Beverly’s Story
My name is Beverly Popolo, and I've 
had bariatric surgery. I’m a wife and a mother, and I work as a administrative coordinator at the UPMC Weight Management Center. This is my story.
As far back as I can remember, I was obese. Living as an obese child was very difficult. I was constantly picked on because of my weight. My parents could see how miserable I was and enrolled me in countless programs for weight loss – all with little or no success.
As I entered adolescence, my weight ballooned to 265 pounds. Nothing I tried seemed to work. During my senior year of high school, my mother found out about gastric stapling. Although this was a big 
decision, she knew how difficult my life had become living with obesity, and she wanted to see me become a healthy adult.
In June 1992, I had gastric stapling. Initially, this seemed like the answer to my prayers. Over the following year, I lost about 80 pounds. I felt great, and my self-esteem had really increased. My weight plateaued at about 185 pounds, but I was comfortable with it. Eventually though, my old habits re-emerged. I returned to unhealthy eating habit and began to eat much larger portions, and my weight started to climb.
Within two years of my surgery, I had regained almost all of my weight. I felt like a failure. I spent the next several years trying more programs and diets to get a grip on my ever-increasing weight. But no matter how hard I tried, I could only manage to lose 20 to 30 pounds before regaining it all, plus more.
My future looked bleak at best. My back and knees ached; I’d become short of breath after climbing only one flight of stairs; and I had problems with fertility. I knew that if I didn’t make a serious commitment to controlling my weight, heart disease and diabetes were going to be a real part of my future. I truly felt that I had exhausted all options available to help me lose weight.
Then, in 2001, I discovered that I might be a candidate for gastric bypass revision surgery. Although my unhealthy eating habits had contributed greatly to my weight regain, I also learned that the prior surgery had failed mechanically, allowing me to eat more. I decided that if I did indeed have another bariatric surgery, I would be certain to make the lifestyle changes necessary to make it a success.
On April 10, 2002, I had gastric bypass surgery at UPMC. My weight was 335 lbs. Today, my weight is stable at 138 pounds – a weight that I have been able to maintain. Since my surgery, I no longer struggle with back or knee pain, and I actually choose the stairs over the elevator. My weight loss has also given me a gift that obesity made unattainable. In 2004, my husband and I welcomed our beautiful daughter in to the world – having a child was something I was not able to achieve prior to surgery.
I have made a complete commitment to leading a much healthier life to ensure that I maintain my weight. I now realize surgery is only one tool to help with weight loss and that the
future lies in my own hands. I fully understand the importance of healthy eating and regular exercise in maintaining my weight. These have become daily parts of my life now, and I am also doing my best to share with my family the importance of healthy eating and exercise in their own lives. I don’t want my daughter to struggle with obesity as I did.
I am very thankful to have been given a second chance, and I’m a much healthier, happier person because of it. Gastric bypass surgery has helped me gain back the life that I had been missing.
Because of my own experiences with obesity, I felt that I could relate on a personal level to many patients who are trying to lose weight. I wanted to focus my career in an area where I could help other people see that long term weight loss is possible. When I saw a position posted for the UPMC Weight Management Center it seemed like the right fit. Many people that I speak with find it very comforting to learn that the person they are speaking with does know exactly what they are going through. I am happy to share my story, and let them know that my weight loss success is a life long commitment.
Important information: This patient testimonial is provided as an illustration of one woman’s experience with gastric bypass surgery. Although Ms. Popolo's weight loss results are considered to be typical for a patient having gastric bypass surgery, weight loss results for bariatric surgery patients may vary greatly based on a variety of factors, including the patient’s prior health and degree of compliance with all of the necessary diet and exercise recommendations following surgery. The typical weight loss results a patient can expect from gastric bypass surgery are 60 to 80 percent of excess weight loss over a 12- to 18-month period.
As with any surgery, the risks specific to bariatric surgery would be fully discussed and disclosed at an individual level by the physician and the patient as part of UPMC’s informed consent process. Not all patients are candidates for bariatric surgery. At the UPMC Weight Management Center, patients undergo an extensive evaluation by medical professionals to determine which weight loss components will be most beneficial for them.