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Surgeon: Dr. Hazem Elariny, Arlington, VA
Surgery date: March 15, 2001
Pre-op weight/BMI: 320
Current weight/BMI: 200 (as of January 12, 2002)

 
Left: Pre-op (320lb.); Right: September 2001 (245lb.)

 
Above (both): New Years 2002

By Dee Dee:

My name is Dee Dee Underwood. I'm a mother of a 7-year-old son and 6-month-old son. I have made the decision to have the DS surgery against the wishes of my husband. I will be having the Lap DS with Dr. Elariny on March 15, 2001.

So far my journey to this point has been uneventful. I first saw Dr. E on Jan. 22, 2001 and got approval from my insurance (Aetna PPO) the following day.

Right now, I'm two weeks away from having the surgery-and I'm a nervous wreck. I'm excited to be having the surgery -- but I'm nervous about the pain. But I want to have a healthier life and I want to be able to play with my children without getting tired in the first 10 minutes.

Post-surgery update: I am now 2 weeks post op and so far I have lost 10lbs. The first 2 days were the hardest after the surgery -- but each day after that it got better. The most pain I felt was the soreness around my stomach area -- it felt like I had done a million sit ups! But by my 4th day post op, I was eating solid foods. By the 7th day I was pretty much past all pain and soreness. I have been lax about getting my walking in, so I try to get to the mall to walk around as much as I can. My biggest adjustment is getting used to eating such small portions -- that is why I have only lost 10lbs in the first 2 weeks. I have been trying to clean my plate and I have been overstuffing my self. I didn't listen to my body and I was having all kinds of chest pain, stomach pain and incision pain, but since I've talked to my doctor and he explained what the problem was, I'm trying to change my thinking and really listen to my body so that when I'm full -- even if there is still food left on the plate -- it either goes in the trash or I will give it to my son.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me via email. I'm always willing to answer any questions to the best of my ability. I know how hard it is to find much info on this surgery -- or people's take on how things are going for them.

September 2001 Update: I am now almost 6 months post op (Sept. 15 will be 6 months). So far I have lost about 75lbs. I’m feel wonderful and have a ton of energy!!!! I love life and I have so much self-confidence that I have decided to start my own event management business (I would never have tried this MO-didn’t think anyone would take me seriously) The thing that is key to my success is getting in at least 2 protein shakes a day, cutting back on sweets and carbs, and exercise. I will admit that the sweets and carbs are hard to cut back on-and my weight loss would be even better if I could stay away from them-but I am happy with the way things are going.

The funniest thing about this surgery-is how it changes your face. I have talked to several friends and we have all noticed that the weight really comes off of your face and shows how lovely your cheekbones are. I will try to update more often-but here are some before and after pictures of me-the before is me at 320lbs and the after is me at 245lbs.

I really love all of the emails I have been getting-so if you have any questions (no matter how personal) please feel free to ask-I’m always will to share my experience with this surgery-the more info. you have the better prepared you are for surgery.

Jan. 12, 2002
Well it has been 10 months since surgery-and I'm down 120lbs!! YEA!!!!!! I'm doing wonderful-and I love the way my life is going after surgery. I have soooooo much energy-and I really like being able to do so many things that I couldn't before-like cross my legs, walk 3 blocks without sounding like a mac truck, do a cartwheel! just simple things that so many people take for granted! I am uploading a new picture from New Year's-I wish i had one of me by myself-but for now this will have to do! I'm wearing a size 14 misses dress-oh how I love the sound of that!!! I will check back in probably around my 1 year anniversary!

send email to Dee Dee

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