I had thought for many years about having the surgery. When I had gotten married and started taking birth control pills my weight had skyrocketed and it never seemed to stop. I could lose a few pounds here and there but I could never keep it off. Too make matters worse, I would usually gain a few extra pounds when I gained the lost weight back. It was a nightmare. I tried exercising, taking all kind of diet pills… anything that was on the market for weight loss I tried it.

Then I had 2 friends who had the surgery. Neither of them had any problems from the surgery but the outcomes were very different. One lost hardly any weight and the other lost all her weight, and has still kept if off. This let me know the surgery was no magic act…there was still a lot of work to do to make the surgery a success. Still I pondered, should I or shouldn’t I?

When I spoke to my doctor about having the surgery she was all for it. For years she had watched my weight yoyo, only to keep going up in the end. The first thing she told me was not to go to “Dr. X”. Now this put a glitch in things because “Dr. X” was the only doctor in town that was doing the surgery. She also said that there was another doctor coming to town that was very good but it would be about a year before he would make it. So for another year I pondered… and pondered.

Finally the new doctor arrived, and after much soul searching I called his office and made an appointment. I was very nervous. Was he really a good doctor? Would I make it through the surgery okay? (I did know a woman who died from the surgery many years ago and that was never far from my thoughts.) Would I have complications from the surgery? All these unknowns… but I decided to venture out into the unknown! I had the surgery. Read more article on Gastric Bypass Surgery Dallas.

I had the surgery in June of 2007. The surgery itself was a breeze for me! I had no pain at all! I was out of the hospital a day earlier than expected and life was good! The only problem I had was getting use to eating only a thimble sized amount of food. Lol… I must admit that was a bit hard to get used to. The really great thing was that I wasn’t hungry anyway. It didn’t matter if I only had a thimble of food to eat because I didn’t want it. To this day I still do not get hungry. I love that!

It is now a year and a half later and I still have had no problems at all. I can eat whatever I want, just not very much of it, and I have had no physical problems. The best part is that I have lost 125 lbs! I went from a size 22/24 to a size 6! I cant remember when I wore a size 6 before. I was probably about 6 years old..lol.

While the surgery has been a success for me, I know people that have had had complications, so don’t make the decision quickly. Put a lot of thought into it.

Here are some tips I have when it comes to having the surgery or not:



1. Don’t be in a rush to make the decision. Think all sides out, talk with people who have had the surgery, and talk to your doctor. Talk to your family and see how they feel, but remember the decision will ultimately be yours.

2. If you decide to have the surgery check the available doctors out very carefully. Be willing to travel a bit if need be to get a really good doctor.

3. Make sure that you have a caregiver to help you when you come home after surgery. If you dont have any problems, which you probably wont, they will mainly be checking to make sure that you are drinking all your water. (You will have to drink lots of water… believe me, lots!)

4. Do everything your doctor tells you, both before surgery and after. Before the surgery you will have to take a lot of tests and after surgery you will have to take vitamins, iron, calcium, B12 and drink protein drinks. (My friend who didn’t lose a lot of weight didn’t do what her doctor said and the outcome was not so good.)

5. Be prepared to make life changes. Your life will not revolve around food anymore so you will have to find things to fill that void. Get new hobbies. Get out and walk. The main thing is to get out and do…lol

6. And one of the best things, be prepared to get new clothes! My size 22/24 wont even begin to stay on me now. A lot of the doctors who do this surgery offer clothes swaps. You can bring your clothes that are too large and switch them out for smaller.

I hope this has helped you a bit in your decision whether to have surgery or not. Like I said, mine was a success and I have had no problems… but I do know people who had the surgery at the same time I did and 6 months later they still were having problems eating. Gastric bypass is not a quick fix so take your time in deciding what is right for you. For more information visit Gastric Bypass Surgery Dallas

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