4 YEARS POSTOP AND FEELING FINE

[Guest guest]

Hi -

It was 4 years ago yesterday, January 29th I left Bay City, MI to have my

surgery.

My friend, Patti, and I were accompanied by our loving and patient

husbands. I was

excited and scared, but have never had one regret. Many may have already

read or heard my story, but as boring as it may be today 4 years later

the story remains the same. I lost 186 pounds and I am still very

healthy. The annual labs came back a couple of weeks ago and look great,

per Dr. Doroghazi. I pray for boring to continue.

The last 4 years have flown by and the changes seemed to be daily

for quite some time. I lost the following: 17 pounds the first week 37

pounds the 1st month 71 pounds in 3 month 112 pounds in 6 months 173

pounds in 1 year 186 pounds lost in 14 months and stabilized to date.

I fluctuate a 10 pounds, but typically stay right where I was at 14

months. I will say that I do have to use my surgery as the tool it was

designed. In the first 3 years I ate whatever and whenever I wanted, but

in the last year I feel I need to pay more attention. The 10 pounds are

manageable, but I do not want to let the 10 pounds feel comfortable. I

have provided a " book " below, but the summary of it is that this is one

of the BEST decisions I have made in my life. I am thankful for not only

Dr. Rutledge and his great drive to provide us this gift, his wonderful

staff, Patti (not only my special surgery friend, but my

sharing buddy if you ask our husbands. we always share our food and

drive them crazy) my close friends that encouraged me to research the MGB

option, and my very supportive family and friends. I really do feel good.

I look forward

to the days ahead.

I love seeing my labs come back confirming that I am healthy too!

My name: Kim Hazen

Surgery: 1/29/02

Pre-op: 332

Present weight: 146

Dr. Rutledge and his staff were wonderful. I was a little uncomfortable

in the beginning only communicating online, but once I spoke to Dr.

Rutledge on the phone and in person I felt completely confident that I

had made the best decision for me. I feel that Dr. Rutledge is caring,

but also tells it like it is. He believes in what he prescribes. If he

says to leave pop out of your diet then he expects that you will do

what's good for your body. I

always remember that he told us he has given us a tool, but not a miracle.

We're now on the same fair playing field as average sized people.

The staff is awesome. They not only are helpful, but can relate to the

questions, concerns, and excitement, since most of them are also post op

patients of the MGB procedure. They were very professional while being

personal and caring before, during and following the surgery. I still

know I can contact them and receive their support. Today I can even

contact our MGB surgeon locally, Dr. Doraghazi. He's a very caring surgeon.

I went with a friend to have surgery. Our husbands drove us down and

spent the week with us. We went to a mini clinic prior to surgery. My

surgery took 25 minutes and I was done. I couldn't believe it. I was

very nervous, but so glad to be done. I had no pain following surgery. I

never needed the pump or oral pain medicines. I did have nausea. Dr.

Rutledge asked me if I wanted to stay an additional night, but after they

gave me

something I took a short nap and was fine when I woke up. I went back

to the hotel and did fine. I did experience some mild nausea off and on

for a few weeks. I didn't want anything sweet and during the liquids

period I drank V8 juice, soup broths, and 's Tomato soup,

Gatorade, and very very limited amounts of orange juice.

We stayed in Statesville for 7 days and left after having our staples

removed. We weren't real active, but did go to the area malls and look

around everyday. We joined our husbands for dinners and we split a cup of

broth.

In the beginning, I had a tough time getting in enough protein and

Gatorade. I had low energy. I craved the fruits and vegetables, but

after a few conversations with Dr. Rutledge and staff they convinced me

that I needed more protein and Gatorade. I soon felt much better. My

favorite foods in the beginning were shrimp, tuna, fish, turkey

lunchmeat, cottage cheese, eggs, etc for protein. I could eat chicken if

it was in a casserole type meal. Now I can eat it plain. The only foods

I avoid is ice cream and milk. I get

very gassy and don't like the way it makes me feel. Other than that I

eat about whatever. I just make very different choices. I eat very

little bread, because it's so filling.

I am thrilled. I started in size 26-28 clothes and today I am buying

6-8's. Most of my clothes are size 6 now. I have never been a size 6.

When I bought 10's they just as well as

been a size 2 I couldn't have been any happier. I fought my weight my

entire life. I stayed small enough in high school to be on the pom pon

squad, but it was a struggle. Right after graduation I had my first

child and gained 60 pounds.

I am a 42 year old happily married mother of 3. I have a 24 year old son

(a sweet daughter-in-law that has made me a grandma.... to a beautiful 4

year old little guy and a 2 year old grand daughter), a 20 year old

daughter, and a 11 year old son. Even though I fought my weight while

the older 2 were young I still actively did things with them such

as skiing, skating, theme parks, etc. I found that after the birth of my

youngest son I

avoided more and more partly because it took too much effort and some

things weren't

possible or I worried that I would no longer be safe on the roller

coaster rides, etc. I dreaded every time I got on an airplane until I

hooked the seat belt and felt a sigh of relief that it fit one more time.

I hated it. I now get more excited than my youngest son, , when we

get the school skate night invitations. We took a quick trip to Disney

and rode every ride we came across. I was as happy spending time with my

son as the free feeling that I was no longer an observer of those having

fun. It was GREAT! I was an assistant coach for my son's soccer team a

couple years ago and I would have never done that before surgery. I

still know very little about the game, but know that I can physically

keep up with the kids now and enjoy it! I even went downhill skiing last

winter. It was AWESOME even after 15 years. My newest goal was that I

went water skiing in July, 2004. I have not skied since the birth of my

first son. It has been over 24 years. I came right up out of the water.

This summer I even dropped a ski. My husband said even going down he

could see the smile on my face. I am able to literally play with my son

and grand children and it takes no effort. I still am amazed...

It has been a very busy year. I felt very lucky and loved before

surgery, but feel like I have been gifted with another blessing of not

fighting my weight on a daily basis. I now have to concentrate more on

what I will eat not because I can't eat bad foods, but more because I

want to ensure that I get enough of the right nutrients on a daily basis

to stay

healthy. I owe that to myself and my family. Don't get me wrong there

are days I

want 'bad' stuff, but I no longer beat myself over it. I eat a little

and get me fill and move on.

My friends and family have been very supportive. It's fun to share in

their excitement. My surgery buddy encouraged me to join a women's

exercise facility. I was always active, but hated real exercise. I now

look forward to it. I can't believe I said that, but its true. I go 3

times a week.

The first winter after surgery I was home from work studying and all by

myself, since the kids were in school. I ran upstairs to get something

and then decided to run up and down the stairs another 6-10 times just

because " I CAN. " It felt wonderful.

I love shopping now more than ever. That may be the only real down fall

I have found. I love to spend money on clothes. Okay, maybe its now a

down fall, but all the change made my wardrobe a revolving door for a while.

I feel really good. I haven't had much of the dumping. I did notice

during the holidays that I was eating small amounts, but more fatty

foods. I can do that on occasion, but not

when all the foods are bad they made me feel yucky. Overall, I eat

regular foods. I eat

smaller amounts and haven't had any problems with rice, meat, or other

mentioned foods. I just can't eat much of some of them. I have loose skin

on my upper arms and thighs, but am not sure if I will do something to

correct this another year down the road or not. I have not decided.

I do recommend this surgery to others. I have several friends and family

that said I was the example for them making their decision to have the

MGB surgery. Each of them are on their road to experiencing these

wonderful changes. I get so excited for each of them. I think this is a

very personal decision and not right for everyone. This surgery has made

me more accountable for my long term health. The need to realize that

its a commitment to vitamins and regular check ups to avoid malabsorption

issues. My cousin who's a

surgeon in Texas really believes that the MGB is the best solution

available today.

I do believe in the MGB after 14 years with a chemical company as an

accountant I have been fortunate enough to become part of the CLOS staff

and be able to help others along this journey. If you have other

questions I would be more than happy to answer and I wish you the best.

Kim Hazen

Director of CLOS MI

Centers for Laparoscopic Obesity Surgery

Phone: 989-450-8081

Fax: 989-671-9813

E-mail: Khazen@...

Please visit our website at:

www.clos.net