Ryan Richey
My name is Ryan I am from Little Rock, AR and I had gastric bypass December 17, 2007. At the time of surgury I weighed 350 pounds and 23 years old. I feel a lot better now and I am healthier. I would recommend WLS to others who need to lose a lot of weight.
A few months before surgury I peaked at 374lbs. Two weeks before surgury I started a liquid diet that my Doctor (John Baker) put me on, I lost 25lbs. It was hard at first but I knew I needed to do something about my weight. The past summer was tough on me I was working at a job and had to climb a lot of stairs with all my tools and equipment everyday for a couple of months. I was out of breath by the second flight and I had a long way to go if I was going to get in to shape. At the first of 2007 I bought a recumbent bycycle and tried to start exercising. I was too big for the bike, I felt like I was going to break it. The weight capacity was 300 but I thought I was only 25lbs. heavier, I wasn't. So in August 2007 I called my insurance company to see if they covered WLS and how to get accepted. I had to see my doctor a few times, and he had to send a couple of letters and then they approved me in October 2007. After that I had to go to a siminar and a support group meeting before my doctor would see me. Then in December I had my surgury. I did not really have much pain. My surgury was laprascopic and I choose to have a PCA pump instead of an epidural. They did take the pump off the next day because I had an allergic reaction to the medicine but they put me on a liquid medicine I took by mouth. I was so shooked that I didn't have much pain. In all if I had to do it again I would.
LIke a lot of people I suffered being overweight most of my life but I choose to change my life with WLS and with what I eat. I am on my way of being very healthy and am feeling a lot better.
