since we have a lot of new faces.... how about we do some intros

Wow- this is a great post!   I'm happy to learn so much about you all!!

My name is Kathleen and I will be 37 on Tuesday!   I live in Bucks County, PA and grew up here too :).   I am recently divorced after a few VERY rough years of marriage.     Due to PCOS, I was having fertility issues, and went through some fertility treatments to no avail.  Have never been pregnant- no kids- but think I would like kids if I meet the right guy :)

Am a licensed counselor and have an MBA in healthcare administration.    I work as a Care Manager for Magellan  Health Services and I currently work from home for the Texas office (I love being at home and having no commute!!).

Prior to surgery I had multiple medical problems, including severe acid reflux, delayed stomach emptying, choking from the reflux and a pre-cancerous condition of the esophogas (Barrett's esphogas).   I was originally recommended for fundoplication in 2003  to fix the espohogas/stomach connection, but the physician told me it would not be durable on someone who is overweight (I was about 230 at the time) and recommened gastric bypass.    Having known nothing about the surgery at the time, I was reluctant to move forward with the weight loss surgery. 

So 5 years later,  and a high weight of 277 lbs,  I decided it was time to look into surgery and start focusing on myself!     At this point I had PCOS, IBS, High Blood Pressure, Asthma, High Cholesterol, Fatty Liver Disease, High Triglycerides, insulin resistance, and sleep apnea, in addition to the Gastric Refux issues.  

I had my surgery on 5/12/09 at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia with Dr David  Wernsing.
Everything went very smoothly and now, at 8.5 weeks post op, I have lost 47 lbs as of today.
My surgery weight was 257 and currently I am 210.  I cannot wait to get under 200 lbs!!
I have dropped from size 26 to size 20 in 8 weeks!   Also, since the day of surgery, I am off all blood pressure meds, which is amazing, and my insulin resistance is resolved, although I still have some of the annoying PCOS symptoms.    I am on meds for reflux (routine for the 1st 6 months post-op) but have noticed that my reflux is about 100 times better now :).

I feel so lucky to have a new start to my life and health!    My brother also had gastric bypass 3 weeks before me, so it is interesting to go through it together.
I have not yet dumped, vommitted or anything, so I am happy about that.   I have felt nauseos one or twice, no other issues. 

I would have the surgery over again with the only regret being not having it sooner!!!!

I am on facebook (Kathleen Taddei) and email is [email protected] :)

This site and the many friends I have met here (so far only online!  can't wait to meet you in person!)    have been an incredible source of information and support!    So blessed to have found obesityhelp.com and the wonderful PA boards :)

Great reading so far and interesting....so with that here are the details.

My name is Beth 41 years old and had surgery LAP RNY with Dr. Pupkova at Barix on April 18,2008. My highest weight on record was 340 pounds and I am now down 136 pounds. Seems I have been there for 4 months and if I never lose another pound I am OK with that.

I am in a relationship for 6 months now with a great guy and many on these boards have loved him before I even knew him. That would Dennis who is the post op support group leader at Barix. We had been friends and then I had a Christmas party last year we discovered that there just maybe something between us well so far so good.

Like Liz I work for a sign company and on weekends I am a private event DJ which I love. My knees no longer hurt when I dance and I have more energy then I ever had in past years. 

Unlike others I do not wish or regret not having this surgery sooner I had just when I was suppose to have on my life's journey. If I had it sooner would the connections of friends I have now or even my relationship with Dennis be there??

It has been a worth every bit of work and would do it all again! 

What a great thread!!  My name is Kathy K and I live in Danville, PA.  I am only about 15 minutes from Geisinger Medical Center where I will be having my lap RNY surgery with Dr. Petrick on 8/20/09.  At age 57 I am now the oldest person chiming in on this.  Sorry to the other Kathy.  LOL  My highest weight was 315.  I am now at 275.  My 5'4" frame just cannot take the weight anymore.  My legs and hips hurt,  I have sleep apnea, high cholestral, and diabetes.  I have worked for Weis Markets for almost 10 years.  Until recently I was the HR Payroll person.  I have now moved to third shift to take a less stressful but more physcial position.  I take care of my darling husband of 14 years who has COPD and a mild form of dementia.  I have no children of my own but do have two wonderful step sons.  This board and my support group at GMC have been two of the most helpful things in my journey.  Support is so important and you can find it here.
Kathy K

Hi Liz,

What a good idea!

As of right now, I am the senior citizen of this posting, just turned 54 years young on the 29th of June and I am the healthiest I have been in the last 25 years of my life.  I have 3 grown children, 4 grandchildren and am a Native New Yorker, who moved to South New Jersey to be near my oldest child, my son, who was getting married, my daughters live in Florida.  I currently live with Dillinger, my 12-1/2 year old Rottie, who was given 1-3 months to live back in February, but defies the odds each day and I am grateful to the Universal Spirit for my blessings each and every day. 

As for my weight loss journey, after trying for many years to lose weight, with a family history of heart disease and diabetes closing in on me, my maternal family tree had, with one exception, died by early 60s due to heart disease and those who were obese developed adult onset diabetes by mid-50s, I realized it was now or never.  The other important factor was at age 51, I was living a life that had no real quality to it.  At 5'2", weighing 254 lbs. was keeping me from the mobile lifestyle I had once so enjoyed and when my then 9 yo granddaughter wanted to go to Disney with me for her birthday and I had to turn her down, because the mere act of walking had become so painful, that after one hour that I could not even think of doing a theme park, I vowed to do something seriously about it. 

I had seen people in my family have gastric bypass surgery and do quite well with it, however, I had always thought of it as a "cop out" or "easy way out", that is until I watched my one cousin who I was very close to go through the process and realized it was no easy way out, began researching, which ultimately led me to Barix and Dr. Pupkova and so I began my journey towards a healthy and more rewarding life.

The morning of October 16, 2007, I walked into Barix 236 lbs., I begun changing my life from the day I walked out of my consult, and 11.5 pounds from my consult date.  Today I weigh between 156 and 162, as my weight fluctuates.  The amazing thing about this journey, is that we are all so different. 

The outcome of all my hard work is that I feel better today at 54 than I did at 40 and I have an abundance of energy and the ability to live life fully.  There is no "I can't" anymore, I may not want to, but I CAN do anything I want to, my weight is no longer a hindrance.  I have a confidence in myself that I never had at any other time in my life.

As Liz so eloquently put it, the friendships and relationships I have formed along the way, have made this journey that much more worthwhile.   Today I volunteer to be a part of the Barix Support  Group Team, a great, and growing, group of people who give from their wealth of experience, to those of us walking this path.  I believe strongly in support as being a key component to ongoing success, as Shauna calls it "Successing"!  So together, we walk this path, no one among us is perfect, but collectively we have found a way to enjoy life and pursue healthier and fuller lives!

I, too, am an open book and if I can help anyone, I always willing to be of assistance.

Hugs, Laureen

Hey!! I'm Jena and I live in Beaver county, PA on the very western side (about 30 min west of Pittsburgh). I had my surgery February of this year by Dr. Ramesh Ramanathan and he is a God-send. I had my surgery at Magee-Women's Hospital and I loved the whole experience. I've lost 60lbs from my consult weight of 234lbs.

I am 23 years old and one of the "babies" of the board! I am single, and loving every minute of it! I have no living children, but I have three angels in heaven waiting for me (three miscarriages).

I am a full time nanny for a little boy named Cody and he is my world. I love my job. I went to school for nursing and got out in May 07. I plan on going back to school to finish the rest of my degree next year sometime.

We started a Support/Cooking group here on the western side of the state (and if anyone is interested, please PM me! We'd love to have you!).  I love to cook and I started cooking at the age of 2 with my grandma. I also love music. I play 6 instruments and sing.

:-)

Hi Jena,
Keep me in mind for the next class. Very interested in meeting friends from OH and learning how to cook again.............

Hello.......I am Lois and also like Kathy am 57 years old, I think, lied so much when I was under 21 about my age that I can't get it straight anymore....lol... I am married also to a wonderful guy who in the beginning of my journey also didn't want me to have this and now is the biggest supporter in both my life and my support group that meets at  twice a month at Geisinger in Danville.........................I had my surgery in april 2007, my highest weight was 317 and now since surgery I am 200, can't get past it, for the life of me...........but that is ok....if I had my extra skin removed from my legs and belly I would, but right now no apt. yet to have that done, I am waiting on my plastic surgeon to give me a date for the "CORSET" when he has a teaching class operation...then it is half off....(I can wait);..........had my arms done one year after surgery and am happy, considering what they did look like they look great now....my plastic surgeon said he would do a revision on them while I was under for the belly....we'll see................am I happy, oh yes, I can do so many things that I couldn't before.....one breathe.......I have asthma and also was on allot of med daily and since surgery I am off two of them, still use advair and am off my c'pap machine.........................................I have grandchildren thru my husbands children he had when we married in 1991,,,,,,,,,,,four in all......also have a poodle.......or should I say my husband has a poodle.........she only listens to him.........................I try to go to all the support group meetings I can, not only from where I had my surgery in Danville, but go to Liz's and to Phila. for the first sat of the month at Barix and go to Montourville when I can....support is so important and it keeps you on track.........I am glad I had this surgery and I believe all of us have to come to this dicision on our own in our own timing......................and we have to do it for ourselves and no one else...allot of people think this fixes everything, well it doesn't,  it doesn't fix  your head, only your pouch...................so education and support must be kept up......using OH this web site and many others has helped me daily to remember where I use to be and where I want to stay, and that is now a healthy and more happier person.........hope to meet some of you guys at Lizs.....
Lois

Hi everyone, My name is Belinda all my friends and family call me BJ. I had a Lap RNY on March 20, 2009, so I am about three and a half months out. It has been an incredible journey so far. I am down 56 lbs since surgery and 76 lbs from my all time high of 276. I had an ulcer and a stricture at one month out so that kind of threw me off for a little while. The ulcer is all but completly healed and things are going fantastic now. My surgeon is Dr. Matthew Davidson with The Weight Loss Clinic in Harrisburg. About one and half hour drive from where I live. I am about right in the middle of the state, around 30 miles from Penn State University. I am married to John, together we have four kids, three boys and one girl. 19,18,16,13. John and I have been together for 12 years. We have two Labs and a cat. We lost our Terrier about 2 1/2 months ago. I will be 40 the begining of August and I am feeling better now than I have in 25 years or so. I researched surgery for about 4 years before committing myself to it and it took about 1 year to work through the process. I am SO VERY HAPPY with my decision. I have alot of health problems IBS, PCOS, asthma, sleep apnea, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, degenerative disc, spinal bone spurs and arthitis, insulin resistance, Bipolar disorder, the list goes on. Most of these problems have gotten MUCH better. I still take quite alot of meds but that my change some day. My blood pressure, and cholesterol was borderline before surgery and as of right now is much better. I am a nurse LPN, I haven't worked since 1997 because of health problems but that is one of my goals to get back to work. I am currently an internet college student. I am getting an Associate's Degree in medical record technologies. I agree with some of the other's when they say I am an open book. If there is anything that I can do to be of help to someone please don't hesitate to shoot me a message. This is an awesome thread. It is great getting to know everyone. Have a wonderful day.

Hi! 

My name is DeAnn and I am a 38 year old, divorced single mother of a nine (almost 10) year old girl named Kira. 

I live in Pittsburgh, PA and had Lap RNY on November 18, 2008 by Dr. Robert Quinlin at UPMC St. Margaret's hospital.  The day of my consult I weighed 349lbs and on the day of surgery I weighed 331lbs.  I have lost a total of 104 pounds since I started and 88 pounds since surgery.  Prior to surgery I had high blood pressure, gout, sleep apnea and was boarder line diabetic with a C PAP machine.   3 Weeks after surgery I didnt need my BP meds and I no longer need my CPAP and no longer have sleep apnea. 

I work in Commercial Real Estate and Investments for a small firm in Pittsburgh and spend alot of my free time involved in my Church and involved with my daughters extra curricular activities. 

I tell anyone who is thinking about having WLS to "DO IT"....make sure you do all the research that you need to do and talk to whom ever you need to to make an educated decision about the kind of surgery you want to have but DO IT!  Like alot of us, I wish I would have had the surgery sooner in my life so I could have a healither life but Ill take what God has given me so far...

So if you have any questions or just want to talk to someone who can understand where you came from and understands where your going...feel free to reach out to me...

Hi DeAnn,

What part of Pittsburgh?  I am from the west end.  Rivers Casino opening next month!!