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Surgeon: Dr. Marchesini, Curitiba, Brazil
Surgery date: May 5, 2004
Preop weight/BMI: 204/40
Current weight/BMI: 148/28 (as of August 25, 2004)

 
Left: Pre-op; Right: 2 months post-op

by Andrea T.:

August 25th 2004

I am almost 4 months post op right now.  I had my DS with Dr. Marchesini in Brazil as a self-pay on 5/5/04. He was a wonderful surgeon and I consider it the best decision I could have ever made. I have lost 56 lbs. so far and am looking forward to losing even more.

I started researching Weight Loss Surgery about a year ago when I hit my all-time high of 210 lbs. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot of weight to many people, but I am only 5’ 0” and that is a lot to carry around on a small frame.  I was feeling run-down and tired all of the time and had very little energy.  I snored constantly when I slept, and had a very hard time breathing. I was experiencing severe joint pain in my knees, and had developed high blood pressure. My doctor had also assured me I was well on my way to developing Diabetes. My self confidence and esteem was in the toilet – basically I had none.

As far as my previous diet history goes, I was always overweight.  My mother put me on my first diet when I was about 10 years old. Does everybody remember how when kids have birthdays at school the mom’s bring in cupcakes for the class?  I made the mistake of saving a precious cupcake one day and bringing it home for an after dinner treat.  My mother yelled at me when I attempted to eat it and told me I was fat and should be watching what I ate. She was always after me to try another diet or get more exercise. Through my teen and early adult years I tried Weight Watchers several times, drank Slim Fast, tried LA Weight Loss, the Grapefruit diet, Adkins, South Beach, and just about every other diet/weight loss program you can think of.  My mother even took to developing her own “special diets” for me that consisted of a can of tuna on a leaf of lettuce and not much else.  I took Metabolife, Fat blocker, and tried a bunch of other crazy appetite suppressants and gimmicks. I joined many a gym and recently tried Curves for a while.

The most success I ever had was when I was about 20 years old and weighed 165 lbs. My mother took me to see an endocrinologist because she was convinced that something was wrong with me since it was so hard for me to lose weight.  The Doctor diagnosed me with high testosterone levels and said I had a reduced sensitivity to insulin.  He put me on a low carb diabetic diet and saw me once a month to monitor my progress.  I did lose about 40 lbs. on his plan, and was keeping it off, but he relocated his practice to Florida about a year after I started seeing him, and after he left, I gradually regained what I had lost plus an additional 15 lbs.

I continued my Yo-Yo cycle of dieting and regaining for many years after that until eventually, I just gave up. The last straw came when one day at work, I was attending a meeting with my boss who is a physically fit active type.  Our meeting was on the fist floor, and our desks are located on the third. When the meeting concluded, instead of taking the elevator like I usually do, I had to walk up the 3 flights of stairs to my desk.  My boss was in deep conversation with me about the meeting that had just concluded, and I was forced to follow her up the stairwell.  It was either that or face the embarrassment of being the only person who needed to take the elevator and be labeled as “the fat girl who can’t walk up some stairs”.  By the time I made it to the top, I was so out of breath and exhausted that I thought I was going to die.  My heart was pounding in my ears and I couldn’t catch my breath.  I remember thinking to myself “When did I get so out of shape that I can’t even make it up a couple of flights of stairs?” I knew then and there that I had to do something to improve my health and quality of life.  I didn’t think another diet was the answer though. I knew deep down that I would only fail again. 

I had heard about Carnie Wilson and all of her success with the RNY, so I decided to start researching what the procedure was all about.  During my internet travels, I stumbled on some info about the BP/DS. I continued to look into all the options, but ultimately decided that I wanted to have the BP/DS.  It seemed like the perfect choice.  The lack of dumping and increased quality of life was very appealing to me. Plus there were so many people who seemed to have great success with it. The closest surgeon to me that performed the DS was Dr. Peters in Peckville, PA. I made an appointment with him and patiently waited the 3 months for my initial visit. I met with him and was very encouraged.  I returned for a second visit 2 months later, and he agreed to take me on as a patient. The only problem was my insurance. I have Cigna PPO and they require proof of 2 physician monitored weight loss attempts within the past year.  The documentation that I had was too old, and I had only done Atkins and South Beach recently. That meant I would have to go to my PCP for a year and document yet another 2 attempts.  I almost cried. I was so excited and elated at the thought of finally having a permanent fix to my weight loss problem that I couldn’t bear to wait any longer. 

It was then that I decided to self-pay.  I did lots of research on the internet yet again and gathered prices from several doctors, including Dr. Peters.  They were all in excess of $20,000 and I knew that was more than I could afford. Eventually I heard about other people who were going out of the country to have the surgery because of the lower costs.  I joined a few Yahoo groups on the subject and eventually decided on Dr. Marchesini in Brazil.  Not only was he significantly cheaper than any doctor in the US, but all of his patients held him in very high regard and thought he was a brilliant surgeon.  I emailed him my weight loss history and medical info, and anxiously waited for a response. A few days later I heard back from him saying I qualified for the surgery and that he would agree to take me on as a patient.

A month later, I was in Brazil having this life-altering operation.  My recovery went smoothly with the exception of some nasty nausea and vomiting right after surgery. I expect that it was a reaction to the anesthesia and the fact that my stomach is very sensitive to blood. The first few weeks were rough, as they are for most new post-ops.  I could barely eat, and was on the toilet a good bit of the time. With each passing week I felt better and better though, until one day I woke up and felt like my old self again – except with much more energy and life! 

I am loving so many things right now, I can’t even tell you. I find new bones in my body every day, and can see myself slowly shrinking. I am more than happy to go out shopping for clothes now that I am no longer limited to buying things in Lane Bryant.  I can wear fitted T-shirts and fit into clothes by designers that I haven’t been able to wear since high school (3 cheers for Polo and Calvin Klein)!  I don’t worry about fitting into chairs, or wonder if a seat belt is going to be big enough to fit around me or not.  I no longer have a constant fear that I am repulsing every guy I meet and worrying that they think I am too fat to date. 

I still have at least 20 lbs. to go until I reach my goal of being classified as “normal”  rather than “overweight”.  My dream goal is to get down to about 100 lbs. though - which is right in the middle of the normal range for my height. 

I feel more confident and beautiful with every pound I lose and thank God that I found this surgery and Dr. Marchesini. The whole experience has been overwhelming and sensational for me.  I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Here’s wishing success to all the pre and post ops who choose to undergo this life saving surgery.

Send email to Andrea T.
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