Connie's Story

Well I ate anything and everything and as much as I could cram down my throat. I didn’t care. Even when something in my mind was saying, “You shouldn’t eat that”, I did it anyway.

Well I had a lot of problems with the weight because, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t walk very far, couldn’t breath. And then I got sleep apnea, I got diabetes and just all kinds of problems. I took diet pills, you can only take them for so long and then when you quit taking them, you go right back up where you were and then some. Tried almost every diet program on the market, none of those worked for me. Well I understood how the dieting worked, but there’s a point in time when I really didn’t care. All I wanted to do was eat, it didn’t matter. But then when I started having the health issues, then it mattered.

They said the gastric sleeve would be better than the bypass because I was short and very heavy. 324 pounds. And so they did the sleeve and I followed the directions. It’s not always easy, easy, but it’s, it’s good. I came to the seminar here at Miami Valley before the surgery and they go through all these procedures and they tell you this and that and that’s when I decided what I was gonna do. Because I was afraid before but after I saw, I seen all these other people who’ve had it, and boy they looked great. And I thought I wanna look like that too.. They put you on a special diet for, I think 2 weeks I think it was. They put you on a special diet so you lose a little bit of weight. That helps your liver, you know to lose a little bit of weight before they actually do the surgery and do those testings that I mentioned and they also did a heart test, because being so heavy, they were concerned with the heart. And everything was fine. So then, they said ok, they checked with the insurance and everything was covered. I came to Miami Valley Hospital on December the 23rd, 2010. I went home on Christmas Day and I got great care and I did, you know, they gave me all the instructions, everything I needed to do. And they even had the protein powders and everything in the office that I could purchase. I didn’t have to run out to the store, start looking for the right thing, they had it right there. My recovery was maybe 2 months and it was just less than a month that I was off of two diabetic medications. And in 6 months, my cpap machine was down from a 17 to an 8. And then about 4 months after that the cpap machine was gone.

One lifestyle change was beginning out, was to eat like every hour and then I went to eating every 4 hours, no it went to every 2 hours and then every 4 hours and now I eat every 5 hours. And he said I could, Dr. Teel said I can eat anything I want, just stay in my portion control. So that’s what I do. And the portion control goes up to a cup and so, I, I do very well. When I came to the seminar, I weighed 324 pounds and I’m only 4’11”. And when I went into surgery after the 2 week diet, I weighed 317. And today I weigh 158. 3 pounds from goal. (laughs) And I feel great.

Just a fat old woman that’s what I’ve come to me.
Just a fat old woman for all the world to see. I used to be young and thin and thought I’d always be. Now when I look into the mirror, there’s a fat old woman looking back at me. Just a fat old woman, that’s what I’ve come to me. Just a fat old woman for all the world to see. I prayed to god and asked him to heal. The lord answered my prayer and sent Dr. Teel. Dr. Teel performed the gastric sleeve surgery. Now the fat on this old woman is history. The fat is gone and I no longer feel old. You look great, many times I’ve been told. Thanks to god and Dr. Teel, I feel much younger now. And when I look into the mirror, I think “WOW”. Thank you God and Dr. Teel