Laura in Seattle, WA, USAThis heart was given to me by Anne. She asked that I use it to share my Duodenal Switch story.
I had been obese most of my adult life but I had always been a healthy fat girl. Then at 40 I had my first child. Pregnancy threw my body into diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. By the time I was 42 I was no longer healthy. I had sleep apnea, high cholesterol and planter faciaitis as well as the climbing blood pressure and blood sugar. I felt terrible. I would wake up in the morning counting the hours until I could go back to bed. I hurt most of the time and events that I should have looked forward to just seemed exhausting.
After running into a cousin I hadn't seen in years and learning that she had had successful weight loss surgery I began to research my surgical options. After attending support groups for various surgeries and interviewing several surgeons as well as researching and reading studies and papers, I decided the duodenal switch was the right surgery for me.
I traveled to San Francisco for my surgery since there were no surgeons offering DS here in Seattle and I wanted the best surgeon I could get; by that I mean, I wanted someone very experienced who had plenty of successful patients. I found what I was looking for at Pacific Laparoscopy in SF (www.paclap.com). On Sept. 30, 2005 I had my DS as well as having some uterine fibroids removed. My surgery went very well and I recovered quickly. My blood sugar and pressure returned to low normal ranges right away and within a few months my sleep apnea was gone too. Over the next 18 months I lost half my body weight.
On Jan. 3 2007 I had a lower body lift to remove some of the excess skin left over from my long obesity. That surgery did not go as well as my DS and I found myself facing months of painful recovery.
Today I am completely healed and healthier than I have ever been. I am a comfortable size 8 for the first time in my adult life!
Life now is good. I organize a DS support group here in Seattle and have made some wonderful friends through this journey, including Anne and BT, whose stories precede mine.
2007 was a rough year for me between the complications of my lower body lift, career issues and some personal stuff. Since receiving the heart a few days ago things seem to have turned around for me. I am feeling more hopeful than I have in several months. Thank you Heart Is Hot!
THANK YOU DR. RABKIN for giving me back my life!!!
I had been obese most of my adult life but I had always been a healthy fat girl. Then at 40 I had my first child. Pregnancy threw my body into diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. By the time I was 42 I was no longer healthy. I had sleep apnea, high cholesterol and planter faciaitis as well as the climbing blood pressure and blood sugar. I felt terrible. I would wake up in the morning counting the hours until I could go back to bed. I hurt most of the time and events that I should have looked forward to just seemed exhausting.
After running into a cousin I hadn't seen in years and learning that she had had successful weight loss surgery I began to research my surgical options. After attending support groups for various surgeries and interviewing several surgeons as well as researching and reading studies and papers, I decided the duodenal switch was the right surgery for me.
I traveled to San Francisco for my surgery since there were no surgeons offering DS here in Seattle and I wanted the best surgeon I could get; by that I mean, I wanted someone very experienced who had plenty of successful patients. I found what I was looking for at Pacific Laparoscopy in SF (www.paclap.com). On Sept. 30, 2005 I had my DS as well as having some uterine fibroids removed. My surgery went very well and I recovered quickly. My blood sugar and pressure returned to low normal ranges right away and within a few months my sleep apnea was gone too. Over the next 18 months I lost half my body weight.
On Jan. 3 2007 I had a lower body lift to remove some of the excess skin left over from my long obesity. That surgery did not go as well as my DS and I found myself facing months of painful recovery.
Today I am completely healed and healthier than I have ever been. I am a comfortable size 8 for the first time in my adult life!
Life now is good. I organize a DS support group here in Seattle and have made some wonderful friends through this journey, including Anne and BT, whose stories precede mine.
2007 was a rough year for me between the complications of my lower body lift, career issues and some personal stuff. Since receiving the heart a few days ago things seem to have turned around for me. I am feeling more hopeful than I have in several months. Thank you Heart Is Hot!
THANK YOU DR. RABKIN for giving me back my life!!!
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