Peggy’s Story
My name is Peggy Kindler, and I’m a social worker. I used to be morbidly obese. But I had LAP-BAND® surgery in May 2006, and I’m on the path to a healthier lifestyle. This is my story.
I wasn’t always obese. My weight kind of crept up over the years, and I struggled with diets. I had become a volume eater.
If one ice cream cone was good, two were better. I didn’t like to be hungry. When I ate a small portion of food, I believed I might get hungry, so I would keep eating until I was full – very full.
I was also easily tempted by food. Even if I was not hungry, I would eat something if I felt that the item was too good to pass up. And it isn’t just that I like sweet food. I like all food. And I don’t like to feel deprived. Satisfying that feeling of food deprivation was easy…too easy. Actually, it is easy to try to satisfy many needs with food. Eating is a pleasant experience.
I have food issues. And that leads to weight gain. And weight gain leads to obesity. Prior to surgery I had, at times, been successful at weight loss. But I always regained. My highest documented weight was 208 pounds.
In the spring of 2005, my UPMC PCP informed me that I had diabetes. I knew this was a serious disease and bad things could happen to me. You would think that information would have convinced me to stop overeating. But it isn’t easy to change old habits. My PCP suggested weight loss surgery. It was a great suggestion.
I was first seen at the UPMC Weight Management Center, where I was evaluated. It was a long road to my surgery, but the education and support was so essential. It helped me to learn about my eating habits and how to make lifestyle changes that would support my weight loss. Dr. Anita Courcoulas performed by LAP-BAND® surgery. On my surgery date, I weighed 199 pounds. In the first 10 months after surgery, I lost 53 pounds. I’m still overweight, but I’m a lot healthier, and I continue to lose weight.
LAP-BAND® surgery has changed my way of eating. I cannot physically eat large portions of food anymore. My band restricts how much food I can eat. I feel full after eating small portions of food. If I try to keep eating after I am satisfied, I become too full and this leads to vomiting. Vomiting is a big consequence and a good reminder to stop overeating.
I find having the physical barrier to be the perfect weight loss tool for me. I believe I never could have lost the weight without the surgery. And I feel sometimes like I have lost the weight in spite of myself. I am not the perfect patient. I know I could lose more weight if I was stricter with myself when it comes to eating cookies, and candy, and ice cream. But I don’t mind losing weight at a slow, steady pace.
And I try not to have a diet mindset. I think of a diet as something a person sticks to for a limited time period and eventually quits. I am following a new lifestyle. I don’t deprive myself. But my portions have changed. And I work out with a personal trainer three times a week.
I consider myself to be a typical overweight person. I still think about food. I enjoy food. My LAP-BAND® has helped me achieve my goal to become healthier. If I can lose weight, I believe anyone can. Surgery was the right decision for me.
Important information: This patient testimonial is provided as an illustration of one woman’s experience with LAP-BAND® surgery. Although Ms. Kindler's weight loss results so far are considered to be typical for a patient having LAP-BAND® 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 LAP-BAND® surgery are 40 to 50 percent of excess weight loss after a two-year 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.