|
Hi,
my name is Diane and I had a Vertical Banded Gastroplasty 16 years
ago. I guess I am an
example of one of those horror stories that you hear about when
someone thinks of the old stomach stapling! My surgery was
successful as far as losing weight, but it was not successful as far
as my being healthy. My
band closed before I left the hospital, therefore I couldn’t
tolerate anything to eat or drink. I threw up for the next two years
of my life. But I
reasoned that as long as I was losing weight, I didn’t care.
I learned to live with the discomfort.
My band could not be stretched and my health began to
deteriorate. My esophagus was decaying from the gastric juice that I
was constantly throwing up and my liver and kidneys were failing.
My
staples had to be removed and I was told to just control my eating,
which I knew I could not do. You
never gain the ability to do that.
Within one year I had regained 100 of the 126 pounds I had
lost. My life had
become as nonexistent as it was before the surgery. So I walked
along a long road of misery, thinking life was over.
Then
on April 22nd, 1999, I had RNY gastric bypass performed
by Dr. J. Chris Eagon. The
surgery helped me to regain my life and to become as asset to
society again. I feel
so blessed. I said on
the day on my surgery that I wished it was already a year later, but
I am glad that it wasn’t. I
had so much growing to do. I
needed to learn to be happy with myself and to accept my weight
loss. I needed to
correct my behavior regarding food and to work on my self-image.
It has been over 2 years since my surgery and I have lost 140
pounds and now weigh 193 pounds.
I
have made major changes in my life.
I learned that the scale was not necessarily an enemy, but a
friend. And I am
learning not to be obsessed with either food or the scale.
I try to stay focused on how much more I am getting out of
life and how much more I can do for others when they need me.
I am able to do many things for myself that I have never been
able to do before. I
can bend and walk with ease. I
can lean over to wash my hair or pick up something that has fallen.
I no longer fear running out of breathe from simple tasks or
falling from lack of balance. If
my shoe comes untied, I just lean over and tie it.
I go up and down ladders and paint, and I mow the yard and
plant flowers. I enjoy
trying on clothes and feeling like a normal person.
And I now walk 7 to 12 miles each day.
Each day I have a decision to make regarding what I am going
to eat and if I am going to exercise that day. And being able to
make that decision makes me feel so free.
I am happy and content to be alive each day.
Before surgery I used to ask God why I had to live another
day. Now I thank God
for another day to be able to breathe the air I breathe and feel the
way I do.
Not
long after the first year anniversary of my surgery, I started to
regain some of my weight. I
regained 14 pounds and I freaked.
I then tried to relax and refocus.
I lost the fourteen pounds and feel great.
Before surgery, I wouldn’t have been able to do that.
I do realize that that the weight comes back faster than I
thought, but I know how to handle it if I have to.
I
will never forget where I came from and where I could have been if I
hadn’t had the surgery. I
have spent time doing volunteer work at the center that does the
evaluations for the surgeon who performed my surgery. During that time I
sat in the hospital with the families of the patients and the
patients themselves during their stay. I have stayed in
contact with many of these patients and consider them good friends.
I have also volunteered to go to the clinic to meet the follow-up
patients coming in. I
couldn't wait to see how their lives had changed and how happy and
healthy they were. I was so excited to hear about new
adventures they were trying and told them I try to have at least one
to two new adventures everyday, even if it is to go home a different
way or smell a flower I never did before. I also co-taught the
support group.
If anyone would like to contact me, I would be
honored to help in any way that I can.
My email address is Jupiter@apci.net
Diane L. Luttrell
Open RNY 4/22/99
333.5 4/22/99
193 NOW
Dr. J. Chris Eagon
|
