Duodenal Switch Information Zone

Previous patient
Next patient

Surgeon: Dr. Aniceto Baltasar, Alcoy, Spain
Surgery date: June 20, 2000
Pre-op weight/BMI: 297
Current weight/BMI: 193 (as of May 7, 2001)

 
Left: Prom 2000 (297lb.); Right: Prom 2001 (193lb.)

by KaCee:

I think that I am the youngest person on the list right now. I am 17 years old and I have been fat every single one of those years. I never really ate a lot when I was younger, but I still seemed to gain weight. I tried every diet imaginable and went to doctors and nothing helped. By 3rd grade I was 180 pounds and gaining. For the next 5 or so years I exercised and exercised, I starved myself or went on the 0 grams of fat and less than 500 calories a day diet.

I didn't know what was wrong with me. The doctors couldn't tell me anything. They checked for everything and it was all normal. I never had a thyroid problem, no high cholesterol, and all of my bloodwork was completely normal. By the time I was in 8th grade I weighed about 287 pounds. I went to a doctor again and he gave me Phen Phen. It worked really well. I lost about 50 pounds that year, but as soon as the press started talking about the problems it caused, I got rid of it and gained it all back and then some.

Eventually, I finally figured out that the problem was genetic. My whole family was seriously overweight so it had no choice but to come to me also. When I found this out, I quit trying to lose weight because I knew it wouldn't do any good. I didn't exercise, I didn't count fat grams, I ate what I wanted when I wanted it. I did this for a couple years and by the middle of my sophomore year I topped in at my all time high of 310 pounds.

I was miserable, I wanted out. I was tired of being made fun of everyday for something that I couldn't control. My mother, Kris, had the surgery right after my 10th grade year and was very successful with it. She started talking with me about it and we decided that it was a last resort, but it really needed to be done.

I lost a quick 20 pounds and then gained 7 more back by the end of my junior year. When the school year ended, I flew to Germany to stay with my mom and step-dad, and then we all flew to Spain for my surgery. I had the surgery on June 20 at the age of 16 with Dr. Baltasar and it went very well. I had never had any kind of surgery before, so I wasn't quite aware of the pain factor. My surgery time was 93 minutes and while in there, Dr. Baltasar found 2 big gallstones (no wonder I was having chest pains!).

All is well now and I feel great! I am not far from 6 months post-op and I have lost a little over 60 pounds and I have gone from a size 26/28 to and 18/20. I am so glad that I decided to have this surgery. I will finally be able to have a normal life!

send email to KaCee

back to top of page

[Home] [Procedure] [Surgeons] [Patients] [FAQ] [More Info]

Email the site administrator with questions, corrections, or suggestions.

Copyright © 1999-2006 by The Duodenal Switch Information Zone, all rights reserved. Text, graphics, and HTML code are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission.