Before & After VSG with Robert, losing 121 pounds!
December 12, 2017Why I Decided To Have WLS
I weighed 175 pounds when I got married in 1977. Throughout the next 40 years, I slowly put on weight. It was very gradual but at my heaviest, I weighed 320 pounds. Since my excess weight was put on over so many years, I just learned to live as a heavy person. I had looked at bariatric surgery about 10 years ago but I was just not ready to make the commitment at that time.
In 2016, I started to have tremendous hip pain. I have worked as a Real Estate Broker on Hutchinson Island for 35 years and I was having trouble showing properties to clients due to my lack of mobility and negotiating stairs. I saw a surgeon and he diagnosed arthritis to the point that my left hip was bone-on-bone. I tried cortisone injections but to no avail. I asked the surgeon about total hip replacement and he said he would do it if was able to lose weight first. Diets had never worked for me. I was not a big eater but my metabolism was such that I kept the weight on no matter what I did. I checked around the Treasure Coast area and doctors would not consider me for bariatric surgery because I was 78 years old.
Before & After VSG with Robert
Total Weight Loss: 121 pounds
Surgery Type: VSG
Date of Surgery: December 15, 2016
Surgeon's Name: Jason M. Radecke, MD, MS
My Surgery and Post-Op Life
I finally reached out to Riverside Surgical and Weight Loss Center in Sebastian. It was there that I was blessed to meet Dr. Jason Radecke. He was encouraging and was willing to be my surgeon. I had to lose weight for him first and I was able to drop about 20 pounds. On December 15, 2016, he performed a gastric sleeve procedure on me. While in surgery they also discovered that I had heart issues and just three days later I had a new pacemaker!
The weight started to come off right away and by March 9, 2017, I was in surgery once again getting my new hip. It was such a blessing to get relief at last from the horrendous hip pain. I was then able to be more mobile and my weight loss continued.
I am now 199 pounds and I feel better than I have in many years. I walk past old friends from years ago and they do not recognize me. I truly believe that this surgery and the doctors who perform it are life changers.
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