My Story

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I had my surgery on May 31, 2000. I've lost 58 pounds and I can't

remember when I felt this good. I spent 8 months researching WLS and

I looked at them ALL. I spoke to and emailed people who had other

procedures. They were ALL having complications, some of the long term

RNYs had gained their weight back, many couldn't eat without throwing

up. I made my decision to go with MGB. It's a decision I am happy

with and I'd do it again in a New York minute.

Toni Lieb

MGB 5/31/00

296/238

[Guest guest]

Hi Sharon

Thank you for posting your story. I know you can't wait to be a post op.

Hope to see you at Dr. K's office again or at a meeting. I will be saying

prayers for you as your big day approaches and also on your big day. Keep me

posted.

Take care and God Bless

Tia in Rancho Cucamonga

10-18-01

Dr. Keshishian

Lap " sleeve " gastrectomy

[Guest guest]

Sharon...

I will ahve you in my thoughts in December for your big day! You

are in great hands...Dr. K and his staff are the best! You have

waited so ling to get this type of amazing surgery...I know, deep

down in my gut that you will do well! Keep us posted, and we will

help you through this amazing journey!!

Blessings to you, and be well,

Mulvaney Rossell

San Obispo, CA

OPEN DS / Dr. Keshishian

4.23.01

282 then / 198 today!!

( R. on www.duodenalswitch.com)

[Guest guest]

Hi Tia

I am so glad to hear from you. You know I wish I was post op already

the waiting is the hardest I have made the last 2 support

meetings in Delano and hope to make the one in Dec. too. However

getting off work is getting harder and harder. We definately will

meet again. Only this time we can compare scars! I know yours will

be prettier than mine- but mine will be bigger than yours!

neener~neener

I am so glad we met:) thanks for the blessings and prayers.

God Bless,

Sharon in Onyx

> Hi Sharon

> Thank you for posting your story. I know you can't wait to be a

post op.

> Hope to see you at Dr. K's office again or at a meeting. I will be

saying

> prayers for you as your big day approaches and also on your big

day. Keep me

> posted.

> Take care and God Bless

> Tia in Rancho Cucamonga

> 10-18-01

> Dr. Keshishian

> Lap " sleeve " gastrectomy

[Guest guest]

SHaron!!

Thanks for posting your story!! You made a similar leap to the DS

that I did. When I read about it I just knew it was right!!!

I am so happy for you--I hope all of you Delano girls tear up the

halls. Just think where you will be this time next year--and then

remember this time last year, and how fast that went by. I can't

believe I am already 6weeks out and 35#'s gone--seems like I was just

obsessing about the DS.

You've done your homework, thank goodness you had patience and the DS

came to you!! Wishing you health and success in Demember!!

Pammi

[Guest guest]

sharon,

Yee Hawwwww and congratulations on your upcoming surgery date! I am

thrilled for you and the start of your new adventure!

Huge hugs,

Theresa

DS 11-19-01

Dr. Jossart

-12#s

Day 10 and finally feeling great!

> Hi All

> I finally have decided to post my story. I have been

> overweight since I was young (cant say little, cause I

> never was , and have had some very mortifying

> experiences along the way. ie; the 1st weight loss

> consult at 11yrs where they told my mom that it would

> cost $300 to make me " normal " . My mom just put me on

> yet another diet instead. The diets continued until

> about 7 years ago when I said thats enough. I weighed

> over 300 then and have stayed about the same since.

> I can understand why some do get the RnY. (they just

> didnt know) I have looked at wls since the 1970s over

> and over again. I have researched and researched. I

> have had several friends who had the different

> surgeries and have had success, some for a while, some

> gained, some lost other body organs, some had their

> liver fail, -you get the picture. But they all have

> something in common- they, like us, have got to the

> point where enough is enough!

> I never opted for the surgeries as I had not found one

> I could " live " with. But I kept praying for an

> answer, a way out of this obesity. Then I saw the

> Carnie story on tv... and got the people

> magazine and thought seriously about surgery again.

> Last June two of my friends called and said they had

> the surgery, I got to see one in august and didn't

> recognize her Then one of my best friends had the

> RnY done in July- she didn't tell anyone beforehand

> (and now I know why- people can be so mean). And 2

> acquaintances had the Fobi pouch done with great

> results (so far). I got to the point that if that was

> the way I had to live to get to a normal weight- then

> that is what I would do. I do agree that I have been

> punished enough throughout my life, so more punishment

> for my inability to loose weight was acceptable and

> almost normally ok. Then 2 angels intervened and

> asked if I would meet their daughter Amy (you know her

> as ~amy~) and she told me about this miracle called

> the d/s. I have been on the internet day and nite on 3

> different sites lurking and learning all I could about

> this miracle. As Alyssa would say - obscessing

> I thank God every day that " I " found out about the D/S

> before I had the RnY. I have had my consult, Met so

> many wonder friends at the support meetings and Drs

> office and especially the internet sites. Now my

> surgery date is Dec 18th. I am finally going to be

> normal for once in my life... barring anything my

> psych evaluation next Tues finds out.

> I told my co-workers and boss about it and all were

> very happy and supportive about it until I told them

> about the time off I would have to take. Now it is

> upsetting the boat to have an " elective " surgery. But

> at this point I don't care if the boat sinks!

> The surgery is NOT elective- as if I would cut open my

> body and rearrange my insides for " shits and giggles " -

> no pun intended- It is going to save my life and

> give me more time with the love of my life and my

> grandchildren (someday ). I would love to shout

> this from the rooftops and tell everyone - but cant

> deal with all the -you coulds, you shoulds, and the I

> cant believe you are doing this to yourselfs. (Some

> people are going to be uncomfortable with me having a

> different body.) Even my primary care Dr. (who

> suggested wls 2years ago) said that he would give me

> the letter I need since it is obvious that I am to

> weak of mind to loose it my self. I guess I will be

> doing the shouting afterwards, because I have a

> mission to let everyone know how wonderful this

> surgery is.

> Carole, Alyssa, I too WILL be in Delano having surgery

> with Dr. Keshishian. Mine is Dec 18th. You will

> recognize me as the wild woman terrorizing the halls,

> singing, sip,sip,sip, walk,walk,walk, ,:),.

> The onto the Shiloh, doing the same chant. I hear

> chanting works

> I am so blessed to have friends, Amy, Tracey, and

> Misty who have been here, Nick who is a wealth of

> info, and couldn't be without Steve's and Fords humor

> and experiences. And Dan, Rich, AJ (you sneaky thing)

> Rita, , keep giving us newbies and soon to be's

> your amazing stats- We live for these- huh Alyssa?-

> it keeps us hopeful and encouraged.

>

> Sharon in Onyx

> pre-op Dec 18th

> Dr. Keshishian

> 335lbs pre-op

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

You are in my thoughts and prayers as your surgery day approaches, I thank

the good Lord that you found out about the DS before submitting to the RNY

(my story is similar too)

You have waited too long to get this done! I know you will do good...your

attitude has alot to do with how your recovery will go....wish I could be

that fly on the wall when you go singing down the halls after surgery LOL

Make sure you let us all know your story of your journey after your

surgery.....Im anxious to hear all about it!

Hugs, Judie

[Guest guest]

" Now it is

>upsetting the boat to have an " elective " surgery. "

If you think about it, ANY life saving surgery is " elective " . We choose to

or choose not to have surgery to save our lives. Almost ANY other surgery

that is life saving is approved quickly and everyone supports the patient's

decision!! In fact, they scream if someone decides to " trust the Lord " with

a condition and not have surgery!! This surgery is to control a deadly

chronic disease called morbid obesity....

" Even my primary care Dr. (who

>suggested wls 2years ago) said that he would give me

>the letter I need since it is obvious that I am to

>weak of mind to loose it my self. "

" weak of mind " ???!!! Once you get that letter, sister, if it were me, I

would be changing doctors unless he was just kidding!! I bet he has never

really tried to lose any " real " amount of weight!! (5 to 20 pounds doesn't

qualify as having battled to lose weight!) My PCP told me that WLS was a

" tragedy that people did to themselves " when I approached him about having

surgery. Guess what...he is no longer my PCP! It took me awhile, but, I

found a wonderful new PCP. He wrote me a great letter for my insurance and

started ordering bloodwork, gall bladder testing and sleep apnea testing. He

said that in his experience, a patient who has reached my size (5 ft. 350

lbs) and has been big all their lives is unable to reach a normal weight

through dieting. He doesn't know much about WLS but read all the material

that I supplied him and agrees 100% with the idea!! He also thinks that the

DS surgery would be better for me. I had already decided that DS was what I

wanted...so, I couldn't agree more!! Keep up the fight!! I am still

fighting with my insurance (since Feb)...but hey....I am determined!!

Hugs and Good Luck!

Jerry, Southen Gal from LA waiting on insurance approval

_________________________________________________________________

Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

[Guest guest]

> I am already 6weeks out and 35#'s gone--seems like I was just

> obsessing about the DS.

>

> You've done your homework, thank goodness you had patience and the

DS

> came to you!! Wishing you health and success in Demember!!

>

> Pammi

Thanks Pammi, I can use all the good wishes and prayers I can get. I

havent gotten approval from the insurance yet but am going on faith

that it will happen and have all my ducks in a row for then.

Look at you 35#s in 6 weeks- you go girl!

Blessings,

Sharon in Onyx

pre-op dr k

dec 18th

335lbs- yech!!

[Guest guest]

>

>

> In fact, they scream if someone decides to " trust the Lord " with

> a condition and not have surgery!! This surgery is to control a

deadly

> chronic disease called morbid obesity....

Amen!!!

>

>> " weak of mind " ???!!! Once you get that letter, sister, if it were

me, I

> would be changing doctors unless he was just kidding!! I bet he

has never

> really tried to lose any " real " amount of weight!!

ROTFLOL!

Actually he is a very slight and short man. And as he was saying

that, I was having an " out of body experience " thinking " I know I

can take him " OUT " with just one hit! " Or I could pinch his head off

before he even knew what hit him. My DH couldnt believe that I left

him still standing- but I need the note!

I had already decided that DS was what I

> wanted...so, I couldn't agree more!! Keep up the fight!! I am

still

> fighting with my insurance (since Feb)...but hey....I am

determined!!

I too am waiting for insurance - but am stepping out in faith that it

will happen!

>

> Hugs and Good Luck!

> Jerry, Southen Gal from LA waiting on insurance approval

Thanks Jerry , I will be praying for you and wishing you an approval

soon.

Sharon in Onyx

>

>

> _________________________________________________________________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at

http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing your story, Sharon! And thanks for being so sweet

as to mention me among your friends. (blush!) I'm so excited for

you and can sympathize with everything you said! Well, expect that I

was lucky in that my doctor has been supportive. But, the lifelong

suffering is something I'm sure we can all understand. Even though I

was slimmer in high school (about 160 pounds), I was still taunted as

being fat and stupid just because I didn't have the body of a

supermodel. (Thank God!)

Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to become MY story. I just

wanted to thank you for yours. I hope it inspires those who haven't

made a decision yet about WLS to decide once and for all if it is for

them. It's a big BIG step but now that I'm 2 1/2 weeks post op, I

can say I'm very happy I did it!

Love ya!

Tracey in Santee (San Diego)

Dr. Keshishian 11/12/01

[Guest guest]

Sharon,

I will be thinking of you are your day! I am having

surgery January 9, 2002. I have had mixed responses

with some of my co-workers also. Some just do not

understand. I just ignore those. The ones who really

want to understand what I am doing I talk to. I am

having surgery the same day as another co-worker of

mine. I am not sure what she has said to our

co-workers but she sure has them in a uproar. Or they

just don't believe her. Some don't know that I am

having the surgery the same as her. They start

talking to me about it. And they are not very nice

about it. I am not ashamed of telling people about

it. I am just more reserved I guess. Than she is.

So it has been quite a few monoths. It is very

interesting to find out how really people feel about

something when they don't know that you are doing the

same thing. Some have sure had egg on there face. LOL

Good Luck on your day it will be here before you

know it.

still pre-op for 41 more days!!!!!!!!!!!LOL

--- Anita wrote:

> Sharon,

>

> Congratulations on your surgery date!! I'm glad you

> found out about the DS before you had surgery Dr

> Keshishian and his staff are great and so are the

> nurses at the hospital. The Shilo will also be good

> since you'll probably have some fellow post-op's

> with which to roam the hallways!

>

> Anita

> Dr Keshishian 11/08/01

> Weight on Surgery Day: 320 lbs

> Weight on 11/26/01: 298 lbs

>

>

> > Hi All

> > I finally have decided to post my story. I have

> been

> > overweight since I was young (cant say little,

> cause I

> > never was , and have had some very mortifying

> > experiences along the way. ie; the 1st weight loss

> > consult at 11yrs where they told my mom that it

> would

> > cost $300 to make me " normal " . My mom just put me

> on

> > yet another diet instead. The diets continued

> until

> > about 7 years ago when I said thats enough. I

> weighed

> > over 300 then and have stayed about the same

> since.

> > I can understand why some do get the RnY. (they

> just

> > didnt know) I have looked at wls since the 1970s

> over

> > and over again. I have researched and researched.

> I

> > have had several friends who had the different

> > surgeries and have had success, some for a while,

> some

> > gained, some lost other body organs, some had

> their

> > liver fail, -you get the picture. But they all

> have

> > something in common- they, like us, have got to

> the

> > point where enough is enough!

> > I never opted for the surgeries as I had not found

> one

> > I could " live " with. But I kept praying for an

> > answer, a way out of this obesity. Then I saw the

> > Carnie story on tv... and got the people

> > magazine and thought seriously about surgery

> again.

> > Last June two of my friends called and said they

> had

> > the surgery, I got to see one in august and didn't

> > recognize her Then one of my best friends had

> the

> > RnY done in July- she didn't tell anyone

> beforehand

> > (and now I know why- people can be so mean). And

> 2

> > acquaintances had the Fobi pouch done with great

> > results (so far). I got to the point that if that

> was

> > the way I had to live to get to a normal weight-

> then

> > that is what I would do. I do agree that I have

> been

> > punished enough throughout my life, so more

> punishment

> > for my inability to loose weight was acceptable

> and

> > almost normally ok. Then 2 angels intervened and

> > asked if I would meet their daughter Amy (you know

> her

> > as ~amy~) and she told me about this miracle

> called

> > the d/s. I have been on the internet day and nite

> on 3

> > different sites lurking and learning all I could

> about

> > this miracle. As Alyssa would say - obscessing

> > I thank God every day that " I " found out about the

> D/S

> > before I had the RnY. I have had my consult, Met

> so

> > many wonder friends at the support meetings and

> Drs

> > office and especially the internet sites. Now my

> > surgery date is Dec 18th. I am finally going to

> be

> > normal for once in my life... barring anything

> my

> > psych evaluation next Tues finds out.

> > I told my co-workers and boss about it and all

> were

> > very happy and supportive about it until I told

> them

> > about the time off I would have to take. Now it

> is

> > upsetting the boat to have an " elective " surgery.

> But

> > at this point I don't care if the boat sinks!

> > The surgery is NOT elective- as if I would cut

> open my

> > body and rearrange my insides for " shits and

> giggles " -

> > no pun intended- It is going to save my life

> and

> > give me more time with the love of my life and my

> > grandchildren (someday ). I would love to shout

> > this from the rooftops and tell everyone - but

> cant

> > deal with all the -you coulds, you shoulds, and

> the I

> > cant believe you are doing this to yourselfs.

> (Some

> > people are going to be uncomfortable with me

> having a

> > different body.) Even my primary care Dr. (who

> > suggested wls 2years ago) said that he would give

> me

> > the letter I need since it is obvious that I am to

> > weak of mind to loose it my self. I guess I will

> be

> > doing the shouting afterwards, because I have a

> > mission to let everyone know how wonderful this

> > surgery is.

> > Carole, Alyssa, I too WILL be in Delano having

> surgery

> > with Dr. Keshishian. Mine is Dec 18th. You will

> > recognize me as the wild woman terrorizing the

> halls,

> > singing, sip,sip,sip, walk,walk,walk, ,:),.

>

> > The onto the Shiloh, doing the same chant. I hear

> > chanting works

> > I am so blessed to have friends, Amy, Tracey, and

> > Misty who have been here, Nick who is a wealth of

> > info, and couldn't be without Steve's and Fords

> humor

> > and experiences. And Dan, Rich, AJ (you sneaky

> thing)

> > Rita, , keep giving us newbies and soon to

> be's

> > your amazing stats- We live for these- huh

> Alyssa?-

> > it keeps us hopeful and encouraged.

> >

> > Sharon in Onyx

> > pre-op Dec 18th

> > Dr. Keshishian

> > 335lbs pre-op

> >

> > __________________________________________________

> >