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Surgeon: Dr. Ranjan Sudan, Omaha, NE Most recent update: September 8, 2004
by Tisha: I'm sure my weight history is a lot like anyone else who's researching WLS. I was a chunky kid. I remember my 1st stepfather saying to me @ 10 or 11 years old that he wouldn't buy me a bra till my chest stuck out further than my stomach. I guess those kind of comments stick with you more than you think! At 14 going into 10th grade I was 140lbs and very embarrassed that I weighed that much. I now realize what a healthy weight I was and would of been perfectly happy if I could of stayed that weight for the rest of my life. I was active with volleyball and walked everywhere! About a year later I met a wonderful guy who had a car and a job at a fast food restaurant. As you can imagine, with lack of activity (no more walking everywhere) and many fish sandwiches and sundaes later, I started packing on the pounds. When we got married five years later I weighed about 190. A year later I had my daughter @ 243lbs. This was all about 13 years ago and it has been a rollercoaster of diets, weight loss, and gain ever since. About two years ago, my 2nd stepfather (they've been married about 18 years now) had BPD/DS and so I started my research. Because of an ulcer which caused complications, he had a pretty rough time and recovery was very slow for him. This didn't discourage me but made me more adamant to get all the info I could. I had started researching WLS in general and found an abundance of info on RNY. I didn't like the sound of dumping syndrome, the size of the pouch, lack of food choices afterwards, etc. Since my father and several friends of mine had BPD, I searched everywhere for more info on that surgery in particular. Once I decided BPD was the way I wanted to go, I no longer paid any attention to anything to do with RNY. It seems there are good and bad points to both procedures and patients of both tend to argue over which is better. All I know is it's the most personal decision you could make and you MUST do a TON of research to decide which is best for you! Everyone is different! The more I read and the more I talked to people, the more I felt comfortable that I had made the right decision for myself with BPD/DS. Everything went really quick for me once I made the decision. I wanted the same surgeon as my dad and I also wanted to be near my mom during recovery. I live in Phoenix, AZ and Dr. Sudan and my parents are in Omaha, NE. I work for an airline so fortunately, travel was an option for me and I would be able to fly back and forth for appointments and surgery. In February I went to an info session, met with Dr. Sudan, and had several of the tests needed done all at one time as I was an out of town patient. Within a few months I had insurance approval and a surgery date set for 5-25-04. Now it has taken a while for my family to accept my decision. My mother was very supportive as she was familiar with the procedure and went through everything with my dad. She also knew how much I struggled with my weight my entire life and knew my state of mind. My husband and mother-in-law however were very scared and felt I should make yet another attempt to lose the weight on my own. A lot of people I knew said I was not overweight enough to need surgery and couldn't believe I was going to go through with it. This gave me severe feelings of guilt and insecurity as I knew there were people that were much more overweight than myself and were not making such a drastic decision. However, only those of us who have struggled with weight issues can begin to understand so I just asked them to be patient and trust in my instincts. I was determined this was the right choice for me! On Tuesday, 5-25, my life was permanently changed! My husband and mother were with me and very supportive. I can't imagine going through this without the support of the important people in your life. As much as my husband didn't want me to have the surgery at first, he has now been there for me every step of the way and I love him dearly for that! He is very excited at all the possibilities of what we will be able to do now (like we want to get a Harley and go bike riding!). Dr. Sudan performed laparoscopic, Divinci robot assisted, BPD/DS surgery and said everything went perfect! I was in surgery for about seven hours. I don't remember being in a lot of pain post-op, it was kept very controlled. I did have quite a bit of nausea but nothing unbearable and I only threw up once in the hospital when I was trying to take a pill ( I hate swallowing pills!). The first two days in the hospital, everyone said I looked great and I felt pretty good. The next two days were not quite as good. A bit of a fever, some pain, and I was made aware of an unexpected problem. Seems Dr. Sudan found I have a fatty liver. He said it may very well go away with the weight loss but otherwise, there is no treatment. This could of meant hepatitis or cirrhosis of the liver and other complications. Without the surgery, we would not have known anything was wrong until my liver shut down. I guess in more ways than one, this surgery saved my life! I truly believe I made the right decision! 6/16-Now I'm three weeks post-op and I have lost 25 pounds! I had one bad day the day I came home. My stomach was pretty upset from the car ride. Everyday since has been better and better! Dr. Sudan said full liquid diet for four weeks so one more week to go with shakes and soup. I have been getting in an egg a day and now some cottage cheese for the extra protein. Protein is so important and I just want to do everything I can to speed my healing. I have six little scars on my tummy which are healing very nicely. I will update in a few weeks but for now, everything's very good! I just want to say good luck to all of you who are researching or who have made this difficult decision. Just be true to your instincts, trust in yourself, and keep in mind the quality of life that's waiting for you!!!! Tisha Feel free to email me!
A friend of mine is checking into surgery and she asked me what all the drawbacks are. Truthfully, I had a hard time thinking of any. My hair is falling out at a pretty alarming pace right now but Dr. Sudan said that should stop within about six months post op. It's more of an inconvenience right now because it plugs up my tub! Besides that, most of my days have been good. I have had a stomach ache a few times that may have been from trying something new to eat that I wasn't quite ready for (like pork or a piece of steak that was too tough). Basically though, I eat most anything I want. I stay away from fried foods and fast foods chosing low fat or sugar free items more often than not. But I can eat steak, chicken, hamburger, any lunchmeats, etc., and I have started getting in more vegetables and fruit. I have more room now and am able to eat my protein and still have room for a little of everything else at meals. Any snacks are almost always protein though. I am able to sleep through the night (I am so much more comfortable now) and as far as I've heard from my hubby, my snoring is alot better. My daughter and I went to a Kansas City Chiefs football game the other weekend and I was amazed at the fact that I was not huffing and puffing by the time we got to our seats on the upper deck. And then my butt actually fit in the seat! It was a very tight squeeze into that same seat last year! I can get the seatbelt waaaayyyy around me in the airplanes now, I don't worry about chairs breaking when I sit down, I can get in and out of a car without struggling, and I can ride a bike again! I knew all of these things were going to be important to me but to have this happening is like a dream. I don't know what my goal weight is yet but I'm getting happier and happier all the way down! All my friends and family really notice a difference especially in my face and it just feels good to know this is a PERMANENT change! I wish you all the best of luck and I will talk to you soon....Tisha. Send email to Tisha
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Hello everyone! This update is very exciting for me! I just had my three month checkup today and I am almost down 60 pounds! Everything is going very well right now. I have soooo much energy compared to before and I feel really good most of the time. The weight is coming off a bit slower but the point is, it's still coming off.