction like any other. And most of them have a childhood with alcohol or drug addicted parents. Or were abused/molested. It's very sad that so many of the women on the show were sexually abused as children. 

[AZChristian]

7 minutes ago, Trees said:

Dr Now is old.  It's he over 70?  I think his pudge comes from age.  I'm sure he eats very well.

He's 72.  I'm 70.  And I don't want to talk about pudge that comes from age.  Tread gently.  (LOL)

[Cherrio]

3 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

He's 72.  I'm 70.  And I don't want to talk about pudge that comes from age.  Tread gently.  (LOL)

So, how is your eating habit?     Just kiddin :)

[AZChristian]

Just now, Cherrio said:

So, how is your eating habit?     Just kiddin :)

I really tryyyyyy.  Honest.

(Seriously, these last couple of episodes have encouraged me to NOT miss my regular gym sessions.  

[Trees]

2 minutes ago, Cherrio said:

So, how is your eating habit?     Just kiddin :)

"Super!"

(I love it when he says that!)

[operalover]

Does anyone here believe that her husband overlooked her 500 pounds and her health issues and her weird almost side show looking legs because he was just so in love with her personality? I'm just wondering. I think there is something going on here. It could be that he likes to shock others. Or he said He likes to be needed. Or he has a fetish. Or he likes the whole freak show thing. Something more than just her dazzling personality made this pretty good looking guy attracted to her. 

It's not like "we have so much fun together" when she can't get out of bed....

Edited March 24, 2017 by operalover

[Trees]

4 minutes ago, operalover said:

Does anyone here believe that he overlooked her 500 pounds and her health issues and her weird almost side show looking legs because he was just so in love with her personality? I'm just wondering. I think there is something going on here. It could be that he likes to shock others. Or he said He likes to be needed. Or he has a fetish. Or he likes the whole freak show thing. Something more than just her dazzling personality made this pretty good looking guy attracted to her. 

It's not like "we have so much fun together" when she can't get out of bed....

It would help to know what kind of forum it was where they met.

[Cherrio]

21 minutes ago, Trees said:

It would help to know what kind of forum it was where they met.

Plenty of Food?

Edited March 24, 2017 by Cherrio
Yes, the hell train, but I am still in James mode

[Stephanie1216]

I'm just 40 minutes in but she hasn't seemed to over eat in camera. At least she had the sense to do that. 

[operalover]

11 minutes ago, Cherrio said:

Plenty of Food?

Good-looking-needy-black-men-with bordeline-IQs-searching4larged-legged -babes.COM

[Stephanie1216]

So wait a minute,

in the comment box it said that her abusive, old mother hag who looks way older than she probably is, who sent her daughter to school with black eyes, who let her daughter become obese as a child, who hired a creep child molestor to abuse her daughter, his old hag is claiming to be a Nurse? And she has critiqued Dr. Nows work? 

She not a RN there is no way. 

Edited March 24, 2017 by Stephanie1216

[Barb23]

1 hour ago, aliya said:

Somewhere (maybe here, I don't know) I recently read that the pudginess was caused by his internal organs kind of changing position because he is bent over the operating table so much. There were a number of responses where people cut him major slack if he became misshapen in the service of others.

For some reason, I get a kick when they show Dr Now having to stand on foot stools, sometimes multiple ones, during surgery.  Poor guy has to get high enough to reach over the girth of these people. 

I was scared Tracey was going to trip & fall wearing those long maxi dresses.  I'm sure she wears them to cover up her legs but with her instability, it would be so easy to get her foot caught & go down.  

I'm also surprised she didn't use a wheelchair especially when she went out.  Maybe her legs won't fit properly.

[operalover]

I am rewatching. She really got around so much better at the end of the episode when she lost the 200 pounds . I didn't think I could see much difference, but now watching again I can. She could not walk a few feet. I think if she didn't need 6 leg surgeries he might have done the bypass. Just she does not need another surgery on top of the many that she is going to have. And it seemed so painful. 

[Awfarmington]

51 minutes ago, operalover said:

Does anyone here believe that her husband overlooked her 500 pounds and her health issues and her weird almost side show looking legs because he was just so in love with her personality? I'm just wondering. I think there is something going on here. It could be that he likes to shock others. Or he said He likes to be needed. Or he has a fetish. Or he likes the whole freak show thing. Something more than just her dazzling personality made this pretty good looking guy attracted to her. 

It's not like "we have so much fun together" when she can't get out of bed....

I'm leaning towards needing to be needed. I don't think she qualifies for the normal fetish...she's not *that* big overall. And her legs aren't even normal fat,  they're swollen flesh colored water tanks. Admittedly, I don't have a fat fetish. But I would imagine men who are into hugely obese women like them fat all over with lots of rolls. I could be wrong tho. He also did other things that are caretaker'ish. Like cleaning the house, cooking, shopping. 

I don't know what happened towards the end when Anthony was a little short with her about finding her own way to appts. There was a previous husband (maybe a couple seasons ago) where the husband got a little snippy with his wife when she was trying to succeed in losing weight. He admitted that he was feeling insecure about her losing weight. So maybe Anthony felt the same way. But I'm glad he came back around and supported her. 

[xwordfanatik]

1 hour ago, Trees said:

"Super!"

(I love it when he says that!)

I tend to say "super" myself.  It does date me, but I was too old to begin saying "awesome" when that was popular.

I love it when Dr. Now says that too!

[BlazingBloomers]

Quote

29 minutes ago, Barb23 said:

For some reason, I get a kick when they show Dr Now having to stand on foot stools, sometimes multiple ones, during surgery.  Poor guy has to get high enough to reach over the girth of these people.

 

Hi everyone,

Another newbie here who signed up because of James K.  I'll be posting something in his thread but need to rewatch first to get my thoughts together.

Regarding Dr. Now and the foot stools-  Back in January I had to have my gallbladder removed.  I'm about 350.  When they put me on the operating table it felt awfully narrow so I asked if there was a wider table.  They said that there are extensions they can put on the sides but then the doctor can't get in close enough or high enough to get the necessary leverage to insert the laparoscopic instruments.  I imagine that if you are a little on the short side it is even more difficult.

[spacefly]

2 hours ago, bethster2000 said:

Couldn't, and won't, change a word.  My latest post over on the James K board shares your sentiments.  Husband and I are in the process of low-carbing to lose 50 lbs. each.  Would you believe me if I told you that we are actually having FUN doing it?

My 6' tall husband is 155lbs after losing about 160lbs and now Dr wants him to gain. I am trying to lose 20 or so. It is no fun watching him eat Ben and Jerry pints daily and gain 2 lbs a month. Nice to have someone to work with you. I think most of these people do have partners/family that could work with them though.

[Momof2boyz]

9 hours ago, Trees said:

The show doesn't pay for the surgery.  Medicare does.  The show gives them nothing other than a small amount for the move, like $1500 or $2500.

I have a friend who knows someone that was featured on this show and she said that the show paid for her surgery.  That's part of the deal and why people sign up to be on the show 

[55Unicorns]

God, I just love this gal....even if she does look a little like my ex husband's current wife, lol.

[gonecrackers]

I've wondered if Dr. Now is hunched from all those surgeries he does for so many hours at a time. That has to be hard on his back.

Watching him remove her lymph on the one leg, he states how he can't miss even one of those hundreds of blood vessels, I believe. That surgery seems very detailed & he's got to still be very sharp to handle it.

Also I suppose he doesn't suffer from cataracts... hopefully.

I don't know that I've ever seen him smile as much as he did this episode.

Edited March 24, 2017 by gonecrackers

[meow-mah-leg]

I wonder how long that operation took to remove one of those masses off of her legs. He always says "surgery went very well" :)

[55Unicorns]

What is that little black cap Anthony wears all the time?  It looks like a piece of pantyhose.

[ChickenLatte99]

7 minutes ago, 55Unicorns said:

What is that little black cap Anthony wears all the time?  It looks like a piece of pantyhose.

It is a wave cap. Black men use them to make waves in their hair.

Edited March 24, 2017 by ChickenLatte99

[BabyRocker]

I absolutely loved this episode.  Tracey and Anthony seem like really decent people who love each other.  I hope her journey continues to be a good one.  

Edited March 24, 2017 by BabyRocker
Remove unnecessary sentence

[Dru Blood]

7 hours ago, meow-mah-leg said:

 

drive through LIQUOR STORES???? I have never heard of such a thing. Holy smokes! That should be outlawed!!

 

Uhh!  Just a heads up, in the Outer Banks (North Carolina) they got a BIG chain of these, they're called "Brew Thru."  Even have t-shirts!  You can actually drive your big, honking, pick-up truck into what is essentially a giant "beer cooler", and they load you up and on you go, chucking your empties as you drive.  I lost my mind the first time I saw 'em.

[meow-mah-leg]

I learn so much here. Never heard of a liquor drive through and now I also just learned that black men wear little caps to make waves in their hair. I just told my husband about my very important newly acquired knowledge and he replied "what in the hell kind of forum are you on???????".