Tom C.
Ok, my journey has been a long one – but I won’t bore you with all the details – just the highlights.
I was born and breed in Brooklyn NY. And like most Italians, I had a “nickname” growing up. Since there were two Tommy’s on my block (and in my family), I was tagged as either “fat Tommy” or "fatty-boy". So it only goes to show you I have always been overweight. I fought the “battle of bulge” my entire life. Many times I’ve won the battle, but in the end I eventually lost the war.
About 5 years ago I started to think about weight loss surgery. In the past (we’re talking late 70’s-early 80’s kiddies), I knew people who had their “stomach stapled”, and some had disastrous (almost fatal) results. I knew that was definitely out. So I needed to do my homework before I choose anything. It took almost another two years before I really started to research all the different options out there.
In the meantime, I still did all sorts of diets where I would loose a few pounds, but eventually, I would find more pounds then I lost. Last summer my doctor said that I really should think about doing something surgical. She stated I am young enough and healthy enough to do it NOW – who knows what a year or two may bring. So that’s when I decided to seriously consider it.
After all the research, I decided that the lap-band was the best choice for me. The question was: “who should do it”? After interviewing approximately 15 strangers (they were basically friends of friends), and more on-line checking, I decided to go with Advance Laparoscopic Surgeons. In all my research (on line, and word of mouth) Dr. Abkin’s (and Dr. Bertha’s) names were always regarded very highly in the field. On October 24, 2007, I went to their seminar at the Parsippany Tara Hotel. What I really liked about Dr. Abkin was his straight-forward honestly. He listened to what I had to say, and respected the surgery I wanted. He never talked me, or any other participant, into one procedure or the other.
Come mid-November I had “all my ducks in a row”, and was ready to have the operation. I decided to wait until after the “New Year” – because I thought I would be in too much pain to enjoy the holidays. If I knew then, what I know now - I would have had the operation in November.
On January 29, 2008 – I had my operation done at Saint Peter’s in New Brunswick. I had NO pain what-so-ever, and was “back to normal” within two days. Since then, I have no (or very little) hunger pangs. And if I do get “hungry”, it quickly diminishes with a sip of water. As of last Thursday I have lost 47 pounds. It was painless, and (amazingly) very easy to do.
OK, that’s enough boring stuff for now. … That’s my life - so far. .. I will update the blog section when I have more to say J
