Valerie K.

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Five years ago today, I had my sleeve. Best choice for my life! I had lost 140 lbs put 25 back on, but have lost 10 of the 25. I had gained it because I was not exercising, and watching what I eat. I do get hungry, but it's about thinking before I eat. Protein will stay in my stomach longer and I feel full longer, I need to tell my self to drink more water. I say you can never control your self when it comes to junk food. Sure, you start out with just a little, but down the line you end up eating more and more. The withdrawal from sugar is horrible! I love my sleeve, I could never do the things I do now, if it was not for my weight loss surgery. I was given this tool, and tried hard to use it right. I do eat things that Dr. H would not approve of, but no one is ever perfect and I just keep on trying never give up! I belong to an awesome support group, that has helped me find balance. Thanks Dr. H for sticking with me even when things go crazy after a procedure like gallbladder and tummy tuck, need I say more? Racheal and Kisha your great! They not only give  me support in my weight loss, but in life's big decisions. Get out of the house people, exercise and enjoy life as you lose!!! 

I am three years out from my weight loss surgery. Life sure has changed for my self. I go on bike rides five days a week some times even seven days a week I love to ride and I am able to ride 15 to 40 miles depends on how I feel. I love the choice I made for my self. The sleeve has saved my life if I did not have this tool I am sure I would be 400 lbs by now.I just can not thank my surgeon Dr. Hendrick and his staff enough for all the great support I get from them. Maintaining  is not easy I will have to say. I am always going to have to watch what I eat but I have great restriction still. Love to eat small and feel full for house. I tell everyone about my surgery and this great tool. With out this tool my life would not be so happy. I get up each day happy and go to bed happy because of my weight loss. I can not tell yah enough to go for it if your ready. 

I started out with Dr. Steven Hendrick April 2010. Went to his seminar. I had been to others but did not like the other surgeons. I found Dr. H. I knew right away he was going to be my WLS. He knew his stuff told the truth. Told me the good and the bad about surgery. Holds me responsible never letting me give my self any excuse for not doing right. Told me off when I needed it. He did my gallbladder removal which I was so scared of but he made me feel so safe in his hands and talent he has. He told me to go see a gyno kept on me about seeing one. I went and my gyno told me I was lucky to have a Dr. H care so much about me. I ended up having a hysterectomy  just in time my gyno said. I hurt my knee 10 years ago and Dr. H after I had lost some weight told me go and get that knee fixed so I can get my giddy up and go again for him lol. I had the knee surgery and never looked back now jogging a mile a day.  I am able to run after my grandson and make him tired now he tells me to stop running around he is 6.

Dr. H did my tummy tuck which looks fab by the way. I just saw him today for the last time about my tummy tuck he said it looks good put me back to work which I need to be at staying home kills me. Dr. H said see ya in July when I am 2 years out from WLS. Now reality hit me. I know how to eat right know what to eat know to exercise. I just pray I can keep the weight off. I am going to college to become a  Medical practice/Facility business management. I want to give back to others. Some day I hope to work with a surgeon in his or her office to help others with there weight loss journey. My weight loss journey has changed my out look on life. It has made me love me and care about me. I am ready for my next journey which is getting my degree. I thank Dr. H and his wonderful staff  Rachel, Kisha, LaDon for support and strength they gave me. I will still be getting my Vitim's from them and doing support group with them.  I will go to some seminars to talk to others about WLS. 

This has been the best journey one can be on. Now it is time for me to carry on with this weight loss journey keep on track eat right and exercise to keep my weight in check. I will try so hard never to gain my weight back and if I do i know where there is a doc I can turn to. 

 Well had my tummy tuck Monday October 24Th, 2011. Things went well my surgeon told my family. I did have alot of loose skin my husband said 6 lbs of skin removed and I do not know how much fat. All I can say is my surgeon warned me of the pain and dam he is right. It is killer some times it hurts so bad I cant even think or here people talking. I cant sit up by my self my husband has to help me with so much sitting up getting out of bed. Cooking me food and he has to empty my drains and record the day time and how much he is draining. You just can not prepare your self for this kind of pain. I can say this pain is not as bad as my knee surgery was. But it still hurts like heck. There are times that i do not have pain when laying down which is nice but once i want to more the pain comes back. I can not wait till this is over and i start to feel better.

If he was not for my husband I could never have had this done. You need a person to take care of you for a while with this procedure. I did shower today and it looks nice I guess lol long cuts. I still say I have the best surgeon thanks Dr. H again for all your great work on me. I can not say I would tell others to do this at this point I am in pain and will tell them hell no do not get one hope in days to come I will change my mind. 

The changing of the covers on my scars is a pain in the butt. The tape hurts when being pulled off my skin and the banding i have to use sucks and than there is the binder I use ever day i think for the next 6 weeks does not feel good. I do look in the mirror and i am happy the rolls are gone and it does look better with out all that loose skin hanging so this is worth it.

 I am getting my tummy tuck on Monday October 24 Th. I am having the inverted T tummy tuck. My surgeon told me he wanted to do this on me because I have so much loose skin and this kind of tuck can remove more skin and fat. I am so excited but scared of the pain. I will be sure to post on here how it went and how the pain is. 

I have before pictures but saving them till I get this tuck than I can put them on side by side. My insurance is paying for this Tummy tuck. My surgeon will be Dr. Steven Hendrick the same person that did my sleeve. I am happy he is able to finish this job on me. I have a chocolate cake on my table but it has no icing on it lol and this will cover it now.

Have a great day all Val.

I am so happy with my sleeve. It is the best surgery I could have had. I am still trying to get to goal but the weight I have lost is great with me. I would tell you all who are on the fence to get off it and have this surgery. With my new weight I am able to run a mile and two if I want to. I can bend over with out my gut holding me back. I can tie my shoes with out holding my breath. I am able to run  after my  grandchild with out running out of breath.

I went in to my surgeons office thinking about getting the band. When talking with him he told me about the sleeve and I said yes. I am so happy I did get my VSG. This year has been full of so much fun in losing this weight. I love to exercise and love to eat small. I go out to the restaurant and when i order i tell them to just bring me a box because I know that food will be taken home with me. This surgery has saved my life and for that i am very happy. Please if you are thinking of getting this surgery just do it. You will love it as much as I am.

On February 28 Dr Hendrick took out my gallbladder things went fine. But 2 weeks after he did this i had a sharp pain in my side. I Called his office to ask if this was normal and they told me they will have him call me back which he did. He told me to go to Er so i did. I told the Er doctor what was going on with me and he said well we call your doctor when we find out something that is how it works he told me. I was sent for an ultra sound than a hida scan. i was in the hida scan and look over there was Dr Hendrick checking  on me. He came over to me and had to check my area i was hurting in. Than told me things look fine to come to see him next week. The tech in the scan room said wow a doctor that cares enough to make sure his patient was OK is very rare than I went back to the ER the doctor was there with a nurse and Dr Hendrick walked around the corner to see me again. He told me he checked on my blood work and all other testing and things were great. The ER doctor was so shocked to see him there. The Er doctor said well you come with your own doctor you do not need us lol. I told him that is what makes a good doctor great. I felt so at ease in the ER room once Dr Hendrick told me i was fine and he was checking in on me. I now know what an awesome doctor he is. For a doctor to do this is amazing to me. I had no idea he would come to the hospital and make sure i was OK. What other doctor does this?. I was told by that ER doctor most doctors just call and see what is wrong with there patient but he said I guess your doctor cares more than others. I told him yes I guess he does and i am very happy he does. If your on the fence about picking a great surgeon I would tell you Dr. Hendrick is the best. Yes he is tough on you when he has to be like he had to be with me I did not listen to him that kind of got me in trouble with him. But he will tell you why he is being tough he just wants the best for you. He does care about his Patience's. In his words we are not  just a widget on this operating table we are a real live person and he cares about us.

 Hello all this problem i am having started back 2 months ago. Saw my surgeon for my 6Th month check up. I had a gallbladder attack the day before i saw him. Well the first gallbladder attack i ever had was 23 years ago when I had my first child. But no doctor ever did any thing for me about it. All the testing they would do was a ultra sound and that always comes back great no stones no problem so now 23 years later I have surgery to loose weight. Which i am very happy i did this for my self. 

now back to the doctors visit. I knew he was going to check my stomach feel for hernia and check on the scars left behind from the surgery. he did just want i said he would do but he pushed on my upper right hand side and it about put me threw the roof. he asked me why i was making ugly faces than he pushed again and again I told him well yelled stop that is killing me he said though so. he said go get an ultra sound well from my past having them i said OK but i did not do it that was in January than came February and the pain was getting bad so i had it done and again the ultra sound came back normal no stones.

My doctor called me saying he did not like the out come and wanted me to go get a ct scan done i asked him questions app on questions and he told me just get the test please let me do my job do the test. I did it 3 weeks later that is just me i was thinking what a waste of time this pain is in my mind. Well it came back with stones thank god i am not crazy.

Than my doctor called me again and told me to get a Haida scan again i am asking questions and he said just do it you have to do this test I take it he does not like to be told no lol. Fighting all the way i did the test. Found out my GB is only working at 17% normal is 35%. Well starting on Sunday February 20Th I was unable to eat and keep food down and drink and keep it down thinking it was the flu I never called him to tell him this. Well Wednesday came and i have had enough it was not getting better. My surgeon called me asking me millions of questions he told me he had to call me back he needed to call the O.R. room than he called me back and said OK Friday he wants to scope me. i said OK what time he said 9:30 am. I hung up about an hour after that call i sat thinking about this scan started to cry and was scared to death because my husband had one and it went bad for him he was awake for the whole thing. i called my surgeon to cancel this I told him I am up in a tall tree and not coming down lol. he talked me down and i stopped crying and did the scope it turned out great and i do not remember a thing. but now it is all most Monday and surgery again. 

Lesson learned DR. Hendrick i will promise from now on to listed to my surgeon lol. Because i never want this kind of pain again  and do not want to feel sick like this ever again.  If i had this to do all over again i would have listened. So if you get VSG please listen to your surgeon and do not be hard headed.

I hope I picked the right surgery I am doing the sleeve. I am scared about having any surgery but this one I am not so sure about. I know I feel so big and hate it. I am 45 years old and am very over weight. My husband tells me he still loves me no matter how big I am or get. But I do not love me the way I am so I want surgery and hope this works. I have been reading on line and seeing so many pictures of others getting the surgery and the after pictures. Love to see the before picture and the after one. Wondering if any one has had this surgery and wondering if there surgeon was Steven Hendrick?. Please leave any comments you want about the surgery and what I should expect.


July 28Th 2010.

I had my surgery the first day I was home was Wednesday July 22.  It felt like a mac truck hit me but did not kill me or finish his job on me. Man I was sick I could not lay down just kept walking around the house the gas pains were so bad.  I was not happy at all. I was thinking why did I do this why did I let DR. Hendrick talk me in to this surgery why did he even mention this to me all I wanted was the band. But when I started to talk to my doctor he told me the sleeve I would be happy with. Well That Wednesday I was not happy.

But now I am a week out and feeling better each day starting to love my sleeve and the surgeon that did it for me. I know my surgeon is there to help me but if you asked me a week back I would have told you he was not good lol. I like my surgeon he is so tough he will ask you a question and he does not want to here any excuse from you why  you are not doing things his way. He has the attitude you do the things my way and you will loose weight and if you do not do what I tell you than this is your fault if you do not loose weight.  He is a no nonsense surgeon. But he does care about his patients a lot you can see that when he talks to you.  He is good and he knows he is good that is why I picked him and I also picked him because he is tough on you.

I am only a week out still trying to find out when I am full and not get sick. I am happy with the weight I have lost so far I am looking for better days soon.