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Surgeon TestimonialAmir Moazzez M.D.What can I say about Dr. Moazzez that hasn't already been said?! This man is truly AMAZING! I first met Dr. Mo when I attended the WLS seminar. He was VERY informative and direct - which I loved. My first impression of him was pretty much the same as everyone.. he is very handsome AND he knows what he's doing. I had interviewed another surgeon prior to meeting with Dr. Mo, and I felt so uncomfortable with him. I got the feeling that he was more interested to the money he would be making rather than me as a patient. So needless to say, when I met Dr. Mo, I was looking for a Surgeon who was not only an expertise in the WLS field, but someone who was personal, down to earth and didn't mind taking the time to answer all of my questions. Dr. Moazzez is by far, all of those things and more. He makes sure that you fully understand all of the pre and post surgery requirements and changes that you will experience. In addition, his office staff is so professional and friendly. They truly make you feel 100% comfortable at all times. Another thing that I really like about Dr. Mo and his staff is that they offer a GREAT support staff post surgery as well. Dr. Mo came to the hospital every morning that I was there to check on me and make sure that I was comfortable. Hi first two questions every morning were \"how are you\" and \"Is there anything else that I can do for you to make you more comfortable?\" I appreciated that so very much. Everyone involved with Dr. Mo's team is awesome. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who is seriously interested in having WLS. Overall I would say that Dr. Moazzez is an Execellent Surgeon and you will not be disappointed. Member Interests
- Arts - Anything involving museums, music or theatre is so heavenly.
- Travel - My husband and I are avid travlers.. we love anything exotic via plane or cruise
- Dogs - I love my Samoyed Max sooooooo much! There's no other breed like the Samoyed!
- Christianity - I love the LORD with all my heart and soul. Without him, there is no me!
- Real Estate Sales Associate - I'm a realtor and I absolutely LOVE my career.
- WLS in your 20's - Having this surgery in my 20's gives me a huge advantage to enjoy my life
- Reading - Curling up on the couch with a good book and a warm blanket is so divine!
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Three Months Out :-) on November 27, 2007 7:42 pm
I made it to three months out and so far, everything has gone SO smoothly! I am very blessed. My goal for October was to be less than 200lbs….unfortunately, I didn’t reach my goal L I was at a plateau for three weeks. I kept getting on the scale only to find that there were no changes no matter what I did. That kind of threw me into a bit of depression and frustration. Finally, last week, on Thanksgiving of all days, I was thrilled to see that the scale had finally moved…it didn’t move much but at lease it moved… I weighed in today at 201.00 lbs. My BMI is down to 34.5. My clothes are getting really big on me now but I haven’t even tried my size 16 jeans since last month. I was so frustrated that the scale wasn’t moving so I didn’t want to throw myself into an even deeper funk. I’m planning on trying on my 16’s before the week is over and hopefully *fingers crossed* they’ll fit comfortably. I did find that I’m having more trouble with my vitamins.. the orange flavor multivitamins are completely non-tolerable for me. I hate the taste and I gag every time I put one in my mouth. After this month’s support group, I realized that it was definitely time for a change. I contacted Bariatric Advantage yesterday to order a new flavor multivitamin –
Berry and to order the B-50 complex. They called me back today to mention that the
Berry flavor was on back order so I went for the tropical flavor instead. I’m also tired of the protein shakes… I think I just need more variety. The Nectar cappuccino flavor is great…but I’m starting to get sick of it. I’m thinking that I need to switch up the routine and add a couple of varieties. I just don’t want to spend too much money trying to find something that I actually like. Any suggestions?? Derrick and I leave for my birthday cruise in a week so I’m excited about that. I’m looking forward to having much more energy and not getting as out of breath doing the excursions and walking as I have on past trips. I do have to buy a few more items for the warm weather that’ll we’ll be enjoying and hopefully I’ll haves some luck finding some cute things. Hopefully I’ll have more to report on my weight loss next month. I’ll be sure to take some pictures and get my weight chart updated. I didn’t measure myself last month so hopefully, I’ll see a lot more changes for inches lost than the scale showed! Good luck to all of you on your journey!
~Nikki
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Sometimes You Just Have To Go Through on November 11, 2007 3:05 pm
The last two weeks have absolutely been hell for Derrick and me. Five very special people (family & friends) have passed away and at this point, I don't feel that I have the strength to attend another home going service. The hardest I would have to say is Danny's. He was my best friends brother.. only 22 years old. He was truly the epitome of a Good and Faithful Servant. Danny was the kind of person that we all strive to be like. He loved EVERYONE, he befriended everyone, and he never had a negative thing to say about anyone. This young man impacted so many lives that there were over 600+ people at his funeral. There was standing room only in the church and there were more than 200+ people outside the church. Some people live to be well into their 80's & 90's and never have the opportunity to touch as many lives as Danny. We all laughed a bit at the funeral when his best friend joked of how he would befriend the homeless men on the corners on his way to class each morning. That's just the kind of person he was. He always wanted to make sure that everyone in his life felt loved. He never ever hung up the phone with out saying "Love you" no matter who was on the other end. There are so many wonderful things about Danny that I haven't even touched on. The most amazing thing of all was his love for the LORD. He was definitely a good and faithful servant and I have no doubt that when he was called home, he heard the words "Well Done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will make the ruler over many things" Danny was as Christ like as all Christians strive to be. Everyone who spoke, all said the same thing, he was a GREAT man. We heard so many stories of how Danny was such a blessing to all his friends and family, all of the wonderful things he did, and about the character that he lived his live with. We never expect to walk out of a Funeral feeling inspired, but hearing all these stories about Danny inspired all of us there to want to do better, and BE better. If we could live our lives a fraction of how Danny lived, then there's no limit to what we can accomplish and how many people we can inspire. I pray that when it's my time to go, I will have a portion of the testimonies that were given about how special Danny was. It always breaks our heart when they’re people like Danny in our lives who we see as 'perfect' leave us so suddenly and we question why God chose them first. After everyone was gone a few days after the service, Derrick and I stayed there because we knew that reality would set in once the family was alone. His mom was weeping so hard that she could hardly breathe. The only words she managed to get out were to ask me, "Why"?, She kept asking me "WHY DANNY"? I didn't know what to say, but at that moment, God had equipped me with the words to comfort her. I had been asking myself the same questions all week long and couldn't find the answer. In that moment, I don't know where it came from, but I was able to relate it to something that was meaningful to her. Mom D is an avid
Gardner . She has the most beautiful garden that you could ever imagine. Being at her house in the garden is like touring the most beautiful botanical gardens around the world. In that moment when she kept asking me "Why Danny", I told her "You know how you love flowers, and when you go shopping for new flowers for your garden, and you find something you like, you always try to choose the most beautiful flower of the entire bunch for your garden? That's what God did with Danny. He was the most beautiful flower, and God needed Danny in HIS garden to make his garden even more beautiful." He chose the best flower just as you choose the best flowers for your garden." I know that in that moment, it was nothing but the Holy Spirit that allowed me the words to comfort her. As I sat there on the floor holding her, I knew that she had understood and heard what I was saying. She looked at me and said "That makes so much sense, I get it, I never thought about it that way, but that makes so much sense." That was the first time that I had seen her smile since we arrived in town a few days earlier. My best friend was holding up better than we all imagined. She and her brother were closer than most siblings. We would all joke that if we didn't know better, we'd think they were boyfriend & girlfriend. And anyone who didn't know them and saw them out in public would think the same thing. That's just how close they were. On our last day there, I think reality had set in for her. She was doing so well that I was almost afraid at how well she was handling everything...I can look back at that now and see she was doing well because there were so many people around. I saw her breakdown for the first time in my life. Even as college roommates, we had some difficult times, and held each other while we cried several times. She was always the "Strong one" but losing a brother and best friend so tragically and unexpectedly can shatter the strongest person to their core. I was glad that we could be there for her, mom, and Dad D. I spoke with them earlier and now, my best friend is at the point where she can't look at photos of Danny anymore. Mom D said that they're surviving minute-by-minute and hour-by-hour. I know that's the best we can do during these difficult times. We now have an additional Angel looking over us. I just pray that we will continue to strengthen each other and grow together. As Christians we know that God will never give us more than we can bare and all of the tests, and trials and tribulations that we encounter are all to prepare us for something greater - his Grace and Mercy. I'm blessed that I was fortunate to have this life saving surgery. It's during times like this that I would eat to ease the emotions that I'm feeling. I'm so proud of myself for having this tool to help me control what I put into my mouth. It's been hard, REALLY hard. But I remember what I went through to get to this stage, and I remember the promise that I made to myself that I would never allow myself to let food control my life. Everyday, I wake up feeling better than I've felt in YEARS, and I will continue to work hard to staying healthy. If you're reading this, please keep us in prayer. Sometimes you just have to go through, and right now we're definitely going through a storm, but we know that once the storm has passed the sun will shine again.
God Bless You All.
~Nikki
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Two Months Post-Op on October 31, 2007 2:14 pm
My two month post-op was on Saturday October 27th, but this past week has been so difficult. We’ve had a total of two funerals in less than one week and we’re flying out for our third on Friday. It’s been a mental struggle for me, but I know that when difficult times like these arrive, it simply means that God in preparing to bless us in a way that is beyond our comprehension. One major thing is that I haven’t thought about turning to food for comfort with all that has been going on. I’ve been talking with Derrick and my really amazing supportive friends about it all and that has been my outlet. Even this soon after surgery, I’m surprised at how disciplined I have been in that regards knowing that I have been an emotional eater for years and years.
I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Moazzez on Wednesday October 24th. As always, I weighed in on his scale that is 6lbs. over than my scale. His scale said that I was 212 lbs. which he was very happy with. I knew it was really 206lbs so that made me feel better although I didn’t meet my goal of being in Onederland or fitting into my size 16 jeans. The 18’s are too big but the 16’s are too snug. Hopefully that will level out before my three month post-op weigh in and measurements.
Dr. Mo said that my labs were back and all of my levels were great except for my cholesterol which was a little high – high compared to what it was before surgery because I was taking my Lipitor but low compared to what it was before I started taking the medication. I still haven’t taken my lipitor since my surgery so I wasn’t surprised that it was higher.
Dr. Mo told me to hold off on taking it because he wanted to continue to compare my numbers before taking medication with my numbers after surgery and not being on the medication. Also my vitamin D was a little low although my calcium was fine. I didn’t understand that part but
Dr. Mo said it basically means that in addition to taking my calcium supplements I needed to add Vitamin D3 to my daily regiment.
My appetite has definitely returned, but I’m glad that I have this new tool to limit me. I’m blessed that I haven’t had any problems with digestion or lack there of. I’ve added Kashi’s Good Friends High Fiber Cereal to my diet and it’s been working really well with keeping me regular. I’m thrilled that I can finally enjoy a salad and other fresh fruits. The canned stuff was starting to annoy me. I went to MOM’s and stocked up on all my organic produce so I’ve been enjoying this new phase. Hopefully my next update will be a bit more exciting and uplifting. I’m just glad that I finally had an opportunity to sit down and write because doing this is always therapeutic. I’ll try to update my measurement Chart as soon as I get back in town. Good luck to you all and stay strong and focused on your journey.
~Nikki
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One Month Post-Op on September 27, 2007 7:51 pm
I can't believe that it's already been one month since my surgery. I had my one month post-op follow up with Dr. Moazzez yesterday which went well. My incisions are healing quite well and my recovery is going as planned.
Dr. Mo was concerned that I may be dehydrated. I've been struggling to get all of my water in along with three meals a day. I've been able to either have my three meals a day along with my protein shakes or get all my water in along with my two protein shakes. It's been really hard trying to do it all. Some days I just don't seem to have an appetite at all, and other days, I get a bit hungry when I haven't eaten for hours at a time. I know that it's not healthy but I've been trying. I've managed to keep my workout going so that's great. I just have to keep trying harder to follow all the rules and get everything in that I'm supposed to - all 64oz of water, two protein shakes, all my vitamins, three meals a day and exercise. So far, I've done pretty well in the weight loss area since my surgery. I asked Dr. Mo what he thought my goal weight should be and he said anywhere between 135-140. I told him that I wanted to be 120lbs. because of my height, but he felt that was/is too small. He said that because of my bone structure, being 120lbs. wouldn't look good on me. LOL. Derrick definitely agrees with him so we'll see how that goes. As long as I'm healthy and able to do all the 'normal' things that this surgery will allow, I'll be happy with the results. My goal was to lose 30lbs. in the first month but I missed that goal by 2.6lbs. Hopefully I'll do better next moth. Here is my chart of how I've done so far.
My Weight Loss Journey
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PRE-OP
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8/27/2007
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9/27/07
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Weight
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261.00
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245.40
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218.00
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BMI
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45
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42
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37.4
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Waist
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54''
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45''
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Chest
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48''
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45''
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Thigh
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26''
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26''
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Arm
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14''
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14''
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Wrist
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7.5''
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7''
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Ankle
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9.75''
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9.25''
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Calf
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17.5''
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15.5''
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Neck
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17.5''
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16''
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Hips
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50.5''
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48''
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Shoe Size
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9
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9
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9
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Dress Size
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24 W
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22 W
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?
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Pants Size
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24 W
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22 W
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18
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My Goals for October are:
~ To be in ONEDERLAND by 10/27/07
~ Eat 3 meals/day, drink 64oz.water, drink 2 protein shakes, & increase my workout to 45 minutes
~ Be able to fit into my size 16 Jeans
Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I travel on this journey to a healthier me. Best of luck to you all.
~Nikki
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One Week Out on September 4, 2007 4:48 pm
I'm now one week post-op and I'm feeling pretty well. I've been walking a lot on the treadmill and keeping up with my full liquid diet which I'm really ready to be off! I'm still having a hard time getting in all my water and my protein some days, but hopefully that will get better. I have to admit that I've been so hungry. I've been drinking nothing but broth, water, and my protein which keeps me running back and forth to the bathroom. I'm glad that I only have a few days left of the liquid diet so that I can move on to my pureed stage. I meet with Dr. Mo for my follow up on Thursday morning so hopefully he'll say that it's okay for me to move forward. So far I've already lost 11lbs. so I'm pleased with that. Mom & Dad, Derrick, and my sisters all say that I look smaller, but I don't really see any difference. Hopefully that too will change soon! Other than that.. things are going great and I'm happy. 
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