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Surgeon: Dr. Kenneth Welker, Eugene, Oregon Most recent update: May 24, 2005
by Jayme: February 4, 2002 My journey began the fall of 2000. My sister and her husband decided to have WLS together. Mindy, my sister weighed 364, and Steve was 513. I was uncomfortable with the idea of my sister having surgery. To me, she didn't qualify. I knew we were fat, but not that fat! (not fat enough to do such a drastic thing) March of 2001 was a very emotional time for me. Mindy was scheduled for Wednesday the 21st for the RNY. Steve scheduled his surgery in May. I was upset, concerned, uneducated on WLS. She was my sister that I could share clothes with, go out to eat with, shop at the chubby chic stores with, etc... I literally felt like I was losing her. I work in the medical profession, dealing with horrible insurance companies all day. I am so used to seeing denials come through, that I didn't even want to open my benefit manual to see if they cover WLS. I had convinced myself that I would never ever ever be able to have the surgery. That's how it was for the next 7 months. I was bitter and angry. She was losing weight up the wazoo, looking better and better each time I saw her. Steve had the VBG in May. Every time they visited, they were the center of attention. WLS was all they could talk about. That's about the time my mom decided that she wanted surgery. Great, I thought, now I will lose my mom as well. It was like a double whammy. She was nearing 300 lbs and began having back problems, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar. She wanted me to go to a support group meeting with her. I tried everything I could to get out of it, but ended up going. I was not very open-minded when I got there. It wasn't until I got home that night that I thought I could be the right thing for me. Someone at the meeting mentioned that they had the same insurance as me, who had the surgery about a year ago. I decided to look at my book. I was shocked to see the small paragraph that said they allowed the surgery if medically necessary. It still took me a few weeks to realize that WLS was in my future. My mom had her consult with Dr. Welker in October. He told her about the DS. That's when I began researching and decided that if I was going to have any kind of surgery, this would be it. My mom and I decided to do it together. I began the insurance approval game in November after my consult with Dr. Welker. I had to find something wrong with me so that I could fit the "medically necessary"criteria. I have snored LOUD all of my life. I went for a consult with a sleep disorders Neurologist and have since been set up with a C-Pap machine for sleep apnea. I received my copy of the letter written January 4th, 2002 that was sent to my insurance company from the surgeon. While reading it I felt I had one foot in the grave. He came up with 41 diagnosis codes, including family history stuff, that made me fit the criteria. I had not gotten my C-Pap machine yet, so I decided to call my insurance company on January 23rd, 2002, to check on the approval. The gal on the phone pulled my file and began asking me about my "surgery date". I was a little puzzled since no date had been set, as far as I knew. She found nothing about the C-Pap, but proceeded to tell me that they had APPROVED ME FOR SURGERY!!! I even made her double check the procedure codes with the referral department. I hope to be scheduled in March sometime. Since all of this, my mom has had an RNY. She became quite anxious upon hearing that her insurance would pay and was offered a surgery date by Dr. Welker's partner. She had hers done January 29th, 2002. So far, my sister has lost 157 lbs, gone from size 30/32 to 16!!!! My brother-in-law has lost 147 lbs. Mom is still recuperating from her surgery last week. I'll keep you posted. MY PERSONAL HISTORY I never dated in high school, didn't even have a boyfriend until I was 20. He moved here from Washington to be with me. We married on June 13, 1998. I had my wedding dress made for me, since I couldn't find anything that fit me. It was about size 26. I have dieted many times since my teens, losing 10-15 lbs here and there, gaining every bit of it back. The most I lost was with Redux, about 25lbs. When that was taken off the market, I was so upset. It was the only thing working for me. I began water aerobics and have done them off and on since then. I usually get motivated in the spring and slack off in the fall. It's about time I get myself motivated again. :) I have discussed the surgery at length with my husband. He is very supportive of my decision. He wants me to be happy. He loves me the way I am, which is most important. That's why I married him. We want to have children after I have surgery. So far, every bit of information I've read supports pregnancy 1 year after surgery. If anyone out there has experienced pregnancy after DS, I'd be more than grateful to talk with you and ask some questions. My work is very supportive, as well. I have enough vacation time saved up that I should have no problems taking the time off as needed. I have someone to cover my position while I'm gone. I just can't wait to find out "MY DAY". I will update everything as often as possible. I have enjoyed reading the profiles here on the DS Site. I hope to be as successful as so many of the people I've met, who have been an inspiration to me. August 2002 Update:
My son, Cayden Andrew, was born on November 7th, 2003. I had the best time being pregnant, and loved showing off my tummy. One of my fears prior to surgery was that no one would know whenever I was pregnant, because I was so fat. I don't talk much about my "easy" delivery because female friends tend to get a little jealous. I attempted breast-feeding and gave it my all. My body, however, didn't give Cayden anything, so at 2 weeks we started supplementing with formula. I put him on it full time when I returned to my full-time job at 9 weeks. He lost weight at birth and didn't gain much until about 6 weeks. By 3 months, you wouldn't have known there was any problem. He began to fill out and hasn't stopped. He is now 1 1/2 and is the light of my life.
As many of you know, I come from a family of WLS patients. My sister and mother have had gastric by-pass. They are healthy and doing well. My brother-in-law had some complications this past Thanksgiving. He is 4 years post VBG. He had some adhesions in the intestines that blocked a portion of his intestine which caused junk to back up into his pancreas, causing pancreatitis. Living in Medford, the doctors there don't know much about WLS. They called his surgeon, who is retiring, and was suggested to do exploratory surgery to see if there was a blockage. Sure enough, they found the blockage and fixed him, they thought. He went home and continued to have problems. They ended up transporting him to Bend, where Dr. Archer evaluated him and found multiple abcesses in his abdominal cavity. They kept him hospitalized and drained the abcesses. He was home just before Christmas and has recovered quite well. The doctors at Bend are great. However, they are not DS doctors . Anyhow, I am sorry it took me so long to update. I will try better to not let it go 2 1/2 more years. I do appreciate all the profiles I've read and love sharing pictures and stories. Talk to you all soon. Love, Jayme
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Oh, my! I can't believe that it has been so long since I sent an update. So much has happened in the past 2 1/2 years. I have had great success with my WLS. In March 2003, 12 months post-op, I found out that I was pregnant. I was down to a size 14 and weighed 183. I gained up to about 210 during my pregnancy.
I had a little weight gain during the pregnancy, as I expected. I was able to drop 15 lbs in the first week (baby weight included). I am back down near 188. I am comfortable where I am for now. I still would desperately like a tummy tuck, arms trimmed, and a breast lift at some point. I plan to have another baby soon, so I will have to wait a while. I also still suffer from yucky, nasty, stinky you know what. I have tried Devrom, but it tends to make me uncomfortable. I know I could eat a little better, but get so darn busy and don't take the time to. It would be easier if my family weren't such picky eaters.