Rachelena
Tracie's Story
Apr 05, 2011
Hello WLS friends! Today I am writing to you about a story that is near and dear to my heart! Along my journey, I met a woman, one of us, a WLSer, named Tracie. Tracie has given me full permission to share her story so I wanted to bring some light. This is not to scare away newbies from WLS. I happen to think Weight Loss Surgery is an amazing gift that I have been given. This is just to shed some light and a hope of finding help for a beautiful young woman that I am blessed to call my friend.Tracie is now 29 years old. She lives in a home with her boyfriend in southern California. She had RNY/Gastric Bypass in December 14, 2009 with a surgeon who will remain nameless as I don't want to come up against a lawsuit. She recovered for two days post-op in the ICU and was eventually sent home. Her surgery was a total disaster! From what I understand, it looks like Tracie was operated on by students who were not very well supervised by the surgeon. Tracie's pouch was made to be smaller than the size of a teaspoon.
After a few weeks she realized something was wrong. When she transitioned to her mushy phase of her post-op diet at 6 weeks, she couldn't hold down even a bite. Her surgeon insisted she wasn't eating the right things or the right way. She was told to chew 20 times before swallowing and to wait 10 minutes between bites. No matter how diligent she was her pouch rejected the food!
Upon returning to her surgeon he said she was no longer his problem and she needed her pouch stretched. she received a referral to a gastroenterologist who performed the esophageal balloon dilation on her close to 10 times!! It never worked. Surgery after surgery, from attempts to stretch her pouch to exploratory surgery, scar tissue has built up in Tracie's innards. They not cannot find her pouch.
Tracie has sought the advice of a lawyer. When the lawyer looked at her medical records, she was told there is no recourse for her because in tiny tiny microscopic print on the bottom of her consent form she gave consent to be operated on by students. I don't know if that micro print also says she is not allow to sue as a result of complication but I assume is does.
Now at 29 years old, Tracie has had to quit her job as a teacher and on most days barely has enough energy to do anything. When I talk to her on the phone she sounds tired and weak. I have spoken to every surgeon I know and every friend I can think of who may have been able to help her and it seems we are going no where. Many surgeons wont touch her and the ones who will wont take her insurance. She is on Medicare/Medi-cal in California.
If you are a surgeon who is willing to help my dear friend Tracie, please email me @ [email protected].
Please friends, talk to your surgeons about Tracie!! See if there is ANYONE out there who would be willing to help her.
More about Tracie, She has hopes and dreams! She wants to have a baby but cannot carry due to her severe nutrition deficiency. She has already had one miscarriage. She would like to go back to work and teach again. She wants to live and wants a life! She has been living on water and pedialite since 2009. She has been in and out of the ER multiple times twice in the last week alone. the ER doctor has told her she has so much scar tissue from her breast bone to her pelvis there is nothing they are willing to do. Her primary care doc at this point has her all drugged up because she is in constant pain.
Please help me help Tracie. I don't know if we could start a fund for her to help her get a reversal. I have two surgeons who have said they would help her but that would involve relocating for a little while and she just doesn't have the money! Any ideas, advice ANYTHING let me know!
I am NOT a Garbage Can!
Apr 04, 2011
Ah The Garbage can weight lifting... The ultimate oxymoron! I heard this from a friend of mine yesterday at a support group and I had to share it.We were discussing the angst about turning in our "Clean Your Plate" club membership cards and one women spoke up and shared.
I hate to waste food. It is such a shame to throw food into the garbage. But I have come to realize, for so many years I have treated myself as the garbage.What a powerful sentiment. did we not all do this at one point in our lives. We gave more respect to the garbage can! We can't throw food away so out of respect we throw the food away in ourselves. We become the garbage can!
Now that we have had our WLS or are about to, or even if you have no intention of ever having WLS, treat yourself better than garbage. You deserve it! No more eating food because you don't want to throw it away. If you are that concerned put it back in the fridge and eat it later. It is ok to say, no more food! My body has had enough. Treat yourself and your body with more respect that your garbage can!
Long Island's First WLS EXPO!
Mar 29, 2011
Long Island's FIRST Medical and Surgical Weight Loss Expo!!!
Join us for the Medical & Surgical Weight Loss Expo!
Free if you pre-register!! Register online at
http://www.newyorkbariatrics.com/Expo/
Don't forget to tell them RACHEL LEBOWITZ sent you!!
If you are interested in losing weight, considering weight loss surgery or have had surgery—The Expo is a must attend! Focusing on a total body solution - the presenters, exhibitors and demonstrators include products and services which will help you get on or stay on track for a new and healthier you!
Throughout the day, two seminar tracks will be presented by medical professionals who are dedicated to making a difference in helping New Yorkers with discussions on healthcare issues commonly associated with obesity. Exhibitors will include weight loss products and services, post-operative products, healthcare screenings, fitness and cooking demonstrations and a gala fashion show!
Take Back Your Life. Take Back Your Health.
Register Today! Register online athttp://www.newyorkbariatrics.com/Expo/
Don't forget to tell them RACHEL LEBOWITZ sent you!!
50+ Medical Professional Exhibitors
Healthcare Screenings
Cooking Lighter Demonstrations
Fitness Demonstrations
Gala Fashion Show
Nutritional & Weight Loss Exhibitors
Post-Operative Support Exhibitors
Free Weight Loss Product Samples
Prizes, Music & Giveaways and more
ALL DAY EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
Weight Loss Educational Seminars
Weight Loss Surgery and Revisional Seminars
Post-Operative Seminars (including plastic surgery, staying on track)
DON’T MISS LONG ISLAND’S FIRST MEDICAL & SURGICAL WEIGHT LOSS EXPO!
Date: Saturday, May 21, 2011
Place: Uniondale Marriott, Long Island New York
Time: 10.00 AM - 4.00 PM
FREE ADMISSION FOR THOSE WHO REGISTER BEFORE THE EVENT!
Register online at http://www.newyorkbariatrics.com/Expo/
Don't forget to tell them RACHEL LEBOWITZ sent you!!
$5.00 Admission the day of the event.
Have a question on the event? Email us ([email protected])
For information on exhibiting, please contact Lisa at 516.662.1762 or email
([email protected])
Dining Out post WLS
Mar 28, 2011
While I know it is probably best not to dine out much after WLS, there are occasions that call for meals in a restaurant. Yesterday I went to Atlantic City to meet up with a few post-op friends. When the time came to sit down for lunch we chose a place and began scouting the menu.We decided on sharing an appetizer so we wouldn't have left overs to carry around. For 3 of us the bill was relatively small. I didn't think much about it then but the thought hit me later on... We probably did not leave a big enough tip!
Now that we eat so much less, I know I tend to order so much less. While that is great for my wallet, the person who gets the short end of the stick is usually your server.
Pre-WLS, think about how much you used to spend dining out with one person. Take a place like TGIFridays... a place I used to frequent before my WLS days. When I went with my husband, we used to share an appetizer, get two meals and either 1 or 2 desserts. Plus the two sodas I drank with my meal. The server has been to my table about 6 times brought us many many soda refills without being asked usually and the bill wound up coming to somewhere between $50-$60. Right? Story sound familiar?
Post-WLS, hypothetically, My hubby and I go to TGIFridays (which we do every other month or so) and he orders the 3 course meal for 17 dollars. Generally he will get the green bean fries, some type of fish and dessert. What do I order.... Nothing! We share. Why... Because I cannot eat more than 4 ounces of food in one sitting. I no longer order a soda or anything else to drink because if it's there I will drink with my meal and I don't want to do that so I just skip it all together, I will have two green bean fries, about 3oz of his fish and one bite of whatever dessert he orders, if there is still room, which usually there isn't. So this now cuts our bill in half to about $25. The server has still been to the table at least times, still brings hubby his soda refills and does a little less work.
Now we get the bill. Generally we leave a 20% tip which would amount to about $5. Is that enough? I don't think so... What do you think? the odds are, unless you have been a server at one point in your life you probably don't think much about this. I didn't either until yesterday and I have been a post-op for 3 years! I think perhaps we should start tipping as if we were eating two meals. What do you think?
A Photo Journey is worth a Gaping Jaw!
Mar 24, 2011
03/08-Now... what a difference 110lbs makes.
Everyone should have a progression like this one. if you have trouble making yours I'd be happy to help!
The True Meaning of Support.
Mar 22, 2011
Today's blog I am dedicating to all the supportive WLS spouses, friends and family members. I met my husband while I was studying abroad in Israel. He is Israeli and his family lives in Jerusalem. We met through a mutual friend and at the time it seemed we were from two different worlds. Different backgrounds, different circles, activities etc... As we grew to know each other, I fell in love with his smile and his non-judgmental-ness. He fell in love with my love and care for others. We knew we wanted to get married within 4 months of dating and we were married a short year after than on Dec 01,2005. We were kids when we got married. I was 20. He was 22. We had a very idealistic idea of how the world works. We wanted to have kids right away and start our family. After a year of trying and no pregnancies we sought out a reproductive specialist and our WLS journey began. I was pushing 365lbs and we decided that losing weight was the most responsible decision we could make before conceiving. Looking back, that was prob the first responsible decision we EVER made. We were young and carefree and so in love. We were the kind of couple that thrived on high levels of emotion and passion and excitement. Oh, and lot's of fighting! I didn't really understand what it meant to be a "WE" as I had been an "I" for so long. I was the kind of girl who never consulted anyone. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I guess I am still kind of like that. Perhaps it's the ENFP (my Myer Briggs Personality type) in me.My husband on the other hand is a giver. He never asks for anything. He never wants for anything and is always happy with what he has. In fact he is prob the worst person ever to cook for and shop for. He likes pretty much whatever I feed him and whatever I buy him and he is always appreciative!
With all three surgeries he was by my side every single step of the way. When I had my band, He was supposed to be able to stay with me over night but when he complained because my night nurse refused to help me out of bed to walk they threw him out. He slept in the car that night just in case I called and needed him. When i had my band out, new surgeon new hospital and a private room he again stayed by my side and slept in the hospital with me. When I had my sleeve, another private room, he stayed with me all 3 days and nights, never once leaving my side except to use the bathroom. He walked with me, held my hand, made sure I was taken care of properly and did all the things I had expected him to plus more than I could ever have imagined. He always took the week off from work after each surgery to be home and tend to my every need and want. What more could I ask for? Not a damn thing!
He never berated me for my weight. He always told me I was beautiful and sexy when I was 265lbs and when I was 391lbs. He never made me feel like it was my fault we couldn't get pregnant and when I decided I wanted a revision, he never made me feel like a failure. He stood my side from thick to thin!
Today will be day 6 that I have been sick. Yesterday, while my husband was out running some errands for his store, he came home in the middle of the day to make sure I had Orange Juice and food.
I have heard many times that WLS makes a good marriage better and bad marriage worse. It's not the actual surgery that changes things. It's not event he weight loss. Some people get married because they feel this is the best they can do. When we are overweight, we wonder... Will anyone else love me when I look like this? I guess this is the best I can do because I don't have very much to offer. Maybe you fell in love with the person simply because they loved you. Those things cause marriages to fail when you realize you DO have self worth. I have always known I had self worth. I always had a lot of love to offer. I still do. I only want to offer it to my husband though. For me, I don't want to be with a guy who wouldn't love me fat. A guy who can't see me worth farther than skin deep. Guys always hit on me. At any weight I never had a hard time finding a date. But that is just not enough for me. My husband is worth more than his weight in 24k gold. He supports me in my adventures, my career, my WLS, my hopes and my dreams. He supports me when no one else does and I try my very best to do that for him too. Sure we have had our struggles our fights and whatever but who doesn't?
When the world throws you lemons, does your husband help you make lemonade or does he move out of the way so he doesn't get hit too? I hope to be making lemonade with my husband forever! Thank you for always supporting me! I love you!
When Diplomacy Becomes Toxic...
Mar 19, 2011
Diplomacy is defined as, skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility. What happens when the hostility is already there? When it has been building for a long time now and hidden under the guise of niceties and cordiality. It could be the aunt who always made fun of your weight and is now secretly jealous of you for getting skinny or your boss a co worker or frenemy?
I think as children we are always told to be nice, and give hugs we don't want to give and say things we have no interest in saying and... we do what we are told. That behavior for many of us has grown into being walked all over because of our weight, our feelings of being less then, worthless etc... Well that should not be the case!
No one is saying you have to be mean, cause drama at the Thanksgiving table, yell at your boss or expose your frenemies. What I am saying, is that you are worth being treated with respect and dignity. It's ok to dislike people. It is even ok to defriend them on facebook! You are not suzy sunshine and anyone who expects you to be clearly has not found the self dignity to handle the confrontation that comes with disliking someone.
There comes a time when diplomacy becomes toxic. The relationships and fake smiles just eat you up inside and you are ready to burst with no where to turn. Today I have decided to take a stand. No more fake friends. No more disliking people because my friends dislike them. No more pretending to like people because of how it may or may not effect my social status, career, opportunities etc. This is NOT high school. I don't have to love the popular girl to get recognized. I am an amazing person and have a lot to bring to the table. If people can not judge me by the worth I have and only by the people I associate with then I am choosing to change the channel! You are not worth me if you cannot see my worth.
"Keeping people in your life who do not better it is not diplomacy, its STUPIDITY!" Plain and simple. Realize you have intrinsic value and worth!
When Doctors Judge Their Obese Patients. How Do We Avoid This
Mar 18, 2011
When Doctors Judge Their Obese Patients
David Katz, M.D..Director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center
Posted: March 16, 2011 08:11 AM
"I saw a patient in my clinic last week who came to me for ... never mind. I am now her doctor; she is now my patient. What happens between us is private and privileged, and none of your business.
But in one regard, this patient was a prototype of countless others, and that can, and perhaps should, be everybody's business. She was heavy. She was very, very heavy.... (cont reading)
The article above has sparked many discussions recently in the bariatric community. We were all over weight before our WLS and some of us still are. It is a harsh reality that many doctors judge us, make us feel unwelcome and research shows that bias from the doctors towards obese people often prevent us from getting the proper medical care we need!
I can ramble off many obese people who have chosen not to see a doctor for years now because their prior experiences have been less than comfortable. It is time to take action! you have to know that it is not ok to be treated this way! Doctors have to realize that we deserve TLC, especially C no matter what we weigh or look like!
Here are a few things you can do to prevent feeling less than human when you go to a doctor!!
There are lists out there of "fat-friendly" doctors.
http://www.cat-and-dragon.com/stef/fat/ffp.html
http://homepage.mac.com/joeobrin/FatDoc/FatDoc.html
http://www.plussizeyellowpages.com/Size_Friendly_Health_Professionals.htm
There are also questions that can be asked over the phone that will tell someone whether their doctor is "fat-friendly". Ask if the waiting room has bariatric sized chairs, if they have a large blood pressure cuff handy, if they have plus sized gowns and what the maximum weight is on the scale in the office. Also how the staff reacts when you ask them to look up this information is a huge indicator of the feel in the office.
One woman I know goes as far as to get the doctor ont he phone and ask the doctor if she is comfortable touching fat people? No one likes to be diagnosed from across the room!
If you have any suggestions to add to this list please post below!
To Chew or Not to Chew... That is the Question!
Mar 17, 2011
I received an e-mail newsletter from a nutritionist, Rachel Lerner. Granted she is not a post-op and does not work much with post-ops but still the information she sends I find to be relevant most of the time. So yesterday she send info on chewing your food.
ChewingWhen it comes to increased health, it's not just what we eat but how we eat. Digestion actually begins in the mouth, where contact with our teeth and digestive enzymes in our saliva break down food. But these days most of us rush through the whole eating experience, barely acknowledging what we're putting in our mouths. We eat while distracted-working, reading, talking and watching television-and swallow our food practically whole. On average we chew each bite only eight times. It's no wonder that many people have digestive problems.
Like I said before, I usually find her info to be relevant to my life, but I am finding there is a a lot of conflicting information about chewing. When I had my lap band, I was told CHEW CHEW CHEW! Now three years later, many surgeons will tell you that you SHOULD NOT chew your food down to mush. Why? Because if you liquefy your food in your mouth it becomes like a slider food and we will not stay full as long. Makes sense to me. Now I am not condoning or suggesting you inhale your food. but I think 10-15 chews should be adequate. Which school of thought do you follow? |
Is Half Way to Nowhere Still Half Way?
Mar 16, 2011
Is half way to nowhere still half way? What a question huh? Well here is what prompted today's post... I posted on Monday on my Sleeve Pixie page on Facebook that I just realized I now have lost more than I have to lose.. So I have officially passed the "half way" mark with regard to my weight loss. While this is an amazing accomplishment and i do not want to diminish my success in any way shape or form, the words half way started to get to me.There has been a lot of talk in out community about regain and maintenance lately and many people do struggle to maintain their loss. Regain is a harsh reality for us and something everyone will face. Your regain may be a as little as a pound or as much as everything you have lost, plus some.
Maintenance is not a goal, or destination on this weight loss journey, it is merely just a service station along the highway of life. So from here I ask again... is half way to nowhere, still half way?
While generally this is the time where i give you some advice, words of wisdom, answer to the question etc., today I am not going to. Like everything else I believe you have to decide what the best answer is for yourself! So friends, tell me!
About Me
Hicksville, NY
Location
32.2
BMI
Surgery
10/18/2010
Surgery Date
Nov 06, 2007
Member Since
