My Patients
Personal Stories
Jody - San Diego, CA
My name is Jody Lopez and I had laparoscopic RNY gastric bypass in January 2006 with Dr. Ellner. I had not been heavy all my life prior to this surgery, I would say that I began gaining weight when I turned 16. Becoming a teenager with a car allowed me free choice of all the fast food I wanted, it also meant I was no longer the kid taking the bus and walking all that way to my friends houses. As I entered high school and got my car I began gaining, I had a pattern of weight gain that put me at 280 pounds by the time I turned 27.
I have never been a shy person, I was always the life of every party. I knew I was overweight but since I did not have trouble making friends I never thought it was a real issue. I told myself that being over weight was just in my blood and I was perfectly happy that way! The day I realized that I needed to do something about my weight was the day I had to have a routine nose surgery for chronic sinus infections. I was put under for the surgery and my blood pressure shot sky high, the surgeon told my Parents I needed to get my weight under control fast. The following week I was put on high blood pressure medication at 27 years of age. As the next year came I added medication for swelling and pitting in my legs and feet. By the end of that very year I had a list of co-morbidity's that included asthma, arthritis, acid reflux, mild sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and the swelling in my legs. I had plenty of red flags by then but the thought of weight loss surgery terrified me.
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| Jody 8 1/2 months after surgery |
One night my parents saw a program on the discovery health channel about gastric bypass,following the program there was a commercial for Alvarado Hospital. My Mom told me about Alvarado and the very next day I called Dr. Ellner's office and the rest is history. I knew from the moment I sat through Dr. Ellner's seminar that this was the answer for my battle with obesity. Seventeen days after calling Dr. Ellner's office I had my surgery and I am now on my way to a healthier, happier, more normal sized me!
I am currently four months out of gastric bypass surgery and my life has changed in ways I never thought possible. I always thought I was an outgoing person when I was heavy but you should see me now! I have a smile on my face that is certainly permanent and I am finally able to be the person who has hidden inside of me for so long. I find moments in every single day that are still so shocking, I call these my magic moments. Magic moments are those times when you realize you can do something that you never could before, moments like being able to reach the floor board of a car while wearing a seat belt or crossing your legs for the first time and not even realizing it until you look down and see it. There are so many magic moments that I could list hundreds, the physical changes alone would take days! However, aside from the fun things a smaller body can do I am still
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| Jody 12 months after surgery |
Some might say weight loss surgery is the "easy way out" but I beg to differ. This choice I have made, and this choice you are now investigating is not the easy way out. In four short months I have lost 90 pounds and that is so much, but I no longer worry about what I have lost, I think about what I have gained! A normal body size, a happy heart, and a new tool I have for life to help me fight a disease that was killing me slowly. I congratulate you for researching weight loss surgery, I recommend Dr. Ellner above any other surgeon in the world and I will keep you posted as my progress continues.
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