My Patients
Personal Stories
Wendy
My story doesn’t start out being overweight. I was a normal size up until my late 20’s after the birth of my third child. I kept the weight on after his birth and continued to put on additional weight every year. In the beginning the weight gain it did not slow me down and I was fairly active (running after 3 kids will do that). I did try several diets, and would lose and then ultimately gain it back, with extra.
Finally in my early forties my doctor decided to put me on the Phen/Fen drugs and I did lose a lot of weight but of course as we all now know, the drugs were considered too dangerous and I was taken off them. Again I regained the weight plus some! Around this time I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and put on medication for that. My joints were also beginning to show the effects of the excess weight and were beginning to hurt. I still continued to try new diets and repeated the cycle of losing/regaining/adding weight. After menopause I experience a real gain in weight and it was tougher and tougher to try and lose it. I also was in constant joint pain and my doctor added a statin to help lower my cholesterol.
I did have that “Ah Ha” moment when my husband moved us to Anchorage, Alaska and we were invited to fly in a small private plane for some sight seeing. I was terrified that I weighted too much to go on the trip! Lucky for me, the pilot was very understanding and explained that it was fine, but that was my last straw with my weight.
Within a week of that trip, I just happened to hear on the radio that Dr. Ellner was coming to Anchorage (August 2014) to speak about bariatric surgery. I went online and signed up for the seminar. To say it was the best thing I ever did for myself is truly an understatement. After listening to the seminar I decided which surgery was right for me(Roux-en-Y) and contacted Dr. Ellner’s office the following Monday.
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I had my surgery on Dec 19, 2014. On the day of surgery, my drugs for high blood pressure and high cholesterol were discontinued. I went to Perth Australia 3 months after my surgery to visit my youngest son, which I could not have done before. We traveled to Bali, Tasmania, and Sydney where we hiked 10-15 miles a day, again something I could not have done before.
It was a dream trip and I loved every moment of it. Flying to and from there was by far easier without the excess weight. I now exercise 5 to 6 days a week, and no longer have any joint pain. One of the best suggestions from Dr. Ellner was to hire a personal trainer, which I did, and I see her once a week. She designs exerises for me and knows exactly what I need. Again one of the best investments in my personal well being. I have lost a total of 108 lbs, putting me at 152. I have never felt better and only wish I had done this sooner.
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