ObesityHelp.com: Making the Journey Together
 
  • Name: Alicia M.
  • Username: amurphy327
  • Location: Snellville, GA, USA
  • Member Since: 8/19/2005
  • BMI: 52.1
  • Surgery date scheduled
  • Surgery Type: RNY (02/14/07)
  • Surgeon: S. Scott Davis, MD
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Surgeon Testimonial

S. Scott Davis, MD
I first went to Emory of Atlanta's and saw Dr. Davis I was very impressed with him. We sat and talk and he was able to answer all my questions I had. He has the best office staff and appoinment setters around. I guess our only problem we had was my smoking I needed to stop before surgery and during the testings stages he had me do a nicotine test and I failed. I was in the process of quiting and called he said do my best and we would talked more at my appointment. On my appointment day I had quit smoking he still wanted to run a nicotine test when I had my pre-op testing. I know I will pass so I am not worried about that. He will do my surgery as long as I am clean.
Latest Surgery Support Comments

  • Comment by juliathomas on 2/18/07 1:33 am
    Alicia you are in my prayers! I'm so Happy for you now you begain your new journey in life congratulations!!!!
  • Comment by Celest J. on 2/13/07 12:33 pm
    Sending you lots of love and good vibes. You are going to do great just remember one day at a time. Big hugs, Celest
  • Comment by Cira S. on 2/11/07 8:39 pm
    Congratrulations on your surgery. I will be sending prayers your way for an uneventful surgery and speedy recovery. Best Wishes!
Click here for the surgery support page
Hi, my name is Alicia I am a mom of 2 fantastic kids.  I grew up in NJ and moved to Georgia in 1994.  I am 39 years old.  I am 5'6 with my highest weight at 349 BMI 56.  I followed a very strict diabetic diet and now I am 307 BMI 50.  I have struggled all my life with my weight and I am now ready to take it off and keep it off.
amurphy327's Blog



I MADE MY GOAL
on February 19, 2008 8:12 am

Wow its been a while since I updated my page.  I have made my goal weight of 145.  Since my update in October I had stricture issues and Dr. Davis got very worried after my Nov one that he started me coming ever 3.5 weeks for a EDG with dialation.  I am feeling and doing much better now.  I am keeping food down and finally eating.  Seems like stress was the main cause of all my strictures acting up and I am working on controling that.  I made a lot of changes with friends and getting more help from my family and son's school.  I was just taking to much on and I finally relized that.  I go back next Wednesday Feb 27th for another dialation hopefully this will be the last one.  I do get some pain but at least it does not close and I don't get sick.  

My 1 year was on Feb 14, 2008.  Time went so quick but I did it and am so proud.  I never expected the results that I acheived.  I was 349 at my highest day of surgery 312 and TODAY 145.  204 total I have lost WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY.  I feel like a new person.  I had all my blood work done and everything was great finally.  I am getting all my protein in though food no shakes at all.  

I have one more goal and I am ready to acheive that.  I want to quit smoking.  Wish me luck.

 

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October 29, 2007
on October 29, 2007 6:41 am
Well it has been a while since I last posted.  I am very active with the PTA and my son's school and baseball is almost over for my son his last game is tonight.  I was doing okay until last month I went for my 7 month post op visit with my follow up doctor and I had told her I was having a feeling like someone squeezing my pouch at time mostly when I was stressing and was throwing up but not all the time.  My blood work came back and I returned the call and was told my potassium was very low and need to go on a powdered potassium that I would mix with liquid.  I was told to follow up with my PCP which I did and she told me it sounded like a problem from surgery and go back to surgeon.  I questioned this but did as I was told now 2 weeks have past and I get a call from the follow up doctor who works in the same office as my surgeon told me I needed a CT scan so they schedule it.  I called my surgeon and they said no CT to go for a barium swallow and come see Dr. Davis the same day.  I went the next day for the test and I had another stricture.  I was told to go to ER that night and get admitted which I did and then I waited and be awoken any time I tried to sleep.  I was put on potassium drip which is no fun what a burning feeling.  The nurse I had was not very nice and would not find out when my procedure was I tired to get her to call my doctor all day by 3:30pm I was ready to leave and told my nurse to discharge me AMA (against medical advice).  At that time my nurse was able to call my doctor but I was in pain and just wanted to leave.  I know not a good idea especially when my doctor was on vacation the next week.  I regreat every day after that.  I was in pain so bad and could not eat just liquids and those were hard.  I had a feeling like someone putting a knife and squeezing my pouch to not end all the time I would get an hour or 2 of relief a day the rest horrible.  I waited the week and then I called the doctors and they got it scheduled and they went and stretched the stricture and come to find out it was barely open I was shocked I will try to post those pictures.  I can say I am much better its will be 2 weeks tomorrow.  I have not thrown up once since they fixed it.  I have so much energy now.  I am down to 172 pounds now.  Doctor is very happy how things are going for me.  Till I post again.  Enjoy
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I can't believe it.
on July 19, 2007 9:39 pm
I went to my regular doctor today for a my 3 month blood work to check my surgar.  Well last week I had this spot on my hand looks like I hit it on something and it was just getting worse and started hurting to the touch too. I was suppose to go Tuesday to the doctor but my pain management appointment went longer than expected.  I figure I would just wait till I saw her Thursday to check it out.  Well it's really kills me even to the touch and burns like hell too.  Well come to find out I was bit by a brown recluse spider.  I did get a steriod cream to put on it but I just don't know how this will help it out.  The pharmacist said it may get worse before it gets better.  Well the way this works it seems that where the bite is poision is eating my flesh ugggggg.  I should have had it checked sooner I noticed the spot last week.  I will take a picture tomorrow camera is in the car.  Till next time.
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I almost forgot
on July 2, 2007 7:39 am
When I was away we went to Canopie Lake Park in NH and I rode my first roller coaster ever.  Look at what I rode can you believe this is the first one ever and even a corkscrew one.  My son kept going come on mom you will fit.  I did with room even. Well he received 2 free tickets to Six Flags from school and my daughter was going to take him well I am going to take him now and we are going to ride all of the ride.

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June 28, 2007
on June 28, 2007 6:49 am
It has been a while since I posted.  I have been very busy since school got out and trying to keep my son Jessie very busy.  We did go to Massachuesetts for 2.5 weeks and had a great time.  We did saw so much and walk a great deal.  I don't miss the north at all.  Weather changes to much from cold to warm.  One day it was 48 in the middle of June. Crazy.  

Right before our trip I was having this funny full sensation all the time and was getting sick throwing up food alot.  I just didn't feel like eating.  Well when I came home I made an appointment with Dr. Davis and went in to talk to him and he wanted to do an Endoscopy to see if I had a stricture.  On Monday June 25th.  I did go and he was saying that my opening when he did the surgery was 12 centimeters and when he went down to look it was 4 centimeters.  Well he did stretch it out and told me to give it two weeks and see how I felt and I may have to have it done again.  I am still not eating much but I can at least eat food again.  I will give it time.  As of today I am down 96 pounds from the day of surgery and a total weight loss from my highest weight is 133 pounds.  I did join Fitness 19 the weather here is very hot and on orange or red days (ozone levels) I am not to be out with my asthma, this resticts me from walking.  My pain management doctor released me to do resistance exercise also, I am so happy about this.  The personal trainer has me doing light weights and more reps which is just fine for me.  Well I need to post some pictures I cut all my hair off  so it don't look like I am losing as much as I was.  Hope to work on that today.  I am staying home and relaxing and going to work on my scrapbook from our trip.  Till next time.
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My Story

I guess my weight problems started about when I was 10 years old.  I was the thicker one and no one made fun of me but I was not accepted by everyone.  When I got to high school things were a little better as I grew taller I slimed down and guess lost most of the baby fat.  I was by no means skinny.  I had my first child in 1986 I balloned up with her and was very sick.  I lost all of my weight after I had her and was about 165 at 5'5.  I always struggled to keep not gaining and when I did, I would diet and it would come off and come right back with more force.  In 1991  I was involved in a car accident when I was dragged down the street off a back of a pick up truck.  My troubles really began.  I had 2 knee surgeries and I had herniated disks in my lower back and was in pain all the time.  They started giving me steriod injection in my back and knees to help me.  The shots in my back helped to a point but my weight I just eat and eat all the time from the steriods.  My boyfriend at the time and I decied in 1994 to move to Georgia in hopes the weather would be better for me and to be closer to my parents who retired there.  I came to Georgia weighing 220.  I worked part time as much as my back would allow me.  I found some doctors down here and they all wanted to give me more steriods for me to have relief from pain.  In 1996 I had another child and had lots of complication and I weighed 250 pounds after I had him.  In 1999 my boyfriend met someone on the internet and left his son and me.  I was not to upset with this as I did not have to worry about him no more.  She had to deal with him not keeping a job.  My son was the one who suffered as of him leaving.  He stopped talking and when he started he was a studder and to this day at age 10 he still is.  We are making strides at him learning to control this.  I found a really good job that I loved in 2001 and it keep me very busy but it was a job that if I needed to sit I could sit and if I need to walk I could walk.  I had a very understand boss when I needed I would go to phyical therapy on my lunch hour or during work hours.  I was weighing in at 280 but I was very active at work. By end of  2004 I was laid off and I then began to have a lot of health issues they thought I had congestive heart failure.  It was not that all my swelling was from my high blood pressure I developed.  My asthma began to me lots of problems.  In 2005 I was became a diabetic and was put on medications for that I guess by then I was at my top weight of 345.  I went for a sleep test because I was so tired all the time.  I had severe sleep apenia.  I was having 154 episodes and hour.  I tried cpap and auto cpap with a humidifer and to no avail I would have asthma attacts while I was wearing it and my asthma much worse so I was told I need to find another option.  I went to Emory in Atlanta and I was told that there was a surgery that "could" help me.  I had this done it is called a Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP for short this is where they remove your tonsiles if you still have them I did not, uvula punching bag in your throat and soft pallet is removed.  The most pain in my entire life and I would never ever recommend that surgery to anyone.  I don't snore no more but still have sever sleep apenia.  Dr suggest I talk to the bariatrics department and I did that was in September 2005.  When you have medicade you have to be put on thier waiting list which is for one year.  I took a diabetic class and learned how to eat and manage my diabities.  I guess my main problem was coffee with sugar and pepsi. When my date approched I knew from reading alot I would have to make some big changes.  I did I gave up Pepsi and sugar all together.  I was very proud of myself.  I also gave up the caffine too.  I went though the headaches for a few days.  I managed to drop to 332 when I weighed in at the seminar.  I went to my seminar on October 19 2006 and I was in to see the doctor by the 24th  I was on the path to the other side.  I wrote my diet history and my pcp wrote her letter why I needed it.  They summited all my info on the 21st of November and was approved on the 28th probably would have been sooner but Thanksgiving they were closed LOL.  A few weeks later I was doing all my testing they wanted me to do.  Blood work, Endoscopy, xray, lung test and a dopamine stress test.   They were not able to do the stress test could not get a clear image so I had to be scheduled for a nuclar heart test.  I had that done on the 9th of January. I also went to my NUT and when I weighed in there I was down to 307 I could not believe just from giving up Pepsi and the sugar how I dropped the weight off.  I went back to see my surgen Dr. Scott Davis on January 27 and all was a go he said.  I got my Date for surgery on Febuary 14,2007.  He was very impressed with the weight loss and me giving up what I had.  He said this was only safer for me and I did a great job.   I was so excited I only had to wait 2 weeks.  Today is the 11th and I took the time to get this so all would know where I have been thought this jorney.  I will keep this updated so you will know where I have been. 

 


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