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Well I go to my first seminar on May 22,2003 then after I can schedule my visit with the surgean, Yes.... And on May 21,2003 I have a apointment with my pcp as per my health insurance stated that they will just need a verbal referal from her but im gonna take some info to educate her also so I wont get turned down...Well wish me luck everybody and say a prayer for me im on the right track know hopefully nothing can stop me... Well I haven't updated for a while I have went threw a new Docter and I have my first apointment on Monday July 14, 2003 im so happy but scared that they will say i do not qualify, But if I never go I wont know Cross your fingers and pray that all goes well. July 15, 2003 well I went to my first visit with my surgeon and as per the Docter stated that I qualify for both the surgeries I really wanted to get the the lap band but was scared of te erosion but my docter stated that since I was so young to get the rny so know the waiting period .... they submit to the insurance... will wait till I hear back from them...wish me luck July 25, 2003 Well I called insurance company today just to see if they recieved. Stated that there was nothing in sytem stating that was submitted by docter...What...Telephoned Docters offioce stated that was sent on July 17,2003..Wow quickly...said sorry...........for being a bug a boo...Telephoned insurance company again stated that should take a few weeks to show agh..will wait patiently...Ya right....Cross fingers... July 30,2003 Well I called insurance company again stated that they still do not show request for surgery yet...ugh what is next I went ahead and posted my picture gross..I tend not to take pictures just becouse of that but I figure maybe soon i'll be having my after pictures up if only this insurance ever gets the request for the surgery...ugh August 5, 2003 well I still have not heard nothing but to tell you the truth i am very a upset with my insurance company I have called every monday and still nothing...So know I called got where I can fax info to to see if they get this time around ..emailed my surgeon insurance rep to see if she can fax to them...Starting to think I wont ever get approved or be thin again.... August 11, 2003 Well I just got off the phone with my insurance cordinator im approved..Know i have to pay 300.00 up front before they can schedule me for the testing then a date...I have to pay 700.00 up front I guess for nutritonel classes and stuff but they would take 300.00 then a 100.00 a month. Then I have to pay the 250.00 copay for my inpatient admit for the facility, But it is well worth I am soooo Happy.... August 18, 2003 Well I am still waiting to get the 300.00 I will pay it on Friday and call my surgeon right away to get it started. I need to do some time in December or November hopefully before the snow hits becouse it's a two hour drive to get there.They updated my site looks goog dont it..They have so much love here at this sight I love it... August 21,2003 Well im still waiting to make apointment whith my Surgeon I need to pay 750.00 up front or 300.00 then 100.00 after that so im just waiting to get paid to pay the 300.00 then to schedule my apointment..But starting to get anxios, with everything it looks like I can only have surgery either in the ending of september or what till late December lets see what happens..I made a new friend who also goes to same surgeon she is paying her deposit today so maybe we can have it around the same time..So everybody wish her luck also miss Brenda..Well got to get back to work will update soon lol.. August 22, 2003 I got a date It's starting to sink in what if I have complications , What if my children never see me again, What if I loose so much weight i die of malnutrution what??? What if/// Agh well Im going to reaaly get into researching it more..Oh ya the date is for October 28, 2003. September 11, 2003 Well first let me say a prayer for all the people that lost there lives 2 years ago in in such a senseless way... Well here I am ready for my date I have went to two seminars and starting to get all the info together and im ready it is going to take alot of self control but I have it I lost it for awhile while I gained all this weight but im ready to take it on and start a better and healthier life for me and my children, I was so scared in my last update that my children might loose me but they might loose me now the way I have been. I started taking the vitamins feel some what better started walking and guess what I have energy afterwards what a concept exercise and energy why did I not think of this better...Ha Ha..Well I have one more month and Im there just waiting to get the testing done and Im ready I was having some problems with my children while I have the surgery becouse my Boyfriend and soon to be husband is staying with me there so when I go to my apointment need to check out some clean hotels to get him set and me in the hospital so as soon as my sweet mother has here knee surgery she will take care of my daughters and my boyfriend will bring our son you know so he wont be alone..Well know till my testing is done I will update I have heard that they are not so bad but after having my children and childbirth it is nothing im ready, Oh I would like to say thank you so much Karen at Docters Johnell's office I sort of bugged here with this whole mom taking care of my children surgery thing she is the best..also good luck to Brenda she is up next September 16, 2003... October 13, 2003... Well tomorrow I go to get all my testing done From Ultrasound of my abdomen,Aterial blood Gas, Pulmonary Funtion Test, Chest Xray,Lab Work,Ekg,and a Dietary Class, them my Pre op Class,So I would say I have my day planned out I will be tired but it will be out the way or like my children say out my face..Well im ready im trying to stock up on all the products I will need like calcium citrate and tums and B-12 shots becouse I know I need to take them im not trying to get myself sick becouse I am doing this for a heathier life change and for my children So I am going the healthy route..Well I'll let you know how all goes if any of you know what other vitamins I will need let me know? Lol Lorena October 15,2003 Well I did all my testing yesterday and by the time i went to my nutritonal class I had a migrane headache all I wanted to do was throw up and close my eyes then we were there from 12:30 to 5:15 was I about to die I felt so bad becouse my head is pounding I need to throw im falling asleep and the Docter was telling me valueble information and I was just going what am I getting myself in to there is so much stuff im kinda wondering what have I gotton myself in, Well anyways we drove home I went straight to the bathroom let it all out after I threw up I stil headache tried to take a nap still woke up with ahadache, So here I am know reading the book that was given to me and actually trying to understand what is going on, Wow well I be able to keep up with this and my children and my husband and my mother, Wow im debating know do I really need this surgery that bad.. AmIreally that overweight togo threw all this...??? You know this isA Sgery I could die in there what about my children.. Or I could die when i leave not following instruction I can die from eating a chicken nugget as a story that my docter told us what is this that I am getting into is my whole life based on my weight? I thought after I had my children i would live for them wake up for them survive for them but after going threw the seminar i wonder..Will this take me away from them,Or give me more strength for them??? October 21,2003 Well I went for my pre op apointment and I had talked to several people undergoing and that have went threw the surgery and came with the conclusion of wanting the Lap band not the Gastric Bypass. My docter is the best I might add he was not too upset and understood that I have children and I needed to get back in the motion fast and after realy the gastric bypass is what I really do not want the lap band is what was more apealing and after reading up I am ready but for the Lap band so I am bac to waiting to see if I get approved for the Lap band but being I lost some pounds I do not know if I will get approved again. The docter wants me to get a psch evalution which is fine with me gives me more assurance on what im doing. Well for what is worth I am soooo happy I hope I get approved for the Lap band..What I want is basically to get retrained on my eating habits, after havinf three children my sctomach got into the habit of overeating,So I think a life long comitment with the Lap band is my choice.. October 28,2003 Went to my Psych Evaluation was okay he told me about a good sleeping pill to take Okay now the waiting im ready to do the surgery know all read up on it vitamins in hand ready set go...but I have to wait for insurance to approve the Lap band kinda bummed that I had the surgery set and ready to roll but did not take it after all that I have went threw to get but I know it is a better choice hello this is my body that I am talking about and that this is a life long commitment..I just have to go every month for adjustments but hey atleast I know I will be in good health seeing the docter every month...Just waiting to get this down..Doing some exercise at home becouse it has been cold..Well update soon as I hear from my insurance...Lol November 12, 2003 Well things are not going to well I got a call from the Psychiatric Well first of all I never had anything negative to say on my profile but to begin with when I got to my Psychiatric apointment he sat there and fought more with his secretary about how she did not verify my insurance correctly and I might have to pay more money then the 25.00 doller copay thank god it was pay day. Then all he did was tell me to get more sleep and to take a diffrent anti depresant medicine? I was just trying to get off taking that becouse I'm feeling so good not sad? Well do as the Docter says, Then he calls me last night to tell me i need to take counsling to deal with my stress at home Hello I have three children running around at home from 6 to 1 years in age that is stress no it's called being more active, Then I thought okay you went to college for how long..He says well i think you need to take more counsling becouse what you are about to do is a total life changing experience okay so what would you say about having a child... Instead of being supportive and thinking of te benefits of the surgery more active with my children and less stress on me mentally and physically...and this is coming from a thin person...Next time maybe then can find a formerly big person to do my psychiatric evaluation..as a comment for my Psychiatric he needs to focus more on the patient then on scolding his Secreatary on not verifying my benefits correctly. He was more worried about if he was going to get his money.... So know I have to start going to Counsling before they do the surgery.. What a battle with this Psychiatrics.. I highly do not recomend him to no one... November 13,2003 Well after the bad news I had yesterday I have a good one I am approved Yess...........Yesss...You see good things come to those that believe I am ready set go know I just have to wait to her back from them to schedule my pre op and then drum roll surgery/////Well lets see what happens....but I have junped over that hoop...did I mention God is sooo good...LOL Lorena November 21, 2003 Well I need to vent today I feel like im so huge I can't breath I feel so yucky with my weight..I started another diet well not diet I would say more a readjustment of whats yet to come I have cut soda pop out no more sugar only thing that is getting hard is that morning coffee with cream and you guessed it sugar..and im trying to get out of that Starbucks which i get withdrawls from sooo soo good....but new me I cut my hair in a cute style and new color just trying to work on the new body for the 2004 year..atleast I am motivated and ready to do this. This summer will be the happiest the year I go swimming not shy and say just go to the park, and that was hard to go becouse I was worried oh my god who will I bump into. I remember once I went to target ans saw a old friend and instead of her saying how you doing it was like my god have you let yourself go..you are so thick...what that was not even cool..oh well say goodbye to those days well soon it will be December 12,2003 the lap band day..lol December 08, 2003 Well the time is almost here I have my preop today then friday is my day which is good I had to call and see if they can redo my time becouse it is suppose to be snowing later today and my apointment was at three got it changed to 12:00 so hopefully i will miss the snow, My surgeons office is the best,Well I went to my nutrition seminar which i understood and did not get all scared like the Gastric bypass seminar which left me scared I really think that the Lap band is the one for me....Need to do my shopping this wednesday, then my prep up on thursday then friday is the day, Not too jittery about this surgery like the other one no second thoughts just ready to get it over with... Well lol update after my preop December 09, 2003 Well I went to my pre op was okay they did a rectal to see if there was blood ..enough said about that lets zone that thought out as I will never be same again..Ha ha ha Well I seen the surgeon and I think for the first time since I started going there he was cool...So I am ready set go nothing can stop me knoe except the wheather it is snowing and friday they said it was snowing great becouse it's a hour drive,,,,,well update soon tomorrow I start my pre op diet liquids it's okay hoping to loose some weight with all this liquids before my fill, January 28, 2004 Sorry i have not updated lately i have been back at work and busy well I have a big issue with my surgeon oh ya i've lost 26 lbs so far waiting to get another fill, but I have a problem I was going to Greeley about a good 1hour and 20 min away and to go every other weeks was starting to get to be hectic for me so I called my docter and let them that I found a Docter here in Denver that said will do my f/u care closer can Leave right from work be there in 15 min or less and I understand that was not a right thing to change from my docter but the drive was getting to be to long and costly and anyways I was not seen by my docter no more I was seeing his Nurse Pract well anyways he didn't even call me back his secratary did to tell me thats fine if I wanted to leave but if i wanted to get care again from him he will not see me no more ??? What ever that Docter has problems instead of thinking of me the patient he was more worried about me not going back!! Well good luck with you too..Oh well I just have to wait to get another fill feeling no restrictions but working out. The other Docter that I will be seeing was very nice stated that as soon as I get the medical records he will schedule me in right away...I am so happy no hour driving no more I was starting to get worried becouse the whether and the snow I might get in a accident.. Well I have to go lol, I guess I got to change profile to other Docter... February 17, 2004 Well I have had one adjustment since my surgery i have lost 30lbs I am in need of another adjustment. I got a apointment for 03/03/2004 at 2:45 but she stated that i need to pay 220.00 up front. Which i am kinda confused becouse i have health insurance so they are to get back to me but as for that just patiently waiting to get adjusted, March 10, 2004 Allright I got my fill and restriction is my middle name yes yes yes,,,but no meat can go down well it goes down then it comes up ....Ha Ha Ha clothes fit looser and guesssss what I am in a size 16 from size 20.....yes yes...stil do not regret my surgery and am glad I had the lap band instead of the bypass,,,,,well i'll update soon goal is to be in a size 12 so I can pull all the clothes out of my closet and be me again..... April 30,2004 Went to get my fill with my docter 2cc restriction galor. Weight check 207.00 not as much as I wanted to hear but hey at least i've lost instead of gained... Michael A. Snyder MD (Denver, CO) I am switching docters and pending a apointment with docter Snyder... Had my first apointment with Docter Snyder He is so nice and young looking for a minute there I did not it was him his assistant was so nice to I am glad I changed Docter's. Docter Snyder is also a good listener too. Docter Johnell was very nice and very imformative. His Staff was very nice the first person I met was his wife Patrice and was very nice she informed me on everything and let me ask all the questions I wanted and that was alot of questions. I really have no complaints on him. He has alot of programs that i needed to take prior to apointment and stresses alot of after care which I totally like. They address the risks of the surgery clearly and point blank to them. I would overall rate him a 10. Insurer Info: United Healthcare Still working to see if get approved Docter stated that will take about 6 weeks..Still waiting for decision.2nd week since submitted. 08/05/03 still waiting for respone, tlp insurance company still not recieved has been over three weeks, But determined to get responce from them so I am calling everyday. Well im frustated with my insurance company it has been three weeks and everytime I call they tell me that they have not recieved anything...Overall if you have Uhc good luck...Well four weeks still no responce from uhc overall getting upset with insurance company tlp insurance company still same responce have not recieved but my surgeon office has even faxed it in to them ????? August 13, 2003 Im approved yes October 21,2003 Well im back to see if i get approved for the Lap band?? November 13, 2003 I got approved a little wait but they came threw at the end...

I went to the siminar and I think he is a wonderful person and doctor. He seems to care and be very responsive to the needs of people that suffer from obesity. He really wants to help people out, he is not just concerned about the obese for montary gain. He address all the risk and help me understand more about the process of the surgery. His staff is also very helpfully and nice. The best thing that I like is to him he belives in after care for a lifetime. Which is what everyone needs before and after this lifetime commitment.

UNTIL ONE IS COMMITTED ... There is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couples: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." from W. H. Murray, The Scottish Himalayan Expedition, 1951 August 2003 It is late fall 1962. John Kennedy is President and he and his lovely chic wife reign over Camelot. My mother, who had much in common with Jacqueline Kennedy, including her dark beauty, sense of style, and expensive taste, has just come home from her latest stay in the hospital. Three years before she had lost a baby, her third daughter, in childbirth. No one guessed the reason for this stillbirth until more than 20 years later when my mother told me that in hindsight she knew the cause: fetal alcohol syndrome. Since the death of my baby sister, my mother had been in and out of hospitals. She suffered from migraines, seizures, and exteme levels of anxiety that required her to consume a staggering variety and copious amount of medication. Some doctors said it was epilepsy. Others said she had a mental disorder. All my father, sister, and I knew was that things were never quite right in our home. My mother always brought back from her hospital stays all the gifts of flowers, baked goods, and candy her kind visitors lavished on her. She rarely ate any of the gifts of food. Food was not my mother's addiction, but it certainly became mine. My first memory of not being "normal" around food was during one of these periods of high anxiety after my mother returned from the hospital. I recall sneaking into the kitchen over and over again when no one was around and lifting multiple from the boxes stacked in the refrigerator filled with mini chocolate petitfores covered in rich pastel icing. Once I began eating such sugary, floury, or starchy treats, it was like the world dropped away and I had died and gone to heaven. The problem was that once I started, I simply could not stop. Nor could I step back and see what was happening to me or what I could do to control myself. I had no more control over my eating than a runaway rig barreling down a steep mountain road. It's taken me more than 40 years to learn that the way I dealt with food was every bit as deadly. This is a record of a journey, a very exciting and frightening journey of desire, hesitancy, risk and fledgling change. This is a record of my journey and experience with weight loss surgery (WLS). I write this for myself, to fully immerse myself in the commitment and process required to succeed in this challenging endeavor. The results I seek involve shifting those habits of mind and body that set me upon this challenging and ultimately, I am sure, rewarding path. The road I take to arrive at this destination is not easy or linear. This is my own personal Mt. Everest and I intend to summit it with all the preparation, enthusiasm, and drive of any Himalayan expedition. It has taken me the better part of a half-century to comprehend this conundrum: Before I can see myself clearly, I must see myself through the loving eyes of another. Yet, before I can know that what another sees is real, I must have a vision of and for myself to know that what others see is real. This has been my path and my journey. I began the long and arduous journey to WLS as a chunky little kid growing up in the 50s and 60s in south Louisiana. My mom and sister and all my female cousins were cheerleaders, majorettes, beauty queens and mardi gras princesses. Physical appearance was a big deal in my extended family, as it was generally in the deep south before and during that era. By comparison to the other women in my family who were gorgeous and graceful, I was bookish and awkward, more interested in literature and science fairs than beauty pageants and cheerleading. Throughout my life I've heard that I had "such a pretty face" if only I could just buckle down and get the weight off a pudgy body that was much closer to my father's defensive lineman's physique than to the slender builds that belonged to my Mom and my little sister. My parents met and married while they were both in college. I was born exactly 9 months and a day from the date my parents married. In fact, I was born the day after my Mom's birthday. I was the first granddaughter on both sides of the family and during those early years I had both sets of grandparents wrapped around my little finger. And if I do say so myself as a baby, I was awfully cute -- dark curly hair, bright ebony eyes and a megawatt smile. I was pretty full of myself, too, a quality that in later life has both served me well and been the source of more than one comeuppance. When I was a toddler, my paternal grandparents took care of me while my parents finished school and worked long hours to support us. Every morning my grandfather would rise before dawn and walk several miles and back to the nearest produce stand to buy fruit for my breakfast. I would sit on his knee scarfing down spoonfuls of oatmeal and banana he so lovingly fed me while regaling me with his favorite tunes, most notably "You Are My Sunshine". I guess you could say I was spoiled rotten and that I learned to associate rich, starchy, sweet food with my PaPa's even sweeter love and generosity. Here is a poem I wrote to honor the memory of my grandfather and to acknowledge his undiminishing love and support for me throughout his life: Summerfield April. Nothing dies in spring, I tell him dismissing the dimness preying at the corner of his silver eyes. As always, I dig for refuge in the crook of his lumbering form. In his time, my father said, he was a rounder, a rake even, a character from riverboat legend. I know him only as the leathered giant who wakes at dawn to fetch berries for my breakfast, tightens my stirrup as we set out for pastures dappled with sunshine and hay, spoils me ripe and luscious. September. Light shortens toward the bow. I release him to the fold, allow him, finally, his comfort of the dark. I will not forgive him. Nor will any man who follows. When I was 3 and my baby sister Sandy just a newborn, my father graduated from college and signed on as a pilot in the Air Force and our family began wandering across country and around the world -- Oklahoma, Florida, Puerto Rico, Japan and Okinawa. I have little memory of the details of this life other than from the picture books my Mom so lovingly crafted but I know it left a lasting impression on me and planted a seed for the wanderlust that would call me like a siren's song to adventure throughout most of my adult life. In 1959, we returned to the states, to my mother's home in south Louisiana, My father found work, first, as a pilot for an oil company and later as a insurance broker, mortgage banker, and then finally a developer and contractor. We settled into bayou country in a little slate green house among massive live oaks and magnolia trees and the overripe smells of this liquid, languid climate. My mother was a stunning and creative soul. She packed a mighty wallop for being 5'2" and around 100 lbs. She was the lost middle child in her family of origin. All of her life she suffered from horrific migraine headaches, an affliction it was my sister's misfortune to inherit. I, on the other hand, received the legacy of my mother's addictions. To deal with the pain and debilitation and the sadness that most of her early years because she could not win approval from her family and did not know how to live the life of an artist she truly wanted, my mother became addicted to prescription pills and later to alcohol. Her struggle with addiction became the designated problem in our family, as did my war with my body. Only recently have I come to fully grasp that my battles with food and my weight are the same addictive process as was my Mom's issues with other substances. In her 40's, after she and my Dad divorced and she checked herself into an alcohol and drug abuse treatment center, my mother created from scratch a new and satisfying life for herself. She set out on a process of physical and spiritual recovery that continued for the remainder of her life. She died at the age of 68 of emphysema. Unfortunately, smoking was an addiction she was never able to conquer. For my sister and me, my mother's life and story came to serve as an inspiration for the courage, grace, and graciousness that it is possible to cultivate in our middle and later years if we approach life and its challenges with bravado, commitment, and a certain sweetness and generosity of spirit. I adored my mother and was devasted when she died so suddenly I felt as if I'd been hit by a train. She had hidden from us, and fromherself, how seriously ill she was, though if we had been paying attention we would have realized what was happening. But I never had the time, or never found it, to tell her what she meant to me and how important she was to me, how much I would miss her. I never had the chance to say goodbye. The other side of the story is that my mother could all of us who loved her a little batty. She was often an obsessive perfectionist and sometimes she displayed the absolute worst of her princess qualities -- she could be terribly selfish, demanding, and self-absorbed. Our worlds revolved around her most of her days as surely as the planets circumnavigate the sun. She was lovely and mercurial and funny and difficult and charming and talented and fearful and generous and selfish, all in one tiny, shimmering, unstable and explosive package. I miss her the way I would miss the air. My sister and I spent most of our summers growing up on our grandfather's farm in central Mississippi, in a little hamlet known as Bovina. There we rode horses, chased cows and chickens, flew around the countryside in the back of my grandfather's pickup with our pigtails flying behind us. We swam in the creek and helped my grandmother shell butterbeans and black-eyed peas. We ate watermelon and then fell asleep on the front porch swing listening to the owl and cricket song. But my favorite activity was sitting under the broad branches of a pecan tree that kept watch over my grandparent's Civil War-era farm as I devoured books like Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Gone With the Wind and snacked on all the sweet and starchy goodies I found in my grandmother's kitchen. I began packing on excess weight when I was 11 or so, around the time I started my period. It freaked my poor father out. As a handsome college football player with sea blue eyes, sandy brown hair and muscles to spare, he dated movie stars and beauty queens, including my Mom. My mother was a knockout, petite with exotic dark eyes and long wavy dark hair. My father only wanted the best for me and as far as he was the concerned, the best I could do would be to win the heart of my very own knight in shining armour. But my body and my own innate inclinations had other ideas. By the time I reached high school, I stood 5'4" and weighed 160 pounds. My principal extra-curricular activities in high school included debate, serving as editor of the school news paper, and writing feature articles for the local paper. For a time I was a member of the school's drill squad but suffered a severe injury to my legs and ankles during an accident at a football game when a bleacher collapsed and I fell from the top row. During my sophomore year in high school, I met and began dating my future husband. He was two years my elder, a freshman at the local community college, and a former basketball player for the high school I attended. He was and still a beautiful man with golden hair and blue eyes and a good heart. His dream was always to become and succeed as a lawyer, and so he has. Over the years I have gained and lost hundreds of pounds. I discovered low carb diets my senior year in high school. I think the fad at the time was that icky liquid protein made of cow hoofs, or some such disgusting ingredient. But I tried it, lost my hunger, and the weight melted off. I kept it off, too, until I married my high school sweetheart when I was 18, just out of high school. I immediately became pregnant and gained to a hefty 190 pounds. My son was born in August 1971. We named him after both of my grandfathers whose birthdays were also in early August. When my son was a week old, my dad and I took him to Bovina to introduce him to my PaPa, whose health was failing rapidly after an extended illness. I placed my son in my grandfather's quivering arms and they rocked back and forth on the front porch swing all afternoon as my grandfather serenaded his namesake with "You Are My Sunshine". Two weeks later my grandfather died and this is my favorite memory of him. My son has grown up tall and slender and strong and honerable. He is a little slew-footed and has reddish blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He is the spitting image of my PaPa. When my son was 3, I returned to college, after losing once again most of my extra weight. This time I think it was the Stillman diet that did the trick. After my husband finished law school, I also went to law school because it seemed the practical thing to do at the time. What I really wanted to do but would not allow myself the possibility of it because it seemed such a fantasty was get a Ph.D. in literature or a MFA in creative writing and teach college literature and writing courses and write myself. I only have two big regrets in my life and the first one is never allowing myself to go for what I most wanted. Joseph Campbell says that the most important lesson myths teach us is to follow our bliss. I now know that this is right. If we are not living what we love with the people we love, we do not live, really, but only survive. When I finished law school, my husband and I divorced. I guess the only explanation I have for how this could happen is that I seemed to know more at that time about how to end the struggles in our young marriage than how to make it work. At this point I began a nomad's life traveling around the country chasing a law teaching career. I fell in love and had a very intense long distance relationship that ended with as much fireworks as it had begun. Here are two poems I wrote about my feelings about this exciting and ultimately destructive relationship, one from the beginning and the other after the end: Nogales I wore red the summer we rode your Harley into the sanguine desert trying not to hear Dylan�s tangled blue heart breaking up inside our heads. I forgot my passport. You teased and said you would abandon me there, visit when the air broke with sage and the monsoonal flow. We flew home beneath a tangerine moon stalked by ecstasy, chasing pregnant shadow-puppets across the face of shifting mountains of glass. Left Over A howl then a screech settles on my ear. �Mention my name�, he says, tossing a half-eaten pear into the smooth mouth of the river. A family of sandpiper scatters like dust into recognizing itself. I am not awake. The noise of the city draws me into its seductive current. A screech here, a howl there, it�s all the same to me. The din stretches into waves as the man sputters away. I remain undisturbed in the slick wake of his arrogance. Somehow the birds manage to eke a living from this over-fished sea. My major focus after this relationship ended was my career. I taught law for many years then worked as a mediator for a number years and finally burned out on legal work in 1999. I returned to school in 1999 to pursue a masters degree in educational technology after having become terribly curious about the potential in online learning. In 2003 I completed this degree program and got a job working with an educational software company. This work proved to be as or more challenging than legal work, especially due to my deteriorating health related to my lifelong battle with food and my weight. From high school through my 51st birthday in 2003, I continued with a cycle of gaining and losing weight and then gaining it back again. Every time I put on the weight, I would get disgusted with myself and try another version of a low carb regime. In the late 80's and all through the 90's, I tried several low-carb protein-sparing diets (i.e. Medifast, Optifast, etc.). Invariably I would lose the weight again and keep it off, typically for several years. In addition to repeatedly doing protein-sparing diets, I began using phen/fen in the mid-90s and continued to use them until 1998. Despite using weight loss medication for several years (or, perhaps, because of this) I gained the weight back and I found myself growing increasingly ill. I didn't grasp until it was too late that going on and off diets and medication to lose weight was the problem, not the solution. It took half a lifetime to step back and see the insanity of these patterns and lifestyle and the emotional knots that perpetuated them. In 1992 I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis and cystic ovaries. I know now it was poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), an insulin condition. At the age of 39 I had a full hysterectomy. In 1997, I became very ill and gallbladder disease was diagnosed. The offending organ was removed laproscopically. My gallbladder turned out to hydropsed, another word for almost dessicated, and the surgery was a great deal more difficult than anticipated. I had to remain in the hospital for several days to recover. In reality it took me more than seven years to recover. By 1998, I had put on 20 pounds. I was already 50 pounds overweight. This was the year my mother passed away from emphysema. My sister slapped me with an ultimatum: Either I quit smoking or lose my sister. My sister was right to do this and with her help, along with zyban and the patches, I did quit smoking. Within a few months after quitting smoking I had gained 40 more pounds. Until recently, I couldn't see or enjoy the health benefits from being smoke-free. At my heaviest after I quit smoking, I weighed 280. I no longer even recognized myself when I looked in the mirror. I looked like one of those pillow dolls whose face face is defined by fluff rather than by features. I was Sisyphus pushing a huge boulder up a hill. With few steps the massive rock rolled down on top of me, leaving me breathless and distraught at the futility. I had no energy. Just getting up in the morning seemed to take more energy than I could muster. My doctor, widely viewed as one of the finest internists in the stae, was at a loss for how to help me and prescribed anti-depressants. The medication helped me to feel a bit better but I still could not lose weight even after adopting low carb as a lifestyle, not just a diet. After two years of living the low carb life, I had lost 10 pounds and was down to 270. In late 2002 I was hired for what turned out to be a very challenging job that involved a great deal more travel than I'd been told. The stress of the job and the travel was more than I could handle. In April 2003 my doctor diagnosed insulin resistant and put me on Metformin. I lost 15 pounds down to 255 but couldn't budge an ounce from there. In the next few months I was also diagnosed with acid reflux, sleep hypoxia and weight-related asthma. I was lucky it was just asthma. At first it was thought I had developed pulmonary hypertension related to taking phen/fen for several years. In short, I was a mess and watched with an unfamiliar sense of helplessness and hopelessness as my future rapidly began to recede to a horizon beyond my grasp. I'm a smart person, right? I've based my whole life on being smart. I'm one of the most over-degreed people on the planet. I have 3 graduate degrees. I'm a lawyer, for heaven's sake. In fact I was a law teacher and a mediator and an educational technologist. How could I allow this to happen to me? In August 2003, I was laid off from my job as an educational technologist. There was a merger on the horizon and the company would soon be downsized but I knew in my heart that at least one factor leading to my termination was that I simply couldn't keep up with the travel and the work. I certainly was no where near my best. Because my career has always been the highest priority to me, the recognition of this was appalling to me. I was tired, depressed, and unhealthy and I knew I couldn't live like this, must less perform at any satisfactory level the kind of challenging work I've always done. Of course, I had been hearing about WLS for a number of years beginning with Carrie Wilson's experience, followed by Al Roker's and other celebrities. I researched the options for type of surgery and for surgeons in my area. I even contacted a surgeon, the surgeon I ended up using several years later, for information but I didn't follow through. I've always been very willful and determined and believed more than anything that I should be able to lose the weight myself. I'm smart, I told myself. I work hard. I'm not lazy. I can figure this out. Yet, despite trying with every ounce of will and want I had, I could not make it happen. Not only couldn't I lose weight but I couldn't intervene in or stop the onslaught of health issues that increasingly prevented me from functioning even at a minimally acceptable level. I could not by the force of will, discipline, or effort or the power of diet or exercise could turn things around. And no one could tell me why. I was a failure, or at least I felt like one. At this lowest of my low points, without a job, with my health and life in the can, I knew I had only two choices -- do something drastic to regain my health or surrender to the precipitous decline that inexorably would lead to disability in my early 50's, as well as to a premature death. One morning soon after this epiphany I woke up knowing that my only option, the only thing I hadn't tried, was weight-loss surgery. At I looked back over the last 40+ years, I realized that I could not get where I needed to go without meaningful help. As radical as the surgery option is I knew from my research that there is no treatment currently available for people in my situation with any realistic hope of getting weight off and keeping it off for any significant period of time except weight-loss surgery. As important, my research indicated that even above and beyond weight loss, there is some way in which, though not fully explained yet, this surgery reverses problems like acid reflexu and insulin issues before the person is even ready to leave the hospital. I also realized from my research that choosing the surgery option came with serious risks and was not to be undertaken lightly as a quick fix. People die from this surgery, or its after effects. Even when successful, the surgery itself is neither magic bullet nor pancea. It is a tool -- a kind of metabolic reset button - that gives people in my situation a fresh start and the wherewithal to relearn, or learn for the first time, good habits of exercise and eating and lifestyle. If I could have gotten to this point without something as severe as this surgery, I certainly would have. I gave it my best effort for 40 + years and I never got there, at least not permanently or even consitently. All I ever did was ride the food and weight cycling roller coaster. And I was sick from it. Weight loss surgery offered me the chance that no amount of will power and effort ever did -- to opportunity to form a relationship with my body, to learn to decode its signals and respond to its needs, to love and nurture it with the same devotion and care that I do my mind and spirit. Who says this old dog can't learn a few new tricks in the ripeness of middle age? Anything is possible, I believe, once we are committed, once we reach a point from trial and error, agony and passion, blame and compassion, that finally aligns body, mind, and soul and all the creative forces of the cosmos to come to together in support of the realization of our purest, most profound desires. I want to live. I want to be healthy. I want balance and passion and sanity and laughter and love. Weight loss surgery was the only road I knew could get me there.This is my time of rebirth. This is ny moment when the butterfly cracks through its prison and flys off into its brave new world. It is this moment. Or it is never. This is one of my favorite poems because it speaks to my heart and my journey unlike anything else I've encountered. I did not write it. It was written by the incredibly gifted poet Mary Oliver. Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting � over and over announcing your place in the family of things. from Dream Work by Mary Oliver published by Atlantic Monthly Press � Mary Oliver

Dr. Snyder is obviously a busy surgeon with a great reputation working in a growing area of medicine (maybe I should say shrinkin!). At my initial consultation I found out that he is also very personable. He was very pleasant to deal with, I had no trouble giving him information that is so personal (regarding weight, you know, there is always the shame). The office staff is pleasant. I think that they are very busy though, and I hope they hire more staff soon. I don't like feeling as if I am bothering them if I have a question. Maybe even email updates regarding the status of insurance, scheduling, etc.? Bless Dolly's heart, she's a little tornado - she needs a helper! I appreciated the written materials the Dr. gives at the seminar. It has helped me a lot to know generally what to expect. I'm hauling it around and rereading, which would normally drive me insane. The Dr. recommended re-reading though, and it has been helpful.

Very kind and understanding, Dr Snyder is quick to make you feel comfortable. He is upfront and honest about the procedure and what to expect after. His after care program is extensive and requires you to attend several sessions with a great nurse who helps you to relearn your eating habits. Dr Snyder is a very high energy person and sometimes you feel a little rushed with him, so be prepared with your questions before you go in. He is a great surgeon who I would not hesitate going to again in the future.

My surgery was Feb. 11th 2004 Comments About Dr. Michael A. Snyder: Dr. Snyder was wonderful throughout my whole process. I first met him at an informational forum which he conducts monthly. His office staff also was in attendance and I was able to meet and speak with them as well. They are all very helpful, warm, understanding and extremely knowledgable. Dr. Snyder truly is compassionate to the needs and issues of obesity. Dr. Snyder offers a very informative and structured program to educate you ever step of the way. The aftercare is very well structuted and he and his staff are readily available every step of the way to discuss any concerns you may have.

I love my outlook. I hate waking up in the morning and have problems putting on my pants. I hate that I cannot take a walk without being out of breath... I want to do so many things, but feel breathless when doing it. 2/9/04 I AM APPROVED!!!! OH MY.... I am APPROVED.... I cant believe it. I called Dolly and we set a date.... in 2 wks!!! 2/24/04. OH MY... I am so happy/scared/nervous/excited. I cant believe it was all wait wait wait wait... then boom... here it is. 2/16/04 I must tell you, my PCP Dr.Lumian is absolutely wonderful!!!! He has already done all my pre-op work and has sent it to Rose and is going to be there during the surgery. He is so awesome.... THank you DR. LUMIAN!!!! I cant believe that my surgery is in just over 7 days. I am so ready for this... just like everyone else here. I go for my pre-op visit with Dr. Snyder on wed 2/18... Dr Snyder is also the best!!! 2/21/04.... only 3 days to go.... wow... I cant belive how fast everything is happening. I started my pre-op diet today... well actually 2 days ago.... for 4-5 days before surgery no high calorie carbs, and you start on metamucil... today is day one of the NO meat,no salads, no veggies, no dairy, no fried/fatty foods... wow ... what does that leave??? well, chicken noodle soup for one... just pick out the chicken and broth of course... applesauce, sugarfree jello.... I cant wait until tuesday :) 2/22/04.... only 2 more days and i will be on the losing side. If I wanted to be technical it is really less than 48 hours... wow... that is scary...but so very exciting. I am off work tomorrow.... I work until late so I am glad I took it off. I will not update more until I have returned home.... take care everyone.... 3/5/04... well I did it .... I am now on the losing side :) I am down a total of 20 pounds already... 310 now. I am not seeing any real difference in pictures but my clothes are loser. I am still on oxygen.... I came home 6 days ago... I am moving around the house fine now... I am tired. I havent been using the pain meds in a couple of days... although I do wish I had taken some before they took out the JP drain... that was not pleasant for me.... I will update more soon. Love A 4/3/04... I cant believe I havent posted in so long!!!!... according to my scales... I am down 44 pounds.... 286 now. I cant wait to be at 50 or 60 pounds.... I know it will come but ... not soon enough :)... I start on normal food next week... in 4 days actually.... I cant wait. Love A 4/7/04.... 285 :), down 45 pounds. I am kinda stuck here now. I started on solid foods today :)... I am so glad to be here. Not much to say today, love A 4/11/04... 278... down 52 pounds. I was on the scale this morning and I couldnt believe my eyes. WOOHOO. I am so happy I did this surgery. Food is not a major component of my day... I know I have to eat but I dont want too. I am eating 2 oz portions per volume and about 6 times a day. (per md's instructions)I have had my bad days. I am loving exercise... I really feel so good afterwards... THANK YOU DR SNYDER!!!! love, A 5/8/04....264... down 66 pounds. I am scheduled for my 3 month appointment with Dr. Snyder on the 26th. I am hoping to have passed the 70 pound mark by that time. I feel really good. I work out 6 days a week... 3 days weight training, and 3 days aerobic, including 100 crunches 7 days a week :). I can really tell a difference in my clothes... my husband tells me "you're the incredible shrinking woman!!!" that feels really good. I had a really tough time with solids the first 3 wks, but the last couple of weeks have been better. I am still striving to eat 5-6 times a day... usually this is only 4 times. I have been better on my protein. I drink at least 9 glasses of water a day. Usually 12 glasses. My meal consists of 1.5 ounces of mainly protein, I have tried pasta... I dont like it anymore... I still like potatoes though. I am trying to eat mainly chicken, turkey, or roast. I am so glad I had this surgery :) Love, A 5/22/04... 260. woohoo... finially hit the 70 pound mark, can we hope for 75 pounds lost in 4 days? We can hope. I am at the point were I hate to eat, nothing tastes good, I just eat because I have to, lot of bad days where I am only eating once a day, I am trying to supplement with protein drinks though, oh well, this too shall pass :).... love, A 5/29/04....255... 75 pounds gone forever!!!!!! I cant tell you how happy I am with this wt loss. Eating is still a challenge... I have so many other things I want to do... I just want to be outside doing things.... I will update later!!!! Love, A 6/7/04.... 245.... 85 pounds vanished!!!! I am doing great!!! working out, doing crunches, eating almost like the docs want (supposed to be eating 5-6 times a day... I am at least at 4 times) enjoying life. I actually flew to MS this past week and was amazed at how much room those airline seats actually have in them.LOL.... isnt it funny how everything is getting bigger... but me LOL... love, A 6/26/04... 240... 90 pounds gone forever!!!! I didnt think I would ever get to 240. Only 10 pounds to go to reach the century club. I am wearing size 18/20 clothes and feel great!!! I am still working out 6 days out of the week and doing crunches daily... up to 240 a day. I am so happy and cant wait to see the scale march on down to 235. I am 4 months out and just wonderful. I want to lose another 20 pounds by my 6 month check up!!! Love, A 7/8/04 .... 235... 95 pounds!!!! GONE!!!! I just cant believe it. Not much has changed since last posting. I did have a stricture on 7/1 and Dr. Fishman was able to fix that. Feeling great since after dilation. 80 pounds to go!!!! I know I can do it. 70 pounds to reach my Ideal weight, but I want to lose 10 more. I am still working out and loving life!!! Thank you Dr. Snyder !!!!! Love, A 7/14/04.... 228 pounds.... 102 pounds!!!! FOREVER GONE!!!! I am doing great!!! I still have a month and a half until I reach my 6 month mark. No other problems since the stricture a couple of weeks ago. I am hoping to be 8 pounds lighter (at least) at 6 months check -up. I am still not hungry.... but am getting better about eating 5 times a day. Love, A 8/2/04.... 225... 105 pounds gone!!!! Talk about slowing of weight loss!!!! It is really slow now.... Hopefully it will speed up soon. I have been here for about 2 wks with no sign of moving. It is a little scary... I am very ready to be out of the 200's... 25 pounds to go, 26 to be exact. I have been slacking off on the workout over the past 2 wks... I need to get back into the grove. I am going to hit it hard over the next month and see where we are at that point. I still do not have an appetite... I am trying to eat more but cant seem to handle anything over 2 ounces. I have my bad days and my good ones... Just like everyone else I am sure :). Love,A 8/19/04... 220... 110 pounds lost. I have recently increased my exercise... I had been relaxing a little too much over the past month. I have started doing tae bo and pilates. It has really helped to increase my stamina in life so far. I go next week for my 6 month eval with patrick. My oh my how time flies!!! My life is so wonderful now... I can work all day... I usually get up before 5 am and go to bed at 10. I put in really long days and love it... before WLS there is no way I could go so long :) ... Loving life, A 9/21/04.... 210... 120 pounds lost. I have been slacking in the exercise department. I am in the process of moving so I have been pre-occupied with packing. But I know that is no excuse. I have 11 pounds to go to hit my first big goal... "be under 200". I love that I had this surgery. NOthing more to say at this time. Love, A 10/8/04....205...125 pounds lost. We just moved to Northeastern Colorado, a small town called Holyoke. It is wonderful here. I think my gallbladder has been acting up. Pain is horrid sometimes in the upper right quad and it goes through to my back, but it does pass. My BMI is 30. That is quite a way from what it was. Just one more point and I will be just "overweight". Isnt that funny. Love A 10/19/04...200...130 pounds lost. I am having lots of pain in the URQ over the past few days... hopefully I will be having the GB removed soon. I am just waiting to see what the US showed and then schedule the procedure I guess. I am officially just "overweight". Love, A 11/04/04.... 195... 135 pounds lost. I have had my gallbladder out with Dr. Snyder and I am feeling great and free of pain. My BMI is 29 and I have a consult scheduled with Dr. Millard and Dr. Atagi for plastic surgery :) I cant wait to have everything done :) I am still working out and attempting to eat 6 times (usually I hit 4 times). I am loving life :) Love, A 12/3/04 ....190....140 pounds gone!!! What can I say... life is good. I exercise regularly, I eat well, and drink a lot of water LOL. I am 22 pounds from Dr. S goal and 40 pounds from my own goal of 150. I am wearing a size 14 woohoo!!! and M-XL shirts depending on the make. Love, A 1/16/04.... 183....147 pounds vanished! I am drinking lots of water - I average about 4L a day. I am for 5, but if I drink 4 I am happy. I am jogging - yes me - jogging. I love it. I am still in a size 14, but they are getting loser by the day. I really do love life. I am having yet another surgery however, I have to have part of my thyroid removed in the next week. Wish me well!!! Love, A 3/5/05..... 175... down 155 pounds. I am still doing the same things. Exercising like crazy - drinking water - my husband says I am going to float away. I am still jogging/running a little - 30 mins a day 6 days a week and now I have added a weight regimin! I am still planning on having a lot of plastic surgery done - everything needs to be lifted and tucked! Thyroid surgery went well- I saw Dr. S for my year appointment last week and he wants to see me at 169. It is right around the corner!!!! Love,A 2/20/06 ... 170... It has been a long time since writing. I am basically maintaining at 170 pounds. Total wt loss 160 pounds. I am still exercising, except now I can add the great news that my husband and I are expecting our first child. I am 12 wks pregnant, so the exercise has slowed significantly due to nausea and vomiting from morning sickness - hopefully this will slow in the next couple of weeks and I can get back to my routine. I go this week for my 2 year check up. I am so excited. I love seeing Dr. Snyder - he has truely changed my life! I would do it all again in a heart beat!!!! Love, A Surgeon Info: Michael A. Snyder MD (Denver, CO) My first impression Dr. Snyder was ... "this is the Doctor that I want to do this surgery"... I am a nurse and have had the opportunity to know a lot of doctors. Dr. Snyder has everything that I want in a doctor: compassion, understanding, wonderful knowledge, and willingness to listen. I have met with him for my initial consult only... and he was wonderful. He took time answering all my questions, I didnt feel rushed at all. His office staff is wonderful. Louanne is always nice to talk to... she always sounds so happy. Dollie is wonderful also... she sometimes has a way of sounding short... but over time I have noticed that she is a no-nonsense type of person who is really just a hard worker... she does everything she can to get you approved with insurance... if you can imagine our own frustration.... we only deal with us... she deals with ALL of us... I would not want her job at all. There was not one thing that I did not like about Dr. Snyder. I rate him a ten!!!! Insurer Info: United Healthcare I dont know what to say yet about UHC. Everyone I have talked to is extremely nice. They did say that it takes 4-6 wks to review my claim to deside on whether they will approve it... I dont think they are stalling, I'm glad that they have a multi-reviewer system. It is reviewed by several nurses first, then a medical director for final review. I am in wk 5 now. Hopefully I will hear something in the next wk or so. I called and made sure that there were no exclusions on my policy. I am a nurse myself and was able to sit down with the exact policy my company bought and there are no exclusions... it must be medically necessary... In order for it to be medically necessary you must have a diagnosis of morbid obesity/BMI of 40 or greater ... OR... it can be less than BMI of 40 with co-morbidities. 2/9/04... I am APPROVED!!!!

My first impression of the guy was : Dr. Snyder was very approachable and easy going. (he almost ran over my wife at the seminar :) Over a period of time I started gaing more confidence in my Doctor because of other peoples feedback. I didn't like that he was in a hurry the first time I spoke with him but I realize he is in a hurry so that he can meet everyones needs as possible. Future patients should know that Dr. Snyder really does care about you and how you do after your surgery. Dr. Snyder epphasizes after care as one of the most important parts of this journey. Dr. Snyder has a very structured after care program that involves his ecellent staff and there are rumours of an exercise program for post ops floating around. I rate him 10 out of 10 an excellent choice. When it comes to my health all of the above are important. I want nothing but the best when my life is is on the line.

10/30/03 - This is my first writing on the AMOS website. I am so excited for my surgery! It has been a long struggle to get to where I am now. I had started the process in January 2003. After a stress test that indicated a heart issue, I needed to be cleared by a Cardiologist. I received my clearance in June 2003 and then called the Surgeon. I needed to go to a seminar first before scheduling my initial consultation with him. So after going to the seminar I was scheduled to see Dr. Snyder on October 16th. My visit with him was amazing! I was only in there a few minutes and he said that I had done all my homework (as far as the pulmonary tests, psych etc), but he wanted to get two more tests. A ultrasound on my left leg (after a blood clot scare on my right leg in September that was only phlebitis) and the EGS. I was so impressed with the Surgeon. He is not some old stuffy man with no personality. When he told me that after I have insurance approval he would schedule me, I started crying. He asked me why I was crying and I said they were tears of joy. I have always been overweight and I was ready for my new (permanent) life. I received the results from both the tests yesterday and officially today I have been submitted for insurance approval! I am pretty obsessed with this surgery now! I now know 4 people who have had it done. I have been feeding off their knowledge and trials and tribulations. I figure the more knowledge I have the better off I'll be! I will let you know when (or if) I get insurance approval and when my surgery date is scheduled for. 11/22/03 - I found out I was approved on 11/14/03 - Two weeks to the day after the insurance submission. I love United Healthcare! On Tuesday, the 18th, I found out my surgery is scheduled for December 16th at 10:30 am. When I was pregnant with my son Jesse, I was able to choose his birthday. I feel December 16, 2003 is my new birthday, my new beginning, my new chance at life....my youngest son now says at least once a day, "Mommy when your skinny can we go bike riding?" I tell him we can race on those bikes and that he will not be able to catch me! 12/15/03 - Here it is - the night before my surgery! I am full of mixed emotions. My cousin Shawn Goetz from Cypress California had the surgery on November 6th and died from complications November 28th. He was my confidant, I could tell him all my fears and he understood. We were so excited to get together this summer and see how far we came and now he is gone. I will truly miss him. My family is now very apprehensive of me having the surgery. They feel it is too elective to risk. I disagree. I feel I have too much at risk if I don't have the surgery, so I elect to do it. This is no ones decision but my own. With that said: I am excited! I can't believe this day that I have been waiting for for so long has finally come. I have tremendous support from my work staff and from friends that have had the surgery. My immediate family is supportive as is Shawn's family in California. Wish me Luck! 12/30/03 - 2 weeks post op. I made it! My surgery was pretty uneventful except for the fact that I could not get rid of a headache. They tried everything however it just would not work. I was in the hospital only 4 days. I went home with oxygen because they thought that was causing my headache. I have been eating and drinking everything I am able to have. Pretty much cottage cheese, yogurt, refried beans and egg beaters. Still drinking protein shakes. I really like the prepared ones. Atkins and Resource. I went to the doctor yesterday and had the horrible drain removed. I was NOT prepared for that experience! Dr. Snyder said, "This will feel strange, but it won't hurt" He started pulling tubing out of me that I swear was 2 feet long and I could feel it uncurling inside me. It was awful! But...it didn't hurt! According to Dr. Snyder's scale, I have lost 17 pounds. According to my scale, I have lost 30 pounds. Dr. Snyder moved over the weekend and he literally pulled the scale out of a box before I got on it. We both figured his scale needed to be recalibrated so we decided on a happy median - 22 pounds. Not bad for 2 weeks! Today, I started walking and hope to be up to miles of walking a day instead of just the block. Oh well, baby steps. January 27, 2004 - Exactly 6 weeks since surgery and I am feeling Great! Looking Great too I must add! I have lost 40 pounds. I can actually fit into everything in my closet! I returned to work on January 12th. Although the office isn't busy, it is nice to be out of the house and on my way to feeling "normal". I started solid food 4 days ago. I seem to be able to handle anything as long as I chew it 50 times. I am still not eating any sugar; which is fine with me, I don't miss it!!! I have actually tested chicken again and it does not seem to bother me. If I do not chew enough before swallowing I throw up everything. I still am not hungry, and I have to force myself to eat. I do notice though when I need to eat, I get a little shaky. Last night I signed up for Curves and I start tonight. I (I can't believe) am excited for them to measure me! I took my measurements the night before surgery, but not lately. This will be exciting. I have a cruise to go on in June and I want to be buff! I found I do not like too many of the protein products. The only one I love is Optisource Caramel. The flavored waters are too sweet for me also. I try to stick with water. I am so happy. My immediate family is happy for me. My work is curious and happy for me. My only regret is not doing it sooner! I know that EVERYONE says that, but I mean every word. I have a new life! "Life is not measured by every breath we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" I believe in this quote as this is how I feel everytime I get on the scale! February 16, 2004 - Exactly 2 months post op. I have been kinda bummed because I did not lose any weight for 3 weeks! I finally got on the scale today and lost an additional 5 pounds! Yeah, I think I FINALLY broke the plateau! 45 pounds gone forever! I am to the point now where I know when to stop eating. I know to eat SLOWLY, and yes, my eyes are still bigger than my stomach! The easiest thing to do when eating out with family or friends is to "pick" off their plates. I hate to waste food. Besides, leftovers are not always appealing to me later in the day. My life has been pretty hectic in the last 2 weeks. We found out last week that my husband has a tumor in his spinal cord. He is having surgery this Friday. His father passed away from complications due to a malignant brain tumor, so needless to say I am a little (a lot) worried. Please think happy thoughts and pray for him. Thank you. 5/1/04 - Wow! It has been so long since I have written....Everything is good with my husband. The doctor took the tumor out and it was benign. Great News. Dave was then sent to Spalding Rehabilitation hospital for 6 weeks so he could learn to walk again. His right arm is also very weak. There was NO permanent paralysis from the surgery. Again Great News. He is now home and trying to restart his appraisal business. I am down 75 pounds and 38 inches. I just can't believe it! With everything I have been through...I am still losing weight. I am trying really hard to get in all my protein and take care of my hair. I use Nexxus products....Therape Shampoo and Humectress it seems to be working well. I have seen too many post op patients with straw looking/thinning hair. I don't want that. To me my hair was/is my best feature prior to surgery. I don't want to look like a cancer patient! I really think protein is the key! I go on a cruise the first of June. I can't wait! I am not buying any summer clothes until the weekend before. I am hoping to lose at least 25 more pounds by then. Wish me luck! 8/6/2004-As you can tell I am not a very good writer. I wanted to write today because I have finally hit the century mark! 100 Pounds gone! Forever! Woo Hoo! I did the "happy dance" around the scale this morning! I feel amazing! I feel invincible! I feel stronger! I feel more self assured! It is really great when my kids teenage friends tell me I look great! What a compliment! From Dumpy Mom to Cool Mom! In June we went on vacation for a week to DisneyWorld and a week on the Disney Cruise. It was so much fun! You could not keep me off any of the rollercoasters! I have not been able to fit onto any of those rides since I was a little kid. Some rides were even too scary for my teenagers! I went to waterparks, the beach, even the Pool (imagine that!)in a BATHING SUIT! Oh my.... Have to say I looked pretty good. I still have skin sagging everywhere, but it will be better next year. My eating habits are about the same. Gotta get in that protein everyday! I usually eat a Yoplait Ultra Yogurt with FlaxOMeal Granola in it for breakfast. Trail Mix for snack. Salad for lunch, and Dinner with the family. My weakness is after Dinner. I like to snack then. Usually on popcorn or sugarfree cookies. I try to save that only for the weekends, which is REALLY hard to do! I still have not tried anything with Sugar in it....don't want to. I had such a sweet tooth before that getting back into that habit would be seriously detrimental to my weight loss goals. I don't miss it. There is a lot of SF products out there that are good. Till I write again..... Surgeon Info: Michael A. Snyder MD (Denver, CO) My first impression of Dr. Snyder was that he was young and very jittery. However, upon hearing his lecture and his expertise on the subject he impressed me. He is funny but serious when he needs to be. His office staff is very, very nice. I am glad he moved to a new office because his old one was kind of dark and dumpy! Regarding the surgery, I was annoyed at first with his "fly-bys" in the early morning because I didn't think I was awake enoungh to talk to him before he was gone! I know he has a lot of patients to see - I guess I just wanted MY TIME! On a rating of 1 - 10, I would give Dr. Snyder a 7. Insurer Info: United Healthcare

Miracles hidden in coincidence brought me to the idea, and eventual reality, of bariatric surgery. Three people encouraged me to look into the surgery in less than 24 hours when, before that date, I had only heard of celebrities having such a thing done. (10/03) I believe I have been lead to the surgery for several reasons; to save my own life, vastly improve my quality of life, and continue the pursuit of my counseling degree so that I may assist others in their life journeys. (12/03) I am losing weight rapidly and feeling more like the person I always knew was inside of the morbidly obese body I carried around for over 20 years. I thank God, Dr. Snyder, and his lovely staff for their assistance in directing me to this best of gifts ... bariatric surgery! (5/04) I've lost 118 lbs. and feel fantastic. The eating plan for the pouch is changing so I can slow down my weight loss. My diabetes has been gone since 3 days in the hospital!! All of my blood work has been perfect (except for needing more calcium, which I immediatley upped). I've happily embraced my new clothes sizes (pants 16-18 from 32, shirt Lg from 3x, shoes 8B from 9W, underwear 9 from 15, bra 38B from 40C). The best part is the energy and the ability to move! I go out dancing with friends and can wear heels and little clothes. (10/04) I've been at weight now (160 lbs.) for almost 3 months. It was a miracle to have my surgeon (let alone any doctor) tell me that I shouldn't lose any more weight. It's been a challenge to learn how to stop this tool from doing it's job so efficiently, but I've done it. I thank God for my doctor's staff and their continued availability for education and support. Dr. Michael Snyder and Denver Bariatrics(.com) are fantastic ! (12/05) Just got back from the National OH Convention in California. Saturday night I wore a slinky size 8 dress, 8 shoes, 36D bra (Thank you Dr. Capraro!!!), size 6 sexy undies and a grin a mile wide! Two years out and my weight is a constant 147 to 150 lbs. my blood work is perfect and my health is tremendous. It's always a shot in the arm to be around all of the amazing people that have chosen to undergo this surgery to save and change their lives. As I have chosen to dedicate much of my time to educating people in the use of this surgery - these courageous people continue to inspire and move me. Thanks to everyone !!!! Michael A. Snyder MD (Denver, CO) An amazingly compassionate man, Dr. Snyder speaks passionately about the pros and cons of the surgery and follow up care. He pulls NO punches. -- My opinion has not changed over time as he continues to keep close tabs on all of his patients. -- His staff is amazing, responsive, helpful, funloving, and people I always look forward to seeing. -- Dr. Snyder expects his patients to follow the program he has developed to a T. His program allows for maximum results & he knows it! Be prepared to read and learn! -- The aftercare program is one of the most structured I have ever read about and not at all hard to follow. Lots of things to read and people to turn to in support groups or one-on-one discussions. -- Pre-Op, Surgical and Post-Op manner is professional and no-nonsense.