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Surgeon: Dr. Hazem Elariny, Fairfax, VA
Surgery date: December 19, 2000
Pre-op weight/BMI: 245/40
Current weight/BMI: 130/21.6 (as of February, 2002)
Personal Website: For post-op photos and comments, click here

by Anne:

Background
I was always a normal sized child. I was forced to jog 3 miles a day by my stepfather when I was in elementary school. After I would jog my 3 miles, I would sneak into the freezer and scarf down fritos or potato chips. My mom was always trying to feed me health food and I just craved all the junk food that all the kids at school could have. I have an older brother who was always heavy, even when he was a kid, so my mom was also trying to feed us good food so that my brother wouldn't gain weight. When I reached puberty it became harder to keep my weight down. I started my first official diet when I was 12. I went to Nutri/System and lost quite a bit of weight. Then I would gain it back...let's see, I was on the grapefruit diet, shacklee diet, weight watchers, protein powders, nutri/system, etc. all by the age of 18. I never was even close to being 200 pounds though. I wore a size 12 at the most. But I always wanted to be thinner. Of course in hind sight, I wasn't a big person back then! But if I hadn't dieted I probably would have gained alot more weight.

Throughout college I was going back and forth to weight watchers. I was in control through my junior year, then by the time I graduated, I weighed 202 pounds. I couldn't believe how fat I had let myself get. Right after I graduated I went on a European vacation as a reward for graduating college. I went with a girlfriend of mine and my brother. One of the main reasons I went to Europe was to meet an old boyfriend that I hadn't seen in 4 years. Well, needless to say, I was much thinner when he knew me (I was in 11th grade) When he saw me I could see exactly what he was thinking. He was not interested in me in the least. Well, remember the friend that was with me? THEY ended up getting married. It crushed me. I knew that it was because of my weight. I am over it now, and it just tells me what kind of person the guy is...but at the time, it was devastating.

After I got back from Europe I was so desperate to lose weight....Then the miracle drugs Phen/Fen came out! I lost 30 pounds in 3 months. It was great. Phen/Fen made me feel so good...I was flyin' high every day and I didn't even feel like I was dieting...then it stopped working. My body got used to it. I got down to 170. I maintained my weight for 2.5 years. Then I met my fiance and seems like as soon as I met him I started to gain steadily for the next 3 years. So here I am today at 240 pounds! Wow, never thought I would see that weight on a scale coming from ME.

I am currently engaged...have been for over a year. Everyone keeps asking me "when are you getting married??" and I stall them, saying that we just don't know what type of wedding we want. Well, I'll tell ya why...it's cuz I don't want to find a wedding dress in TENT size! I want to look as good as I can in a wedding dress. I am hoping after surgery I can finally go into a store and find a beautiful dress in a normal size!

I don't have any kids and my main prayer is that I will be able to have kids safely after this procedure.

Why Surgery?
I first heard about the surgery from my neighbor. She had gone to see a doctor about it. She told me all about it and I remember thinking, "Hey, that would be GREAT!" She had learned about the RNY. At the time, I was about 200 pounds so I was so not heavy enough to qualify for surgery. But I still logged it in my brain and thought that if I were ever heavy enough for surgery, then I would get it. I didn't make it a goal to gain weight. But a year later, wouldn't ya know...I qualify.

So I have chosen the BPD/DS. I am very excited about it. I have done a LOT of research and feel that this is the best surgery out there. I will have a good quality of life and won't have some of the problems that arise from the RNY.

My Family and Friends
Many people say it's so "drastic"..."why don't you try just one more diet"..."your perfectly healthy"...."don't go rewiring your plumbing" (that's my personal favorite). All these quotes by thin people. I tell them to walk one mile in my shoes THEN tell me how they feel. It makes them think... skinny people have NO idea what it's like to battle a weight problem. They all think fat people are lazy and don't have any will power. Well bullsh**. We all know that's not true... and I am so thankful for this surgery as an option for obesity!

At first, my mother was really upset about this. She didn't sleep the night I told her. I had asked her to please research it before she got all mad and worried. Well, she did and now she's very excited for me. My fiance is also happy for me, though very reserved. He doesn't want anything going wrong on the operating table. I think my family is very supportive once they understand the whole procedure. At first their reaction is to "stop, try another diet, workout, get a personal trainer, go to a fat farm" But once I educate them they are much better. That is the key to family support... educate them! It is our job to educate them so that they will be comfortable with this decision.

Insurance Info
Aetna QPOS...approved the same day!

My surgery is in 6 days! Can't wait to be on the other side!

Personal Website: For post-op photos and comments, click here

Please email me if you would like to share war stories ;0)

Anne's ONE-YEAR UPDATE
Today is my 1-year anniversary. SO much has changed since I had my surgery. At this time last year I was still in surgery (7:45pm , snowing) My mom thought I was going to die. I had been in surgery since 7am and I didn't get out until 10pm! I had many complications from my surgery starting from the day I went into the hospital. If you haven't read my surgery notes..well I was in the hospital for 16 days with a leak. It was absolutely horrible! Then after I got home I had other complications. I was not totally well until about the 4th month. But please read my other notes, located on my AMOS profile page.

Obviously I came out just fine because I am writing to you now. Let me just say that it was the BEST decision of my life! I can't begin to tell you how blessed I am for having this surgery. It has changed my life in so many ways. Remember the fiance I wrote about above? Well, we broke up. Not because he's a bad person...we are still best friends..but because I realized (while in the hospital) that we were not right for each other. I have lost 102 pounds, gone from a size 20 Women to a size 8 regular. (my goal was an 8 and I reached it!) Forget about what I lost...let's focus on what I gained! I gained SELF CONFIDENCE, I just started my own business and I don't think I would have done that if I were still fat. It was such a mental stress on me and made me very self-concious. I gained HAPPINESS. I was so unhappy being fat and I cut myself off from the world. I gained A NEW SENSE OF STYLE....let me tell u, when u r thin...you will find new stores to shop at. Sorry Lane Bryant and Elizabeth...there are lots more stores to shop from. Groovy clothes can make any woman stand proud! I also gained a new RESPECT for myself. I am worth something and I always have been. It just took this surgery and the weight loss for me to realize that.

I hope that you all find the right procedure for you. It has been a wonderful experience and I would do it all over again. If you want to chat please feel free to email me or chat w/ me on IM (Anne17Lee).

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