Bariatric Surgery a Life Changing Experience for Tallulah Falls Woman

In 2004, Linda Vandiver’s husband was diagnosed with colon cancer. Vandiver, at age 56, had been battling morbid obesity most of her life and now faced the dilemma of being physically unable to assist her husband, Ronald, during his cancer treatment process. On Ronald’s recommendation, Linda underwent gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity at Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s (NGMC) Bariatric Weight Loss Center in January 2004.

“I wanted to be able to take care of my husband, myself and our home during his chemotherapy and recovery,” said Linda, who then weighed 245 pounds. “He wanted me to be healthy.”

In addition to being physically limited, Linda was also suffering from other health problems related to her obesity including diabetes, acid reflux disease and osteoarthritis.

Linda attended a bariatric surgery information meeting shortly after Ronald’s diagnosis. During a routine pre-op sleep test, she discovered that she also had severe sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing stops repeatedly during sleep, and began using a C-pap machine at night to treat it.

Linda says she had tried many times to lose weight, even taking weight loss pills. Although she was successful on occasion, she wasn’t able to maintain the weight loss.

“The weight loss medication helped trigger my willpower when it came to overeating,” says Linda, “but without the medication, I couldn’t maintain it. I needed a more permanent solution.”

Linda talked with her doctor, who referred her for gastric bypass surgery.

During gastric bypass surgery, most of the stomach is reduced to a small pouch to decrease the amount of food the stomach can physically hold. Then, the small intestine is reconfigured so food can bypass the majority of the stomach, reducing the number of calories ingested. Weight loss surgery is only recommended for people with morbid obesity, or those with a body mass index (BMI – calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared) of 40 or greater, approximately 100 pounds over ideal body weight for men or 80 pounds for women. People who have a BMI between 35 and 40 and at least one significant obesity-related health condition, such as sleep apnea, diabetes or heart disease, may also be candidates for surgery. A BMI of 25 of more is considered overweight; a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese; and a BMI of 40 or larger is considered morbidly obese. At the time of her surgery, Linda had a BMI of 45.6.

Dan C. Procter, MD, a surgeon with Obesity Solutions in Gainesville, performed Linda’s surgery.

“Linda’s obesity-related health conditions required her to take a variety of medications including medications for osteoporosis, arthritis and acid reflux disease. Because of her diabetes, she was also taking two different kinds of insulin,” says Dr. Procter. “She knew she had to have this surgery and was very receptive to everything I suggested. She went through all of the steps of the bariatric surgery process with little or no complaints.”

Following the surgery, Linda’s weight began to come off quickly. By mid-October, a short 10 months later, she had lost an incredible 125 pounds, reducing her weight to 120 pounds.

Even more remarkable, almost all of her obesity-related health problems were resolved.

“The day after surgery, my blood sugar level dropped drastically, and miraculously, my diabetes was gone,” she says. “Since that day, I have not had to take insulin again.”

Linda also was able to stop taking her osteoporosis, arthritis and acid reflux medication and she no longer needed her C-pap machine.

“It was just incredible how dramatically my health improved,” she says. “I couldn’t believe it!”

Linda says the benefits of her weight loss didn’t stop there; she also gained self-confidence.

“About a year and a half after my surgery, I attended my 40-year high school class reunion. There, I received the ‘Most Changed’ award; my classmates couldn’t believe my transformation – my appearance and my personality!”

Linda’s husband, Ronald, passed away in April 2005, but she says he left her with a lasting gift.

“His support is what encouraged me to have this surgery, and my life will never be the same.”