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Surgeon: Dr. Lutrzykowski, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Surgery date: September 24, 2003
Pre-op weight/BMI: 423
Current weight/BMI: 179 (as of February 27, 2005)

 
Left: Young Mandy; Right: Pre-op

 
Left: One year post-op; Right: February 2005

by Mandy:

I have struggled with my weight my entire life.  I have never been “normal”. My first doctor supervised diet occurred for me at the age of 8.  The doctor could not believe the extent of my weight problem and seemed boggled by it.  I already hated going to the doctors because I always felt that they were judging me and I was still in elementary. These visits continued for years, with no real result. I would go on a diet, want to eat something I wasn’t supposed to have, and poof; I was back to my old habits.

By the time I was in my senior year of high school, I weighed 350lbs.  I went on phen/fen, along with only eating 3 days each week. I got down to 280lbs and thought I was doing well.  Then they pulled the medicine off the market and I was at a loss. So, off to college I went. I was very active on campus, in a lot of clubs, taking 6 or 7 classes a semester, doing internships and working. The only time I had to eat was when I got home around 10 or 11 at night. I would eat enough to tide me over until the next night.  By the time I graduated, I could not even weigh myself on a “normal” scale.

I went on a hospital supervised liquid diet, paying thousands of dollars to lose hardly any weight.  But the really shocking thing was when they weighed me during my consult. I could not believe that I had surpassed the 400lb mark, I weighed 405lbs. I did the liquid thing for awhile and then started grad school and let it go a bit and started back on solid food.  I kept telling myself that as soon as I graduated I would do something about my weight.  I guess I figured that as long as I was the smart girl, it was okay to be the fat girl too. 

The month after I graduated I called and made an appointment with Dr. Lutrzykowski.  This is the single most important thing that I have ever done!  I went in for a consult and was not so happy to see that I was now back to weighing over 400lbs; my pre-surgery weight was 423lbs (after I went on a diet for almost a month before my appointment).  I thought that Dr. L, Julie and Elizabeth were excellent and so caring and helpful, I felt at home and that made my decision so much easier to make. I knew that they cared and would do all they could to support and help me through this.

I was scheduled for surgery on October 14, 2003. The middle of September I ended up in the ER with a gallbladder attack.  Being the angel that he is, Dr. Lutrzykowski moved my surgery date up to September 24, 2003.  Surgery lasted a little over 3 hours and I was in the hospital 5 days.  I had problems with nausea, but other than that everything was great.

I could not believe how fast the weight was coming off.  I had to invest in new clothes every 3 weeks because I was dropping weight so quickly.  I love this surgery and everything it has done to improve my life.

Pre-Op Weight: 423
3 Months Post Op:  324.4
6 Months Post Op: 272.6
9 Months Post Op: 232
1 Year Post Op:  197
Current: 179

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