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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


Update
on May 20, 2009 8:19 pm
In my last posting, I committed to update this site more frequently, but, unfortunately, I have lapsed on that commitment.  Well, it's not the end of all existence.  I can start right now to update you.

In my last posting, I think I stated that my weight loss had more or less stabilized.  I thought that was the case until a few days ago, when I jumped on the scale just to see how I was doing and found that I had dropped another five pounds.  Now, I am not the skinniest guy on the planet, but I do know that I can't afford to lose any more weight.  My husband, nutritionist, old high-school friends, and just about anyone I meet tell me that I don't need to lose any more weight.  And while I still feel as if I should be a little thinner, I realistically know that I am more than fine with the way that I am.  So that's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

So, a new development is that I have enrolled in school to continue my education in information technology.  I am focusing on software engineering this time around.  I have been at it the past month, and it's been challenging to get adjusted to school life again, but I am working it out.  It also helps that my husband is in the same program.  He's always a great source of support for me.

I am still exercising and focusing on the martial arts, just not as much as I was during my last post.  I do have my goal of getting to the Gay Games 2010 and taking home a medal, but I am taking it step by step.  Really, it's not being the best on the block; it's about doing a great job according to my own standards.  That's what matters.

Surgery wise, I have not had any complications in the two-and-a-half years since surgery.  It's been a little while since I have gotten my labs, but I'm fairly confident that everything is going well internally.  The diabetes is still in remission, and the high blood pressure is just not there any longer.  I'm quite thankful.

Something interesting that I have noticed is that I can eat more food than before.  I still weigh my foods and watch my portions, but I have noticed that I can actually eat all my food now as opposed to leaving half of it like in the past.  It's not a big deal, because I'm still not even eating a kid's-meal worth of food, but it is a little jarring and gets me to thinking, "What if I go back to the way I was?"  My tendency, then, is to pull back and not eat at all, but I know that's not a healthy response at all.  It's something I am looking forward to working on correcting.

Other than that, everything has been going well.  My husband and I are adjusting well enough to Phoenix life, though I don't know if we will ever get used to the 110-degree heat!  Life is good, and I have nothing to complain about.

Time for me to go, as I am about to meet with a client.  I'll update soon enough.
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