Just when you think you can weep no more, "My 600-lb Life" shows the story of Nicole Lewis. At 23, this mom of 2 is dying from 700-lb obesity, drugs and grief. The poor woman is so morbidly obese that her boyfriend sprays her down to clean her like a dog. She's so big that TLC Dr. Younan Nowzaradan can't do bariatric surgery without weight loss. But Lewis might not be able to lose weight without gastric bypass surgery. Find out how drugs, obesity and comfort food addiction are killing the young mom.
700-lb Nicole Lewis bathed like animal
Lewis isn't the heaviest person to seek help from "My 600-lb Life" but she is one of TLC's youngest.
She's also not the only patient whom viewers have watched undergoing shocking treatment. At such massive size, loved ones have no choice but to care for them as they would animals. Lewis's boyfriend Charlie must spray her down in the yard because she is so big. Obesity is horrifying and sad but Nicole's young age makes it sadder. But Nicole plans to turn that pain into a happy ending. Like her season co-star Doug Armstrong, the young mother wants to lose weight for her kids. In so doing she will save her own life, as former show star Sean Milliken so endearingly put it.
TLC's Nicole Lewis dying of drug addiction
Like co-star Diana Bunch, Lewis is dying from drug abuse. But unlike Bunch's it's not her own.
Both her parents were cocaine addicts and their little girl developed a comfort food addiction to survive. In food, she found found a non-judgemental companion who was always there to make her feel better. But that friendship exacted a deadly price. Comfort eating is killing the young woman. She can't get around and her only pleasure is being taken to the store to buy food.
And with obesity come obesity-related diseases: hypertension (high blood pressure), Type 2 diabetes, heart failure, heart disease, lymphedema and other killer health issues.
Nicole Lewis faces obesity death sentence
"My 600-lb Life" features people sentenced to death row and their only crime is a food addiction. Nicole Lewis hopes gastric bypass surgery will commute that sentence.
But first, the mom of 2 must lose weight so that she can safely undergo bariatric surgery. A lot of people don't realize that weight loss is required first before weight loss surgery. 700 pounds puts her body at risk of so very many complications. Reality television Dr. Nowzaradan doesn't usually specify a certain number because it varies by patient. But at her current weight, Lewis may need to shed around 100-150 pounds. Initial weight loss is like a promissory note that the patient will follow through on diet to achieve the best outcome.
