Testimonial

I have struggled with my weight since the time I was a small child. My paternal grandmother and paternal aunt were both very large women who had many health problems because of their weight. My maternal grandfather was the same. Both of my grandfathers had diabetes and I learned all about the problems that it can cause. I first started seriously dieting during high school. That was during the time that amphetamines were readily available and considered to be safe. They managed to keep my weight gain down to about 5 pounds per year. You notice that I was not actually able to lose weight even with the help of the drugs. When it became common knowledge that they were very bad for you, I stopped. That was very hard to do.

I married in 1971 and had my daughter in 1974. The obstetrician felt that I should attempt to stay at the same weight so that when my daughter was born I would be that much thinner afterwards and would not have to lose as much. Not only was that easier said than done, it is now known that it is not healthy for the baby to try to diet during pregnancy. At 5'2" I weighed 180 pounds at my due date. This is a BMI of 32.9 which is officially considered obese. If I had actually lost the baby weight, I would have "only" been overweight, but in fact, I did not lose a single pound. My daughter weighed 9 pounds 14 ounces, which puts her at risk of obesity related medical problems in the future.

I tried going to Weight Watchers and spent my life thinking about food. I gained more weight. I tried the Atkins Low Carbohydrate diet. I managed to keep my weight stable for a while and then started gaining again. By 1978 or 1979 I was over 200 pounds and decided to try the Optifast plan. I lost about 40 pounds! I swore I would never again gain weight and felt that if I just tried hard enough that I wouldn't. But that is a plan that requires that you eat nothing except the Optifast liquid that they give you, so as soon as I started back on regular food I started gaining again and gained it all back and more.

In 1987 I moved to Tennessee. I now weighed 200 pounds, which is a BMI of 36.6 - Severely Obese. By now the weight was affecting more than just my self-image. I developed a severe case of Acid Reflux for which I consulted Dr. Mills for the first time. He told me that I needed to lose weight to help the problem, but I couldn't. I started having sleep apnea but didn't realize how much it affected me. I finally got the C-PAP machine because when they tested me they diagnosed Severe Sleep Apnea. In a couple of years I had crossed the 225 mark, which is a BMI of 41.1 - Morbidly Obese.

The next medical problem to surface was the Venous Stasis in my legs. Dr. Evans said that the one best thing I could do to stop the progress of the disorder and keep from getting ulcers on my legs was to lose weight. Dr. Mills also kept telling me I had to lose weight and I tried! I took the Meridia and the Xenical. They just didn't work.

In 2000, my borderline diabetes finally crossed the border. I now weighed 250 pounds, which is a BMI of 45.7 - (still) Morbidly Obese. I began having to check my sugar regularly and take two drugs for it. So far, I didn't have to take insulin. But with both grandfathers having it and with the venous stasis in my legs, I had to be extra careful with the diabetes or I could end up having my legs cut off!

In April of 2002 I was at work when my heart started racing. It had happened before when I was under stress, but I was always able to slow it down by taking a deep breath or two and consciously telling myself to calm down. This time it didn't work. After phone calls to an LPN there at work and to Dr. Mills, I went to the emergency room. It turned out that I was having a Supraventricular Tachycardia. They gave me intravenous medicine to literally stop my heart and then start it back again. They almost didn't get it started. Dr. Kahn said that it was a combination of a problem in my heart, stress, and overweight. He gave me medicine to take, but said that I had to lose weight somehow, someway, or I would die. It was just that simple.

I knew that I was going to have to take serious steps to get permanent help. I started investigating the possibilities and found Dr. Husted and Dr. Anderson. They are the only doctors who do this type of surgery in Tennessee. I knew that this was a major step to take, but I could see that it was necessary. Here are some of the problems that I had at my then current weight of 280, which is a BMI of 51.2 - Super Morbidly Obese.
1. Acid Reflux
2. Venous Stasis
3. Diabetes
4. Severe Sleep Apnea
5. SVTC
6. Could not bend over to put on my support stockings - I had to have help to get them on and off
7. Never felt that I was quite clean in the bathroom because I couldn't reach properly and could not bear to ask anyone to help me.
8. Always uncomfortably hot even when others were complaining that they were cold. This caused sweating, which caused constant rashes and irritations.
9. Got out of breath when walking across the small parking lot at work, going shopping, bending over, walking to the bathroom, etc
10. Extreme and ongoing pain in knee joints, hip joints and back that I had not had officially diagnosed because I knew it was from the weight I forced them to bear.
11. Was no longer able to help feed or care for the animals on our farm between the heat, the lack of breath, and the pain.
12. Could not sit in most chairs with arms or in booths at restaurants
13. Could not get up out of a chair that was too low to the ground without help.
14. I couldn't take a bath down in the tub because I couldn't get out. I couldn't take a shower because I couldn't stand up long enough. I had to have a chair in the tub and use a sprayer.
15. In the car if I pushed the seat back far enough so that the steering wheel didn't rub against my stomach, my feet didn't reach the gas pedal. I had to have a Styrofoam block put on it so that I could reach.

By the time that my insurance finally approved the surgery, I weighed 340 pounds! And then on January 12, 2004 my life changed!! Doctors Anderson and Spaw gave me the Duodenal Switch and since that time I cannot believe the changes. As of July 12, 2004 I was down to 228. I am no longer on any medicine for diabetes or heart. I don't have to wear the special stockings or use the C-PAP machine. I can do all of those things I couldn't do before. My activity level is so much higher now, that I just can't believe it. When I flew to Denver in April, I didn't have to ask for a seat belt extender!!

If you are having any doubts about the surgery, just forget them and DO IT! If you are as lucky as I was, you will not have one single complication. LOTS of people have no complications at all. But even if you are one of the rare few who do have a complication, you will still be better off after the surgery. And I feel this way when I am not even ½ way through my weight loss journey. It has only been 6 months and I will be losing for another year. I just can't imagine it!

UPDATE February, 2006 - Having just passed my 2 year “birthday” I wanted to update my info with you. I’m now down to 150 pounds. Still officially “overweight” for my height, but that is such a joke! I have daily experiences that blow my mind and make me thankful again for our good doctors. I want to tell anyone who is still waffling that I eat like a pig and still don’t gain any weight back! I am sitting here in size 8 jeans and a medium t-shirt.