beth G.

Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

I had a staple in 3/30/86 Idid very well for about 15yrs accept for the refux which can be very dramatic for anyone let aloan destroy you esofagus (please pardon my spelling )well over the yrs it continually got worse i could not go a day without upchukking even water my esofGUS WAS SO DAMAGED THE IT HAD BECOME ALMOST UNREPAIRABLE after 2yrs and severe malnutrition and dehydration i had to take drastic steps to correct this problem and i did i contacted Provost,Hubner&Jones at the Aston medicl Center in Dallas,Texas GOT AN APPT. Dec.had my consiltation, made another appt. for the end of Jan. set surgery date for 3/12/00 upon waiting for my date i did get nervous but no backing out now do this or die was how i felt on 3/2/00Lois Hill .Jones nurse called me and said they had a cancellatio for 3/5/00 would i be interested without question i said YES surgery went great recovery was a bit lenthly my surgery was not just a R.N.Y it was a complete new and total revision of my stomach and intestinal track please keep in mind i had open surgery and had a few complications that do not normally happen if i had to do all again I would complications and all. You take risks in every surgery and you should veiw all aspects of all the unforseen risks and make YOUR choice which is yours and only yours only do this type of surgery for you for your well being and your over all self confidense and to enhance your quality of life cause if this is just to make someone else happy it really won,t make a difference in your happiness cause it wiil always be something else you,ll be trying to make someone else happy make you happy and content and see how everyone else feels and looks at you that is the key to a great recovery in this type of surgery i hope i have helped anyone that has been in limbo about this surgery also shop around for a surgeod cause it is a crucial point in what is at stake,i have lost a total of about 65lbs and gone from size 18 down to a 10 i,m 5ft 10in. tall i do have ecsess skin which will be delt with in time a whole new make over is what i,m looking forward to now,a 46yr old in a 26yrold body wow what a great feeling that will be i sure will strut my stuff lots of luck to all and again don,t ever give if you get a closed door go on to another door one will open sooner or later do everything possible to enhance YOUR life to utmost always. as ever your true friend Beth Geron in Alvord,Texas

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

being so damned uncomfortable with myself clothes sports never could be satisfied with MEnot a good feeling

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

EAT MEAT OCCASSIONLY I REALLY DON,T LIKE MEAT TOO MUCH BUT WE NEED SOME AT TIMES BUT I DO TAKE VITAMINS AND GET MY PROTEIN ELSE WHERE

How did you first find out about bariatric surgery and what were your initial impressions of it?

i had a diffent situation i had a staple in 86 and had been haveing problems with reflux so i felt i needed to do something get advise from an obesity proffesional such as it was turned out to be Daniel Jones at Aston Center in Dallas,Texas best thing i ever did

Describe your experience with getting insurance approval for surgery. What advice, if any, do you have for other people in this stage?

make sure you have a good and reputable doctor and everything else will work out in some cases you will have to have a phycological evaluation which should not be a big deal being over wt is a great emotional strain and can be life threatening which should be brought to your insurence companys attention upfront by your surgeons staff request approval make this clear to your doctor at your time of consiltation he can help you in all these aspects if not go somewhere else cause remember he is working for YOU you should always call the shots.

What fears did you have about having complications or even dying from from the surgery, and what would you tell other people having the same fears now?

no question about it i had to do something if not i was going to die a slow and miserable death what choice did i have as i seen it make sure you know all the risks and make your own descions get all info possible no stones unturned when it comes to YOURlife

How did your family and friends react to your decision? Would you have communicated anything differently if you could now? How supportive were they after your surgery?

very supportive my husband never lfet my side through the whole thing my daugther was very skeptical (afraid) of possibley loosing her mom but now feels good about my surgery and the end results

How did your employer/supervisor react to your decision? What did you tell him/her? How long were you out of work?

due to complications i was off work 5 months but it was a personal situation and i did not elaborate everything to my immediate supervisor just my insurence company this is not neccesary to do if you would rather not do so your choice

What was your stay in the hospital like? How long where you there? What things are most important to bring?

hospital was great i was in Zale-Lipshey in Dallas Texas agreat hospital great nursing staff i feel they are the besti was there 8 days the first and then 35 days due to other complications. just bring comb, brush tooth brush cosmetics houseslippersand maybe a lite-robe nothing else is needed bring books or mags. something to occupy your time

Did you have any complications from the surgery? If so, how did you deal with them?

YES , but i had other problems not everyone else would have so i also had a very supportive doctor and his staff and my family was most of all my husband i did put him through HELL but didn,t mean to and he did know that not being able to eat as i was eating was all new to me and hard to get adjusted to everyone is different so just go for it and see how you feel

How far did you travel to have your surgery? (If far, how did this affect your aftercare?)

78 miles one way after care no problem for us

Please describe in detail what things you could and couldn't eat in the weeks and months following surgery. What foods have been off limits? Please explain how your dietary tolerance changed week-by-week, and then month-by-month since surgery.

NO NO NO SUGAR I HAD A PROBLEM WITH DAIRY PRODUCTS EAT VERY VERY SLOWLY TAKE YOUR TIME VERY SMALL PORTIONS BEST ADVISE I GOT WAS EAT ON A SMALLER PLATE HAVE VERY COLORFUL FOODS NO NO GASY FOODS BEANS, FRESH VEGGIES UNLESS STEAMED THOURGHLY(SOFT)VERY LITTLE IFANY FRUIT YOU SORT OF HAVE TO LEARN A WHOLE NEW EATING PATTERN GO TO SUPPORT GROUPS OR AZT LEAST SUPPORT ON LINE GROUPS DO THIS SO YOU FEEL A PART OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TO IS ALSO HAPPENING TO SOMEONE ELSE AND YOU CAN HELP ONE ANOTHER THIS ELP IN YOUR DAY TO DAY ADJUSTMENTS WHICH BE LESS AND LESS AS THE DAYS GO BY THE ENERGY I GOT WAS SO GREAT I FELT LIKE A WHOLE NEW PERSON EVERY DAY AND I STILL DO 3YRS LATER LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE OF IT SO ENJOY YOUR NEW LIFE DAY TO DAY CAUSE LIFE IS A VERY PRESCIOUS THING SO HANG ON TO EVERY MOMENT YOU GET .ONE DAY AT A TIME THATS ALL IT TAKES.

What aftercare support group/program do you have? How helpful/important is this?

WLS GOOD PEOPLE VERY CARING MY DOCTORS NURSE VERY CARING AND UNDERSTANDING LOIS HILL GREAT SUPPORT PERSON AT ALL TIMES

What is your scar like? Is this what you expected?

YES IT CAN BE DEALT WITH WITH LATER IT DOES NOT MATTER TO ME AT THIS POINT

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

NOT REALLY JUST ONCE IN A WHILE I GET A COMMENT THAT I,M GETTING TOO SKINNEY WHICH MAKES ME LAUHG BUT THIS IS MY LITTLE JOKE ON THEM
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