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Surgeon Testimonial

David Le, MD
I have had a few appointments with Dr. Le, and I have been pleased with our interactions. My first thought upon meeting him was that he was quite young. However, Dr. Le handles himself professionally and is willing to answer any questions that I have. I never feel that I am being rushed out of the office with him.rnrnAny future patients should note that Dr. Le is rather soft spoken but quite intelligent. He's also quite thorough and ensures that his patients understand the surgery that they are about to embark upon. If there are any questions, he will be the one to answer them quickly.
Member Interests
  • Cats - I have three cats: Melchiah, Raziel, and Kain
  • Singing - I am countertenor with a four-and-a-half-octave vocal range.
  • Black American - African American and proud!
  • French - Je parle français courrament. Je cherche les autres francophones.
  • Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender - I have been happily married seven years to a wonderful man!
  • Martial Arts - I have black belts in tae kwon do and Goju-Ryu karate.
  • X Box - I actually have an Xbox 360, but you get the gist!
  • Atheism/Agnostic - The belief in rational thought and empirical evidence is what motivates me.

Xavier Smith's Journey

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Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.
As a child and teenager, I did not have issues with my weight. I studied the martial arts religiously and led a fairly healthy life. As a whole, I did not think much about my weight. Transitioning into adulthood proved to be difficult though. My mother passed away from an excruciating death from colon cancer, and her death took a toll on me. I coped by turning to something that I thought would bring me comfort and solace: food. I stopped working out and starting gaining weight, and the weight gain got out of control. Behaviorally and emotionally, I dealt with stress and anger with eating. Eating was the only thing that I felt I could control. So it's interesting how the tables really were turned: Food was the master, and I was actually the servant.
Latest Surgery Support Comments

  • Comment by judyanne on 5/14/07 8:28 pm
    Now that you are a couple of months out, I hope you are doing well with your protein, water and exercise. I wish for continued success for you and I hope to read more of your journey on your profile.
  • Comment by Celest J. on 3/7/07 9:10 pm
    Sending lots of love and good vibes, you are going to do great. Big hugs, Celest
  • Comment by LavenderLoco on 3/6/07 4:26 pm
    Wishing you a smooth and safe surgery, speedy and easy recovery and all the best as you begin your exciting, life-changing journey. Many Blessings!
Click here for the surgery support page
Xavier Derico-Smith's Blog
Xavier Derico-Smith's Blog


Too Busy for Health?
on January 27, 2008 7:41 pm

So, these past few weeks of 2008 have been so busy for me.  In fact, they have been so busy that I have not been the most diligent in taking my vitamins, eating appropriately, and just focusing on healthy living.  Ultimately, I have been too busy for health.

The first and potentially most dangerous issue is my not taking my vitamins as I should.  I will admit that I have been so busy that I have taken my vitamins twice in the past month.  Mentally, it's been easy for me to rationalize not taking my medication.  My multi-vitamin is a horse pill and is absolutely disgusting to try to swallow.  My other vitamins are not very tasty either.  If I don't them today, it really won't make a difference.  Of course, that mentality snowballs into several days, and voila!  We have four weeks of no vitamins in my system.

So, today, after Steve and I arrived and checked into our hotel in Southern California, I started to feel jittery, yet lethargic.  I used to feel this way when my diabetes was higher than it should have been.  I am fairly sure that the diabetes is not the issue; the issue is that my body does not have the nutrients it needs to continue to maintain homeostasis.  Now, it's giving me issues, and I need to have them addressed.

The second issue is that I have not been exercising as I should.  Honestly, I have just not made the time to do it.  I will state that the process from moving from one part of the state to six hundred miles away is daunting, because there is so much that has to be coordinated.  It takes a lot of time and effort, and I just don't have time to get in there to exercise as I should.  Of course, that has to change.

The last thing is that I have not been eating regularly.  At present, I might eat twice per day and a total of 700 calories.  I have also been more prone to eat at restaurants because I have been traveling so much.  Mind you, I still eat like a bird, but that's not the point.  The point is that I have just not been keeping up with everything as I should have.  Of course, that has to change.

There is always a tomorrow, and that is what I am going to focus on.  Although I might not have been as successful as I would have liked to be today, there is always tomorrow, and I am going to be successful tomorrow.

I am not going to be too busy for health. 

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Missing in Action
on January 24, 2008 6:14 pm

It occurred to me that I have not updated this blog with any type of substantial information in a while.  While I am not going to take the time to do so just yet, I will say that I have been very occupied.  My husband and I are in the process of relocating to Southern California, to the Inland Empire specifically.  We just secured a condo down there, and there is a lot to do to get everything moved nearly 500 miles from Sacramento.

As soon as I get more time, I will update with the happenings of my life.  Briefly though, the weight is still about the same, nothing more, nothing less.  I am happy with where I am, and I'm not stressed out over a one-pound fluctuation in the scale.  Life is good! 

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Interesting Study
on January 23, 2008 6:47 pm

The following is an interesting study of the remission of diabetes after bariatric surgery:  http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/diabetes_obesity_surgery.html.

Of course, the information in here is nothing new to us patients.  We have been benefiting from the surgery for some time now.

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A New Year and New Beginnings
on January 1, 2008 10:41 pm
Happy New Year to everyone!  Two thousand and eight is upon us, and with it comes a lot of new hopes and challenges.

For me, 2007 has been a year to remember.  I went through one of the most life-changing experiences that a person can undergo.  In 2007, I lost more than 130 pounds, effectively becoming a different person altogether, physically and mentally.  Two thousand and seven ushered in a year in which I started to care more about myself; it was a year that I started to believe that I was worth something.

For 2008, I have many hopes and expect many challenges.  As for December, it has become clear that my weight loss is not keeping pace with what it has been doing the last year.  Of course, the slow down in weight loss is to be expected as the body begins to adjust to the minute amount of food that we are eating.  But, I have been thinking that this is a critical time because it is also the time that the pouch begins to expand, and we gain the ability to eat more than before.  Certainly, we are still not able to eat the volume of food that we could before surgery, but we are pushing beyond what our traditional limits have been.

This time is crucial to me because it is this time that I have to put to use the thinking that I have developed over the last year.  Before, I had a pouch that literally prevented me from eating too much.  Now, I have a pouch that has caught up with me, so to speak, and now I have to really focus on eating the right portions at the right times.  It is at this time that I need to continue to read the labels on my food.  It is at this time that I need to continue to weigh my food to ensure that I am not eating too much.  It is at this time that I need to avoid the restaurants.  It is at this time that I need to shake off all the negative people around me who want me to continue along the path of unhealthy eating and unhealthy thinking.

I do want to make it clear though that what I am suggesting is not a New-Year's resolution.  I don't make those for the obvious reasons.  What I am talking about is maintaining that ever-vigilant attitude that I have had this past year.  I have come so far, and I am not willing to turn back.  Before I go back to my old habits, I will disassociate myself with everyone within my reach.  It's just not going to happen.

So, if 2007 was a year of changing and adjusting to those changes then, 2008 will be a year of appreciating me and doing what I need to do to make sure that I live as long as possible.  Nothing and/or no one will stand in my way--period.
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