Donna Butler
I want to have this surgery so that I can have a better quality of life.
Hooray, I finally have a surgery date. It is June 9th.
It will be in Lafayette, La. Dr. Gary Stevens is doing the surgery. Hopefully this will be the turning point in my life.
Today, May 10,2004, I went to Lafayette,La. to have my psych. evaluation. Guess I did okay. The men in the white coats didn't come to get me!!!!!!!!!!!. I will have an EGD on May 20. Please pray that nothing is wrong there
Had my EGD yesterday May 20,2004. It went well. Now I have to see a cardiologist & maybe have a mesh piece put in my artery to prevent a blood clot to my lungs. I am disabled & not able to get around well so Dr. Stevens thinks this would be safer. I Pray to the Good Lord that all this takes place in time for my June 9th surgery date. Please pray hard for me.
Went to Lafayette on Monday the 24th to see a cardioligst. He did an ultrasound & scheduled me for a vena cava(I think thats right)for next Wed June 2nd.
Went back to Lafayette on tuesday for my pre-op classes & a support group meeting. now i am ready for June 9th or so I thought.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a heart attack on the 26th & had to have a stent put in so now no surgery for at least 9 months. I'm not gonna give up but continue to Pray for a fast recovery for me.
Went to the cardiologist today(7-6-04) & still cannot have the surgery.Guess this will be the last update from me until next year. Good luck to all who has had or will have the surgery.
God Bless you all. Donna
March 21,2005: HAD TO HAVE A BALLOON PUT INTO MY STENT LAST WEEK BUT MY CARDIOLOGIST THINKS I AM STILL A GOOD CANIDATE FOR SURGERY SO I WILL BE SEEING DR. STEVENS ON MARCH 29 TO SEE IF HE WILL STILL CONSIDER ME . PLEASE PRAY FOR ME BECAUSE I WANT TO HAVE THIS DONE SO BAD. WILL ADD TO THIS AFTER I SEE DR. STEVENS DONNA
SAW DR. STEVENS TODAY. I NOW HAVE A NEW SURGERY DATE OF MAY 2,2005!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WILL HAVE TO HAVE OPEN BPD/DS INSTEAD OF GASTRIC BYPASS BUT DR. STEVENS ASSURED ME THAT IT WILL HAVE THE SAME RESULTS. I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE HAVING THIS KIND OF SURGERY. PRAY FOR ME PLEASE
WENT TO LAFAYETTE TODAY FOR PRE-OPCLASS &BLOODWORK & CHEST X-RAY. WAS A LITTLE UPSET WHEN THEY TOLD ME I WOULD BE IN ICU FOR 3 TO 5 DAYS BUT GUESS THIS IS BEST. I AM SO READY TO GET THIS DONE. SEE YOU ALL ON THE LOSING SIDE. DONNA BUTLER
May 2nd has come & gone & I made it. It is not a picnic in the park but i know each day will get better. I am still having explosive poops but hope that will pass soon also. Having a hard time with the protein but hope to conquer this soon also.Thanks to all how Prayed for me. PRAY does work. Donna
May 31. Went to see Dr. Stevens today. I've lost 27lbs. in a month. I have been feeling extremely well. Hope this stays this way.Was on 18 different meds. Now I am down to 4.Even my insulin is gone. Sugar is doing fantastic. Donna Butler
July 3rd. Haven't been here in a while. Seems time just flies by these days. I am 9 weeks out tomorrow & have lost 52lbs. Still feeling so good. So far no food problems & everything has sorta returned to normal. Why didn't I do this sooner. lol. Donna
July 27. Went to Lafayette, La. for my 3 mo. check-up yesterday. I am so confused. My scale read 284, my PCP scale read 288 but the scale at the Surgeons office was 297. They can't find my day of surgery weight so we are going by my pre-op meeting weight of 343. Depending on whose scale(I like mine best) you use, I have lost 59lps, 55lps. or 46lps. Oh well at least I am loosing. Still feel great & am able to eat anything I want within reason. Donna
October 25,2005. Went for my 6 mo. check-up and everything was good except for potassium level. Got a prescription for that. Lost a total of 91 lbs. so far. The Dr. was well pleased. As of now I am able to walk around my house without my walker. This is so great. Haven't been able to go without my wheelchair in 5 years. Still have to use it for trips to Wal-mart but can go with walker alot of places. This surgery is so great. Donna
January 10,2006. Gosh where has time gone. The holidays were good for me. I ate what I wanted but thanks to the DS, I could not gorge myself as before.
I am 8 months out and down 117 pounds. It sure feels good to be able to cross my legs, have my grandchildren( ages 13 & 14) sit in my lap. They were so excited to do this because it had been a long time in coming. My grandson puts his arms around me each weekend to see how far on his arms his hands can go. This is very exciting for him & we play this game each Sunday. Both my daughters have cried over something that I do that they haven't seen me do in years. What a feeling this gives me when people stop & tell me how good I look. BUTTTTTT something is happening to me now that I don't like. The sugar cravings are after me & I find myself doing things I shouldn't be doing. Yes, I know it is okay to indulge in a double stuffed oreo on occasion but some reason I can't stop at one. What is making me do the very things that got me in this fix in the first place? I will be seeing a therapist on the 23rd to help me deal with these issues. Hope it will be an eye opener and I can learn to deal with all these issues before I sabotage what this surgery has done for me. Donna B.
January 31,2006, Went to Lafayette for my 9 month visit. All my bloodwork was great. I have lost 120 lbs. They give you a pin for over a hundred pounds. My therapist appointment was rescheduled for March 27th. but i'm not craving the oreos like I was. Glad that is over. Having a hard time with loose BMS now tho. Don't know what that is caused from. Not eating any different now than before.
It is June already & I haven't updated about my 1 year anniversary.
May 2 was a year. Where did the time go? I have lost a total of 152 lbs so far. Finally under 200 for the first time since I can remember.
It is amazing. I am no longer bound to my wheelchair and have a lot more freedom & feel great. Still can't do a lot of exercise because of my physical disability. Maybe I haven't lost as much as some but it is still a great feeling to be able to do the things "normal" people do. My visit to the therapist was disappointing. He does not seem to understand my "head hunger" problem. He changed my anti-depressant to Wellbutrin because he says the Celexa I was taking causes an appetite. I can't see any difference. Maybe when I go back next month, he will try to help me fix my problem. All my lab work was very good. My surgeon was very impressed & said to keep doing what I had been doing. My protein was a at a very good level & I am just getting it from food. Will go back in July for a visit & to check for a hernia. Have a small hump on my incision but does not cause too much of a problem.The one thing I am having trouble with is clothes. I am not able to wear anything under a 20 in pants & XL in shirts but it is a great improvement over the 30-32 I was wearing. My skin is hanging downward toward my knees & unless the hernia needs to be repaired, I will not be able to afford plastics. I will take whatever comes my way because this is so much better than where I was a year ago. More info at a later date.
July 26th. Went to Lafayette today. It was storming but made it there safely(after a stop in Opealousus, La. at the casino) Dr. Stevens was very proud that my labs continue to be first rate. I have lost 166 lbs & only 17 lbs from his goal of 164. I had no great amount in mind when I started. Just wanted to be under 200 lbs. My hernia is about the size of a grapefruit & not having any problems with it. Dr. Stevens talked to me about having it removed & having the panni surgery. He kinda scared me by telling me it was a very painful surgery & a good chance of several complications. He just wanted me to be prepared for the worst. I will have to think about this long & hard. I will be 60 years old in August & have not had a flat abdoman in lots of years. Not being able to wear some of the smaller sizes attained by some is discouraging but not sure I can go through with this. See him in October & will think & Pray about this till then. Donna Butler
I just don't understand why my sizes are not going down as much as some. I have lost 176 lbs. I still have to wear the "W" sizes. Maye if I decide to have the hernia fixed & TT, that will help. I finally have some pictures on here. Donna Butler
11-06-02
Went to the surgeon today. All blood work was good except trigliserides(sp?) He was well pleased. I have lost a total of 187 lbs . It is so amazing to think that I have lost more than 1/2 of me. We talked about the hernia repair & TT but decided to wait a while as I am still loosing weight.I just wish my clothes sizes were changing as fast as I am loosing the weight. Maybe one day.
May 2, 2007 will be 2 years since my DS. I have lost a total of 203 pounds. I feel great & can do so many more things than I could. Having some problems with depression but am seeing a therapist for this. I will see my surgeon in June & will discuss the hernia repair & TT then. All my blood work has come back great. Would I go through this again? In a heart beat. I now have a new lease on life.
April 2008: Have been really lax in updating and I know how important it is for pe-ops & people trying to make a decision on what surgery to have. In July of 07, I had the tt & hernia repair. Everything went like clock work & I was really pleased. In early August I had to have a pace maker inserted because my heart rate was in the low 30's. Dr. said it was so used to working so hard when I was so obese. Afterwards it was trying to rest but it was resting too much. lol Since this was done I have been quite well. The DS is the best thing to happen to me. I firmly believe by the Grace of God this decision saved my life.
To all people looking into WLS, remember, research,research research.
July 2008: Okay I have to be truthful. Diaherra has been a real problem for me. I could not control this & had many accidents. Most of them were in public places and have had to throw away a lot of clothes. Tried Lomotel, Flagyl and controlling my carb intake and food that I knew would cause me trouble. Sometimes it would just happen. My common channel was 50 cc. My surgeon said I had a short bowel too. On June 27th, I had a revision of the common channel from 50 cc to 125 cc. So far this has helped a lot. I am able to get to the bathroom in time and am having mostly normal movements. Hopefully this will help my problems. Would I do all of this again??????? OH YES IN A HEART BEAT. My health is so good right now. Thanks be to GOD for giving me this life back.
Photos
 347 Day before surgery 5/1/05 |
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 170 16 months post op 9/3/06 |
Hospital Reviews
Member Interests:
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Surgeon Info:
Surgeon: Gary Stevens, M.D.
My first impression of Dr. Stevens was what a laid back man he was. I met him at the seminar they had. He helped with the meeting along with his partner Dr. Chu. I knew in talking to him, he was the one for me. The members of his staff are very friendly & anxious to meet all your needs and answer all your questions These Drs. are very concerned about the aftercare & let you know how important this is to your success. If you have concerns, all you have to do is call & someone will get right back to you with the help you need. I would reccomend these Drs. to anyone. I am so happy with the success I have acheived since May 2nd. Dr. Stevens is 100% in my book
Insurer Info:
MEDICARE & BC/BS of La.
My Drs. office did all the work. I did not have to deal with them at all.
