Katherine

Watch Katherine talk about her experience at Marina Del Rey Hospital
Watch Katherine talk about her decision to have weight loss surgery.

Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Katherine and yes, I am the classical failure at weight loss. Until Dr. Jeremy Korman and his band of merry bariatric team members came into my life! 

My battle with weight began literally from the time I was a toddler. Fat followed me throughout childhood and into adulthood and so did the diets. I lost and then I would gain the pounds back along with an additional 10-20 pounds more. I grew up in a small country town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, my mother was obese, I was obese I knew no better and in our family food was to be eaten and not left on the plate.

As I grew older I did what I wanted, ate what I wanted and never thought twice about the fact that I was getting bigger by the minute. I was young and immortal. I married and packed on more weight with each of my pregnancies. I finally hit the wall when I hit my mid to late forties.

My physical health hazards were as follows: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, joint pain, and shortness of breath. Societal hazards: I could not go on roller coaster rides, fit into a booth at restaurants, required a seat belt extender and had to hold myself in so I did not intrude upon my neighbor’s seat on an airplane. Walking had become my worst enemy. Then the grandbabies started to come along and I knew that I would not be there, could not be there for them in any way shape or form unless I could get the weight off. I was thinking of early retirement and I had to ask myself… “What type of retirement will I have if I cannot even enjoy walking around?” Have my husband propel me around in a wheelchair or just miss out on things that we have not had the time to do during our working years? UNACCEPTABLE!

So began my journey into looking at my options, educating my self and doing research and interviews with those that had gone before me with any type of diet or weight loss surgery (WLS). I even got hired into a bariatric unit so I could see the “behind the scenes” reality of WLS. I spoke to my primary care physician (PCP) who wanted me to have the gastric bypass. The gastric bypass is an amazing surgery, but my gut told me that this was not the route for me and so I continued to research. My husband did not want me to have any type of surgery as he stated “Why? I was perfect as I was,” but inside I knew that for me I was not perfect and I no longer wanted to be as I was. By this time I had been focusing on the lap-band, it was singing to me, but I needed to gather more data and follow up with people who had undergone the surgery to find out the good, bad, and ugly. I also needed time to explore surgeons and hospitals. I wanted the best of the best to be my bariatric health care providers.

I had a long heart to heart with my husband. I let him know that this was for me and I then invited him to be my companion, my advocate in this journey. I was going to do this with or without him and wanted him to be with me if he could support me. We both did our due diligence and when we were ready to find the right surgeon there was one who stood out - Dr. Jeremy Korman of the L.A. Bariatric Center in Marina Del Rey. I spoke to others who had gone with the team, I looked at his surgical record and I looked at the hospital’s record for bariatric care. I checked into the nurses who worked on the unit where I would be staying overnight as my insurance mandated an over night stay. These ladies and gentlemen knew what to do and made sure that all surgical patients received the appropriate care. The pre-operative and recovery room nurses were experienced and personable.

We made the appointment for the introduction seminar or so I thought we did. On the day of seminar, there was no seminar (my confusion), however his office staff worked with me and Dr. Korman actually made time to meet with me right then and there. Dr. Korman was honest and accepting of our thoughts and questions. We even discovered that he knew my primary care physician. The rest is history, or history in the making.

I took to heart the teachings of the bariatric team, right down to keeping the informational binder on my coffee table so I can review it periodically to ensure that I am on the right track. I have learned to watch my dietary habits and to actively monitor what goes into my body. I am aware that I am on a lifelong process in changing my wicked relationship with food. I am also learning that weight loss (and eventually maintenance) has to be balanced with the dreaded exercise. I am not a fan of exercise, but I need it to be successful and my body has proven this to me over and over as I build my endurance and keep up a reasonable energy level.

Eight months out as I can tell you that I am a loser! With a 96 pound weight loss I am on my way to my goal. I have been off of my blood pressure medication for 7 months, my cholesterol has been cut in half and I am off of that medication too. Joint pain is a distant memory and people cannot keep up with me as they have mentioned that I no longer hobble along, but can actually run. Oh, and my shortness of breath? Yeah, I still get short of breath after walking up 9 flights of stairs or after an intense cardio interval training session! I guess that one will never go away! Lifelong decisions and behavior modification are now my daily reality. My body thanks me everyday for making the lap-band choice. My mind thanks me for picking the right bariatric team for my preoperative and post-operative follow up care.

The term “thank you” just doesn’t seem to be enough to all of fabulous folks who have helped me and are continuing to help me get my life back.