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Jackie is 50 years old. She works in Manhattan and lives on Long Island. She’s been overweight her entire life,. She’s tried a variety of weight-loss techniques. Some would work for a while, then the weight would come back on. She was a smoker, but gave it up, which led to putting on even more weight.
Two years ago, at age 48, she had a health scare. She was hospitalized with pancreatitis. “I looked around me in the hospital, and just about everyone was 30 years older than me. It was an eye opener.”
Jackie is 5-foot-7 and weighed more than 260 pounds when she was hospitalized. She knew it was time to take action.
After her health scare, Jackie decided to visit the New York Bariatric Group. ” All my options were clearly presented to me. I appreciated that. I chose the one that seemed the best for me.” She chose laparoscopic adjustable lap-band surgery, which she had on May 31, 2011.
“I never had a major surgery before. The care was excellent. The procedure went well with not much pain. It did require an overnight stay in the hospital. A nurse woke me up every two hours to walk the halls to make sure that there would be no blood clots.”
Upon returning home, Jackie was instructed to continue to walk every day. Pureed food and protein shakes were her diet immediately after surgery.
“I noticed right away how soon I would get that feeling of being full,” she said. “I was feeling really good after just a few days.”
And the weight came off very quickly. “Even faster than I was told to expect,” she said.
Today, she’s 80 pounds lighter and feels like a new woman. “I have just 10 to 15 pounds to go,” she says. Now she belongs to a gym and exercises three to four times a week, using the treadmill, elliptical machine and weights.
“I have so much more energy now,” she says. “Now I want to exercise.”
She recently took a trip to Belize and enjoyed climbing the Mayan ruins “without panting,” she said.
“Before I wouldn’t consider some the extra activities like ziplining or helicopter rides. Now I can’t wait to do those things on my next cruise.”
She does a lot of walking in Manhattan and on the Brooklyn Bridge. Like all New Yorkers, she remembers 9/11 vividly. “Ever since then, I’ve had a fear that something like that could happen again, and I wouldn’t be able to move quick enough. Now that I am in better shape that fear is gone.”
In a recent visit to upstate New York, she completed a one-mile mountainous trek “almost effortlessly. That wouldn’t have been possible before.” Previously, she wore size 22 pants. Now, she wears size 14. “I’ve lost 8 to 10 inches around my waist.” There is much to like about her new life, she says. “My knees don’t hurt anymore. And while I’m not much of a shopper, it’s great to buy clothes off the rack instead of at specialty shops.”
She also says that people look at her differently now. “I do feel that people are treating me more respectfully.”
If you’ve tried all the diets and they don’t seem to be working for you, we invite you to make an appointment to see one of our surgeons by calling our office at (516) 616-5500 or, if you prefer, use our online contact form to start a conversation now.
