Kathy I. - My Story

Gastric Bypass  | 2000  My Life Before Bariatric Surgery My medications used to arrive in huge boxes delivered by UPS.  Now they arrive in an envelope and they are mostly vitamins.  I was an insulin dependent diabetic. My blood pressure was sky high.  I suffered from depression and anxiety attacks.

My agoraphobia was so severe that I wouldn't leave the house at all--not even to get the mail.  I was 53 and felt my life slipping away. 

I had always been thin until the birth  of my second child.  Then my weight ballooned to 311--almost overnight (or so it seemed).  Physical and emotional problems quickly followed my rapid weight gain.   My children really missed out on so much.

Making the Decision

A close friend of mine had gastric bypass surgery and I watched her success.  Although I was thrilled for her, I was still afraid of having surgery.  I was intriged enough though to attend a support group and that is what finally helped me to make my decision.  Surrounded by so many people who had found new lives--I scheduled a consultation.  The consultation was very informative and all of my questions were answered in a respectful and caring way.  I felt assured that this was the place to have my surgery. 

After that, things went very quickly.  The consultation was in May, the insurance approved the surgery in June and I had surgery in July.

I have lost almost 160 pounds and have gone from a size 30/32 to a size 8/10.  I am no longer diabetic and my blood pressure is normal.  I am off all of the medications that I took for both of these.  I no longer suffer from panic attacks or agoraphobia.  It has been 9 years since my surgery and life just keeps getting better and grander with each passing year.  I am now 62 years old and this past summer, I spent three days at Kings Island and 3 days at Cedar Point as a member of the Central Ohio Roller Coaster Club.  I can do so many things, that for years my life was closed to. 

I have my life back again and I feel like I did at age 30.  I now work with a national dog rescue organization, run a radio station with dj's from all over the world and am a support group leader for Barix Clinics.  All in all, my life at age 62 is better than it has been in 30 years.

To Those Considering Bariatric Surgery

I was so at peace on the day of surgery.  I knew deep down that this was going to give me back my life. 

The care that I received at the hospital and for all of my follow ups was top notch.  I would not hesitate to recommend Barix Clinics to anyone.