Hi, My Name Is WENDY I  Am  49 yrs old,6'0 Weigh 307. I Have 2 Grown Children. I Am Choosing LAP RNY vs DS.Reason Is::: People That Have DS Say They Can Eat Things Like Bacon/Pizza/Fried Chicken/Butter/ Hamburgers/French Fries/ And All Them Other Saturated Fatty Foods And Still Lose Weight.My Concern With That Is ,I Have Had Open Heart Surgery double bypass And 7 Stents... What an ordeal That Was, Can't believe I am still here writting this profile, I nearly lost my life after open heart surgery. Had Respitory Failure and was put on breathing machine tube , So I experienced Post Partum Stress Syndrome...Morphine is not my friend..I had Clogged Arteries From  Eating All Those Saturated Fatty Foods(learned the hard way)Not Me,!!Not Going To Take That Chance  Again. It's A Hereditary Thing.They Clog Your Arteries No Matter If It's Hereditary Or Not..I Also Have Diabetes So It Will Help Get Better Control.I'm Happy With My Decision.

    I Have Every Single Co-Morbidity On The List And Then Some Heart Disease(yes) Type 2 Diabetes (yes) Gerd (yes) Osteoarthritis (yes) Sleep Apnea (yes) BMI 40.7 Barely Made This One. Swelling Of The Feet To My Knees.The Older I Get The More That Seem To Appear.Actually Had Most All These Pre Tests  Done  Before I Sought Wls. I Think The Heart Disease Was The First Give Away For My Insurance  First Time Submit Approval-SMILE- Was A Happy Day (Nov.27th 06) It Is Now Jan 07


  FUNNY STORY HERE!!,Just Wanting To Share This.People Tell Me That I Don't Look Like I Need To Lose Weight.My Body Sez Different,Anyway Saw The Nutritionist,Ya Know, The One Required For Wls, She Took One Look At Me First Thing She Said Was I Don't Look Like I Need To Lose Weight. Funny Comment Coming From  (THEEE) Nutritionist,I Just Laughed.I Was Normal Size Child Until I Started Having Children (I Was 19 First One)I Got Out Of Control I Am A Size 22/24,6'0 And Weigh 300 To This Day..That's The Funny Story. I Have Changed My Eating Habits about 70% After My Open Heart Surgery 10/04,about 90% Less Fast Food Eating. Actually Enjoying Cooking Healthier Reciepes At Home (make it my way) Not Burger King Way,,lol.Use To Eat Alot At KFC,Thought They Deep Fried Their Chicken In Veg Oil,Found Out On T.V.,It's Cooked In Lard. No Wonder My Arteries Got Clogged.One Thing I Learned Thru My Open Heart Surgery Experience Is That You Can Be Thin And Still Get Clogged Arteries (It Is The Saturated Fat Food That We Consume) After All Look At Ex President Clinton And David Letterman And Regis Philbin (the list goes on) They Are Thin But Got Clogged Arteries They Had Open Heart Surgery . Just Can't Get The Portion Thing Under Control.Trust Me That Is The Key Needed To Stay At A Healthy BMI.Yea,I Tried Those Diets That Said ''Eat All You Want Exercise Less,And Lose Weight.,,Anyone Know About That 6 week Diet Plan? Even Tried The Susan Powter Thing,,Same Rules.,,NOT Any Moreeeeee, Researched this Wls For Just About 2 Years now.I'm Doin Things My Way This Time In My Life.I Want To Be Around Alot Longer After All I Just Became a New First Time Grandma. Just Need This Kick Start Tool. I Have Confidence In Me And My Surgeon.
       
I'm Going To  Put Into , Apply Myself  Fully  With A New Lifestyle After I Get My Tool. That Sounds So Good,Like Music To My Ears. So Many Good Tips To Staying Healthy, When You Have High Blood Pressure And Are Put On Blood Pressure Meds They Work Just 30 % And End Up On  3 Different Meds To Get Your Blood Pressure Under Control,When Actually End Up Damaging Your Liver From The Perscription Medications,Not To Mention All The Other Bad Side Effects From Them Also.. This Is My Goal To Get Off All These Meds With My Wl....Been On Them For Over 10 Yrs.I'm Looking Into Homeopathic Lifestyle.. I'd Like To Add Something Here Not Related To Wls,To Help Women That Are Having Problems With Their Menstral Cycle,I Had This Problem Myself Is Why I'd Like To Help Other's Avoid Having To Have  A Hysterectomy, You Could Say I'm Learning To Fix My Body With All The Future Ailments The Natural Way,I Have Had Too Many Surgeries,Just Tired Of Them Is All..I Am Starting To Feel Like The Bionic Woman,lol. Anyway,,If You Are Experiencing  Heavy Bleeding When Menstrating (Blood Clots Included) My OBGYN Doctor Said To Correct The Problem All  You Need  Is To Start Taking  High Dose Of Iron.If I Have Helped Anyone On This Subject Please Leave Me A Message I'd Like To Hear About It.If You Are Doing Some Research  For Your Wls, I Recommend Going To The Website www.medlineplus.gov; Has Videos Of  All Types Of Surgeries,Alot Of  Good Medical Info There Too.Got That Info From The Hospital Library Where I Had My Open Heart Surgery.BTW,,Nurse Told Me Today 1/20/07 That I May Be Having Wls In Mid March 07,No Date Set Yet And I Am OK With That;;;I Am A Pretty Patient Person,awww Who'da Thought I'd Be Having Surgery At  Same Time As Starting Menopause.Ohhh Did I Mention I Am Starting Menopause?!!!!LOL After All I AM 49Yrs Young.
           
Today's Date is 2/26/07 Got A Surgery Date,3/19/07 11:30am,,Been  A Long 2 yrs Waiting.Going In For My Pre Op Office Visit On 3/6/07    

It's Now 3/10/07 Made My 2nd Consult Office Pre Op Visit with Dr. White It Went  Very Well  With The Dietician,Then I Got A Whole 3 Min With Dr.White Telling Me I Am Going To Be Getting What Is Called a 'GREENFIELD FILTER"  Because I Am High Risk For Blood Clots,They Save Lives, He Didnt Tell Me This On The 1st. Office Visit..Wonder If I Am A First Time Trial For This Or Just Forgot To Tell Me About It On The 1st Visit.
                        SURGERY COMPLETED
I Am Home Now;;3/22/07Surgery Went Very Well On Mon,3/19/07 3 Days In The Hosp, Doctor Wanted To Keep Me 1 More Day Because Of My Previous Heart Surgery.But I Said I Feel Great On Day 3. So I Must Have Sounded Convincing,He Let Me Go Home.. I Am Off My Diabetes Medicine,And  2 Of The 3 Blood Pressure Meds I Was On.All Before I Left The Hosp.My Skin Feels Smooth (wasnt before) I Had A Few  Memorable Events While In The Hosp.It Was Bumped Up From 11:30am To 9:30am,,First Off  There  Was A Rain Storm  When I Was In The Hosp.,All The Electricity Went Out .Just Like In  Scary Movies.LOL  When I Was Taken To  My Room After  Surgery,Trying To Wake Me,A Male Nurse Asked Me If I Was In Any Pain,I Said NO,Then I Said  Shouldn't  I Be Getting Ready For Surgery,?He Was Stunned, And Told Me That I Just Had Surgery.LOL. I Have 6 Small Scars (one is the drain scar) Since My BMI Was Just 40.7.. If Your BMI Is Higher You Will Need More Incisions For More Cameras To Do The Work Is What I Was Told.Somehow I Lost Time,,Surgery Went So Well And So Fast, I Was Told About 2 Hours.That  He Knew What Happened To Me,He Said O M G They Sedated You Too Much,,What Could I Do But Laugh.(Later Of Course When I Was Able To Comprehend What Happened To Me.).One More ,As I Was  Being Sedated And Prepped For Surgery In The OR The Nurse Brings A Cell Phone  To Me And Tells Me My Boyfriend Is On The Phone,, He Was Late Getting To The Hosp. For My Surgery.I Don't Remember Most Of What I  Said.My Point Is 'What In The World Was That Nurse Thinking?' I Don't Know Many Hosps. That Bring  A Cell Phone Into The OR And Hold A Cell Phone To Patients Ears ,I Was Half Way Sedated At This Time,To Talk To People So Close Going Into Surgery!! I  Will Never Forget Those Things. My Whole Experience With The Surgeon;; And The Hosp.  And Wls I Give Them All  5 Stars.*****  In That Order.... All Was 2Good 2Be 4Gotten..More Later On My Progress And Weight Loss.

 It's  4/19/07,I Am Doing Great Other Than My Lower Back Pain Still Dealing With.I Am 30 Pounds Down.Still No Complications From Wls (knock On Wood). 
       4/25/07 Going Thru The Average Trial And Error With Food At This Time...More Later                
       8/14/07 I Have Lost 60 Lbs.Still No Complications From Wls, Actually My Hair Is Thinning. No Biggy,I AM Learning How To Keep It In Tact. ( wait until it dries  after washing to brush it) Use Conditioner Every Time You Wash It ( makes for less pulling) Still Can't Tolerate Chicken Which I Keep Testing To See If I Can Eat. Feeling Better In Life, I Have Up And Down Emotional Days;To Be Expected As I Had It After My Open Heart Surgery Too. Doctor Said Its Normal. I Started Attending A Local Support Group, Glad I Did,I Am Learning So Much. I Started Reading The Book ''Weight Loss Surgery For Dummies" Highly Recommend It To Pre - Ops

       9/19/07  Today Is My 6 Month PO WLS Update. I Have Lost 70 Lbs.Amazing Things Are Happening.Loosing Very Slowly.   Now The WLS Honeymoon Is Over. The Good  At This Point Is Everyone Sez That Taking Off Weight Slowly Will Prevent Sagging Of The Skin, Well I Am Looking At My Skin Now And It Is Sagging. On A Positive Note My Main Goal From This Wls Was To Get Off All My Medications And I Accompliched That. However I Am Finding That On Occasion I Still Need To Take My Hydraulazine (blood pressure Med.) I Am Ok With That, Been Acting Up Here And There.Stress Related....Having Some Difficulty Keeping Up With My Potassium,. And Also Having A Hard Time Staying Hydrated.That Is Not Fun.  I Am Currently Mouring The Death Of My 51 Yr Old Brother Who Died On Sept.1st.07 From Obesity And Being A Heavy Smoker.  I Don't Trust Fast Food PLaces,Other Than "Subway" I Thank God For Giving Me This Second Chance To Get Healthier And Being Little Stronger To Reconize How Dangerous Being Obese Is,51 Was Way Too Young To Pass On. I Actually Reconized It Right After My Open Heart Surgery Back In 04;And Changed My Eating Habits, But Couldn't Get That Portion Thing Under Control .I Did A Sleep Study Update At The Hosp. Last Night And My Tests Came Back Clear From Sleep Apnea. The Nurse Said I Didn't Even Snore,LoL, I Know I Was A Snore'r Pre OP LoL;          

3/19/08  This Is My 1 Year Post Op Update..Saw My Surgeon Today, Nice Visit.. I Was  Excited To See Him , Forgot To Inquire About  Keeping  My Greenfieldfield Filter In Or Have  It Removed At This Point..Nothing Was Said From Him,,I Have Lost 92 Lbs And Very  Happy.. I Can  Move More Now , Walk 3 Miles At A Time Without Getting Short Winded...I Have Reached  Many Of My Goals, I Wanted To Lose 100 Lbs At This Point (almost there!), My Self Research  Figured Out That My Menopause Is Making My Weight Loss At A Very  Slow Rate   ,Speaking From Experience, It Makes It Hard With Or Without Wls.And Not To Mention  I Haven't Been Eating 100 Percent Perfectly.Always Testing To See What I Can Tolerate Getting More Out From Wls ...

11/22/08   97 -100 lbs loss. I am 51.. I'm Working Hard Now .. I  Had The Most Wonderful Thing Happen In My Life Recently. I Just Rekindeled  Friendships With 2 Women I Went To High School With After 30 Yrs Of No Contact, Thanks To Classmates.Com...Can You Say Amen? A-M-E-N...