Bariatric Center Georgetown Community Hospital

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July Spotlight Patient

 

Susie Themer - July 2011


I started my weight loss surgery journey at another program.  I am so glad that I ended up at Georgetown Bariatrics!
I initially started my process much closer to my home. I had to complete an insurance-required diet - like many people - and then found out that I'd need to go to a Center of Excellence designated facility or my insurance would not pay.  The program I was at suggested Georgetown Bariatrics.  It hasn't always been easy, but I'm seeing the results of hard work and patience pay off now.
Susie before Weight Loss SurgeryI am legally blind, but have tried to not let that hold me back.  I have a condition called Startgartz Disease.  It's a form of macular degeneration that reduced my field of vision to the point where I can only see from around the outside edges of my eyes.  Despite this, I got my Masters in Education and Reading & Learning Disabilities and taught at a Lutheran School until 1996.
It was my weight that hindered me more than anything.  I was suffering from high cholesterol and high blood pressure, but beyond that, I wasn't able to live my life the way I wanted too!  I couldn't enjoy the outdoors like I used to.  I couldn't tend to my flowers and I couldn't take care of my animals like I needed to.
I also raise my nephew, and I wasn't able to do anything active with him.  I couldn't play with him, go to his soccer games, and I just didn't want to be his "fat aunt."  What I was doing to myself was bad enough - I couldn't continue to make him pay for my poor choices.  It wasn't that I hadn't tried to lose weight.  Like most overweight people, I'd tried almost everything from Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig.  I'd lose weight and gain it back.  One day it occurred to me that I couldn't forgive myself for gaining the weight in the first place, so I realized it was time to do some soul-searching and come up with a plan that would work for me long-term.
I was terrified of the gastric bypass and simply could not get those old-school negative thoughts out of my mind, so I went with the gastric band.  Everyone at Georgetown Bariatrics worked with me and really helped me to understand what kind of lifestyle changes I would need to make to be successful.
I had my procedure on June 1st, 2009.  I lost weight rather quickly for the first few months - 70 pounds in the first four months, in fact.  Then I hit a stand-still.  I started being able to eat more and more at meals, and then I started snacking between meals.  I hit a plateau for nearly a year and thought that I was going to fail once again, but what I did differently this time was that I didn't give up.  I kept coming for a fill every two months and listened to my surgeon tell me that we would eventually hit my "sweet spot", the level of fluid in my band that would give me the perfect amount of restriction.
At the beginning of this year, we hit the sweet spot and I've lost an additional 55 pounds since then, making my weight loss 125 pounds!  Susie after Weight Loss Surgery
I've learned that starting out, you need to follow the rules and pay attention to what your doctor tells you to do - and then do that one day at a time.  I've learned that as you struggle; forgive yourself and believe that you ARE worth it.  I've learned that I am different from every other band patient and that I just had to keep going - to the doctor and with the program guidelines - to find the fill the fit me best.
Now, I've found happiness in who I am.  I'm more social.  I feel better about myself and what I can accomplish.  I'm able to ride horses for the first time in my life!  I can play soccer with my nephew now. 

Before weight loss surgery, I hid from my life.  Now I live it!