jpcello
Well-Known Member
My life forever changed. Today was the day I had my DS.
Honestly it's sometimes hard to remember what my life was like before the DS. Severe sleep apnea was going to kill me - it almost did. Fortunately my PCP at the time recognized all of my apnea symptoms and sent me to one of the best pulmonologists in the DC area. I was immediately diagnosed and even had to have a pacemaker put in because during my sleep study my heart stopped for 8 seconds - at 15 you're dead. BTW the pacemaker was removed about 3 years after my WLS (after fighting with the cardiologist for about a year because he had never removed a pacemaker before
)
The pulmonologist was the first doctor to talk to me about weight loss surgery. He believed that WLS would "cure" my sleep apnea, which it did. I actually became a case study for him because with me he was able to prove that with WLS only certain people with sleep apnea can be cured. At the same time one of my co-workers was losing massive amounts of weight from having the RNY. Unfortunately that co-worker ultimately gained back most of her weight within a couple of years because she never changed her eating habits.
I started researching and literally stumbled upon Dr. Elariny. I went to his informational meeting and that was the first time I heard of the DS. Remember that 12 years ago we didn't have the information we have now (internet wasn't anything like it is now). I immediately knew that the DS was what I needed. At the time I probably weighed about 350 pounds. I'm only 5'3".
My surgery was fairly uneventful. I was lucky to have a wonderful support system of other Elariny patients - some DSers, some VSGers. I'm still friends with a number of them today. We met on a weekly basis for years.
I was somewhat anal retentive when it came to my surgery - that's just my personality. I lost 5 pounds a week for 5 months. I read everything I could. I weighed and measured my food because I had no idea how much I was supposed to eat (I used to be a gorger). I started working out at about 4 months post-op. My first plateau (100 pounds lost) came only when I quit smoking. Took another 5 months to lose the next 50 pounds. Within a year I had lost all of my excess weight and then some - my lowest weight was 140 but I looked and felt horrible. Turns out I became severely anemic mostly because I was using crappy Vita-4-Life (plus having other issues). Some old timers probably remember Dina McBride - she was my lifesaver when it came to my labs. I switched over to Vitalady and never looked back. I was able to have plastics at about 2-1/2 years post-op (TT covered by insurance, breast lift paid by me).
Now I simply live my life. I'm the healthiest I've ever been.
If you're contemplating WLS, the only thing I have to say is do your research. And remember, you WILL be able to love food again - just in a different way.
So that's my story. Hope you all have the same story to tell 11 years from now!
Honestly it's sometimes hard to remember what my life was like before the DS. Severe sleep apnea was going to kill me - it almost did. Fortunately my PCP at the time recognized all of my apnea symptoms and sent me to one of the best pulmonologists in the DC area. I was immediately diagnosed and even had to have a pacemaker put in because during my sleep study my heart stopped for 8 seconds - at 15 you're dead. BTW the pacemaker was removed about 3 years after my WLS (after fighting with the cardiologist for about a year because he had never removed a pacemaker before
The pulmonologist was the first doctor to talk to me about weight loss surgery. He believed that WLS would "cure" my sleep apnea, which it did. I actually became a case study for him because with me he was able to prove that with WLS only certain people with sleep apnea can be cured. At the same time one of my co-workers was losing massive amounts of weight from having the RNY. Unfortunately that co-worker ultimately gained back most of her weight within a couple of years because she never changed her eating habits.
I started researching and literally stumbled upon Dr. Elariny. I went to his informational meeting and that was the first time I heard of the DS. Remember that 12 years ago we didn't have the information we have now (internet wasn't anything like it is now). I immediately knew that the DS was what I needed. At the time I probably weighed about 350 pounds. I'm only 5'3".
My surgery was fairly uneventful. I was lucky to have a wonderful support system of other Elariny patients - some DSers, some VSGers. I'm still friends with a number of them today. We met on a weekly basis for years.
I was somewhat anal retentive when it came to my surgery - that's just my personality. I lost 5 pounds a week for 5 months. I read everything I could. I weighed and measured my food because I had no idea how much I was supposed to eat (I used to be a gorger). I started working out at about 4 months post-op. My first plateau (100 pounds lost) came only when I quit smoking. Took another 5 months to lose the next 50 pounds. Within a year I had lost all of my excess weight and then some - my lowest weight was 140 but I looked and felt horrible. Turns out I became severely anemic mostly because I was using crappy Vita-4-Life (plus having other issues). Some old timers probably remember Dina McBride - she was my lifesaver when it came to my labs. I switched over to Vitalady and never looked back. I was able to have plastics at about 2-1/2 years post-op (TT covered by insurance, breast lift paid by me).
Now I simply live my life. I'm the healthiest I've ever been.
If you're contemplating WLS, the only thing I have to say is do your research. And remember, you WILL be able to love food again - just in a different way.
So that's my story. Hope you all have the same story to tell 11 years from now!
