Weight Loss Surgery

"He Himself has said,
I will not in any way fail you
nor give you up
nor leave you without support."

- Hebrews 13:5

My Weight Loss Surgery Journey

A Brief Bio

My name is Vicki. I am a 50 year-old wife and mother of one. We live in Greeley, CO. Like so many others, my life has been a continual struggle of yo-yo dieting. From Atkins to Weight Watchers, to Slim Fast; I've tried them all. I even lost 150 lb. in 10 months during the 1980's on the medically-supervised liquid protein diet, Optifast. Sadly, within a few years, I gained 140 of it back.

A couple of years ago, I tried losing weight by eating low fat, and was successful in going from 320 down to 280. (I've been 'stuck' at close to 280 off-and-on for the majority of my adult life).

Early in 2002, a friend at work and I decided to begin eating low-carb to try to lose some weight. I was successful in getting down to about 260, but began eating more carbs; as a result, my weight was back up to about 275. Can you say yo-yo dieter?

A variety of conversations with friends, recent articles in our local newspapers about weight loss surgery, and my general dismay over my health, made me start thinking seriously about weight loss surgery. The more I investigated it, read the success stories of others, and talked to others who have been through it, the more convinced I was that it held the key to finally unlock the door to the prison my weight had become.

My Pre-Op Medical Issues

The older I get, the more my health deteriorated because of my excess weight. I had a myriad of serious health concerns, including:

Type II diabetes - gone post-op
Hypertension - gone post-op
Degenerative arthritis - no pain or meds post-op
High cholesterol - gone post-op
High triglycerides - nearly normal at 2 months post-op!
GERD - gone post-op
Compressed disc in my lower back
Legs and lower back get numb and very painful when standing - no longer an issue at 2 months post-op
Neuropathy in feet
Feelings of 'ants or bugs' crawling on lower legs when nothing is there - gone post-op
Cataracts - not getting worse so far
Snoring - gone post-op
Incisional hernia from gallbladder surgery
Ankle on right foot collapsing inward from my weight (swells daily and is very painful) - very few problems since surgery
Migraines - none since surgery

Pretty sad commentary on my health isn't it? No wonder I felt lousy so many days! As you can see from my comments above, my medical issues have greatly decreased now! Read on for my story...

I was a pharmacist's delight, because I took so many prescription medications for my various medical problems! I was taking two meds for diabetes, and three for hypertension alone! With the rapidly increasing cost of health care, this was simply ridiculous!

The Referral

On July 30, I asked my physician, Daniel Zenk, what he thought of gastric bypass surgery. (I knew he is very opposed to prescribing 'diet pills' of any sort, so I figured I'd get a similar reaction from him). To my surprise, he reacted very positively, and said he had several patients who have been through the surgery and have done very well.

He left the room and came back with a packet of information and business card for Dr. Michael Johnell, from the North Colorado Center for Bariatric Surgery, also located in the Greeley Medical Clinic, where my doctor is located.

My doctor said he would be happy to do a referral for me if I wanted to see Dr. Johnell. He went on to say he felt I was an excellent candidate for the surgery. He also said he would predict after the surgery, I would be able to stop most, if not all, of the many prescription medications I currently take for diabetes, hypertension, etc.

The referral process only took a few days, (thanks to Kathy in Referrals at Greeley Medical Clinic and our insurance, One Health Plan). By August 9, I had an appointment to see Dr. Johnell's bariatric nurse, Patrice, (who happens to also be his wife) for my initial consultation on September 4, and my first appointment with Dr. Johnell on September 5.

Once the appointment was made, Dr. Johnell's office sent me another packet of forms to read and fill out to bring to my first appointment.

Waiting

While I was waiting, I joined several WLS listservs on Yahoo Groups, and connected with quite a few people who live right here in Colorado, as well as across the country, who are in all stages of this journey...'thinking about it,' pre-op or post-op.

I also investigated various web sites and read books about weight loss surgery. Check out my Links page for some sources.

Waiting for Insurance Approval

Once I had completed the nurse consult, surgeon consult, psych evaluation, and nutrition consult, it took my insurance exactly one day to approve my surgery! See my Journal for details.

Once I had approval, and completed my pre-op tests, and pre-op surgeon visit, it was mostly a matter of waiting. The waiting was soon over and...

I'm Post-Op!

My surgery went off as scheduled on November 8 and I came home on November 11 (the first time). Had a complication and ended up having additional surgery on November 19. I came home again on November 22 and hopefully that's the end of the problems. I was sore, but doing very very well. I thanked God for this new chance at life.

I have been OFF all of my blood pressure medicines since the day of surgery and have been off of both of my diabetes medicines since January 25.

I'm now 10 months post-op and doing very well. I've lost a bit over 91 pounds! Woo hoo!!

Come back to visit again and read my story as I progress on my journey.

vmossman2@attbi.com
Last updated on 9/25/03