We go back in time for tonight’s My 600-lb Life, as two key cases — Lupe and Ashley — are revisited in the Where Are They Now? series that follows up the most heartbreaking personal journeys on TLC’s My 600-lb Life.
We first met Lupe Samano Donovan and her husband Gilbert Donovan in 2016. Since her first segment, she has lost a tremendous amount of weight.
Lupe used to avoid going anywhere as she could never use the bathrooms in friends’ or family’s homes or in public. She even got stuck in a diner booth and the fire department had to rescue her.
Her husband Gilbert has told the My 600-lb Life producers he thinks she has lost 150 pounds since they first started dating.
But since that episode and her gastric bypass, she has really shed massive amounts of weight and now needs skin surgery to help her fit into clothing better and feel more comfortable.
Once addicted to drugs, Lupe suffered from several ailments including diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure, sleep apnea, and lymphedema on her left leg and groin area.
Tonight we see a new slimmed down Lupe, but after being stuck in a bed for nearly 10 years and finally shedding the obesity that made her so sick, Lupe tells doctors she no longer has the strength to get out of bed even though she is smaller.
Weight loss specialist Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, of Houston, Texas, wonders if the struggle is psychological for her since Lupe is half the size she once was. Lupe appears to be distraught over her relationship with Gilbert.
She also needs to keep losing weight to qualify for skin surgery which is giving her anxiety.
Gilbert has been her caregiver but he cannot hide his embittered feelings towards her.
Will Lupe’s marriage survive the final weight loss and skin removal surgery or is Gilbert done with their marriage for good?
The other subject tonight is Ashley, who once weighed more than 700-lb. She got her bypass surgery and lost almost 350-lb.
Now her son Patrick is no longer her caretaker. Her husband Jacob is still very large and cannot help out with much.
The negatives of her obesity have left some unpleasant medical problems as reminders.
Ashley suffers stinging neuropathy in her leg and still has a fragile emotional state that’s keeping her from reaching her weight-loss goals.
She wants the skin surgery, but she must make her milestone weight to qualify. She is trying and works out with a trainer.
In the episode tonight you will see Ashley become derailed when psychosomatic symptoms make her believe she is paralyzed from the waist down.
Can Dr. Nowzaradan help these two get to the finish line in their weight-loss journeys?
My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on TLC