Patient Testimonials
Theresa S.
My name is Theresa. I am 51 years old. I've been overweight all of my adult and married life. I've struggled with all the diet programs and what they say is absolutely true about those, what you lose you gain back plus more.
When I decided to go through with the duodenal switch surgery, I weighed 323 pounds. WOW!! I can't believe it. Today, almost four years later, I now I weigh 150 pounds. Most people don't even think that I weigh that much. AMAZING, isn't it? My only regret is that I did not do it sooner.
I was going through the insurance process when I was laid off from my job and lost my insurance. Thank goodness I have a very supportive husband. We decided to take the money out of my retirement savings. My husband and I both think that it was truly one of the most important and best investments that we have ever made.
My surgery took about four hours and everything went very well. I did exactly what Pacific Laparoscopy told me to do. I sipped water all day and stopped 30 minutes before I ate and resumed 30 minutes after I ate. I ate about six small meals a day.. By "meal," I mean four or five bites of whatever I was having. I ate very slowly, which is hard for me because I naturally eat very fast. But I took about 30 minutes to eat those few bites.
At first I was disappointed that the weight did not melt off quickly. I started walking as soon as I could. I lost weight slowly but steadily, until I lost more than 170 pounds—yay! I take my vitamins and I did not end up having much hair loss.
I had excess skin around my tummy and very flabby arms. I also found out that I had a hernia. I made the decision to have a tummy tuck, an arm lift and of course, that hernia repaired. I needed to get a loan to pay for these procedures.
Dr Rabkin performed my reconstructive surgery. Once again I went down to San Francisco to St Mary's Hospital. This time it was more painful than the original surgery Dr. Rabkin removed about two or three pounds from my arms and about five pounds from my tummy area. I had more staples in me than Office Depot! I had lost a total of 15 more pounds in the hospital and was told to gain a few pounds back. I was down to 140 and I loved it!
It's been over 3 years since the initial duodenal switch weight loss surgery. My life has gotten so much easier and I feel free! Every day I wake up and I still can't believe that I wear a size 6 instead of a size 32!!
