September 07, 2007
A Very Different Summer
Gastric bypass patient enjoys being active again
DAVENPORT, IOWA - Nine months since her gastric bypass surgery at Genesis and more than 130 pounds lighter, Tammy Shipman has experienced a very different kind of summer.
She has the energy to walk and workout. For the first time in years, she goes waterskiing, horseback riding, tubing and bike riding. She fits inside a go-cart. She dresses for the hot weather. She sits in chairs she used to avoid. She faces her fear of restaurant booths. She walks past the plus-size clothes when she shops. Her grocery bill is less; her stamina is more.
She no longer worries if a lawn chair will hold her weight. With less weight to carry, she no longer sweats her way through summer or freezes out her co-workers by lowering the air-conditioner to uncomfortably cool temperatures.
As of Tuesday, she weighed 207 pounds during her appointment at the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery. That’s 131 pounds lost since her first visit to the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery and 121 pounds since her laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery on Nov. 29, 2006.
“You forget how many things you gradually give up as you gain so much weight,” says Shipman, who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at Genesis Medical Center, Davenport. “I gave up horseback riding because I felt sorry for the horse. I just wasn’t going to ride one. This summer, I went horseback riding again. It was awesome.
“Recently, I took a walk in the park, got on a swing set and started swinging. I haven’t done that in years. Sometimes my kids jokingly say, ‘Who are you?’ ”
A new life
Shipman, a nurse supervisor for Great River Home Health Care and Hospice in West Burlington, has had a very public weight-loss journey. Her surgery, performed by Matthew Christophersen, M.D., FACS, medical director of the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery, was videotaped for a global Internet audience to see. In fact, highlights of her 75-minute surgery still can be viewed in a first-in-the-Quad Cities webcast on the Genesis Web site: at www.genesishealth.com.
The wife and mother of two teen-age daughters agreed to have her surgery taped in hopes of helping others who may be considering the surgery.
Since then, she has attracted many supporters and launched a bariatric surgery support group in Burlington. She also has overcome her Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and most of her knee and back pain. She has reduced her high cholesterol and no longer has the sleep apnea and shortness of breath that she suffered with when she first weighed in at the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery at 338 pounds. At her heaviest, she weighed nearly 350 pounds.
Despite all the changes in her life, she can still walk past a window; see her reflection; and be momentarily surprised by the thinner woman staring back at her.
“I'm having so much fun, it is unbelievable,” she says. “I continue to feel and see the change in the way my clothes fit. I'm now able to wear a size 16 comfortably and a size 14 with some styles. From a size 32 to a size 14 – I never would have ever believed that.”
She continues to learn what and how much she can eat and must always be aware of her relationship with food. Even though her stomach and intestines have been surgically altered to hold and absorb far less food, she still must focus on a lifetime of controlled eating. To avoid the risk of developing nutritional deficiencies, patients who have the surgery must take multivitamins, iron, calcium and a vitamin B12 daily for the rest of their lives. Getting enough protein also is vital.
“Sometimes, I really have to make myself eat. I just don’t get hungry anymore,” Shipman says, adding that her healthier eating habits have rubbed off on her two daughters. “But make no mistake, the visual and emotional food triggers are still there. Food still looks good and smells good. The difference is I can have a couple of bites and be satisfied. Food doesn’t control my life anymore.”
For example, she recently looked forward to and craved her mother’s meatballs, a favorite childhood dish. When she sat down to eat, she could only eat half of one meatball.
“My normal consumption is probably about a quarter of what a person who is eating a healthy diet would eat,” she says.
She also works out regularly and even has a personal trainer. Before surgery, her Body Mass Index (BMI) was 51.4. Today it’s down to 31.5. She no longer is classified as morbidly obese.
“Of the 131 pounds you have lost, 77 percent has been fat. That’s really tremendous,” registered dietitian Denise Strathdee tells her during Tuesday’s visit. “Exercise is helping you to lose fat at a really, really good rate.”
“I am seeing results in my skin and muscle tone from the exercise,” Tammy Shipman adds. “That makes me smile too. I would never have thought I could look and feel better at age 48 than I did at 25.”
She says she would like to lose another 25 pounds. “I would also like to be able to wear a size 12. Honestly, if I were to not lose another pound, I would be OK with that.”
High honors
Last month, the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery was named a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The center and Drs. Christophersen and Michael Phelps, M.D., FACS, have received recognition for demonstrating consistently favorable outcomes for bariatric surgery patients. The designation now means the Genesis center is an approved center for Medicare patients seeking bariatric surgery.
The Center of Excellence designation is the second confirmation of success this year for the center. Last January, the Genesis program also earned designation as a 2007 Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery by the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
This fall, Genesis will offer another option for weight-loss surgery patients. The LAP-BAND® procedure is an alternative to the laparoscopic Roux-en-Y procedure. It uses an adjustable gastric band around the top of the stomach to reduce the stomach capacity and restrict the amount of food that can be consumed at one time.
Shipman says she was drawn to the Genesis program because of its multidisciplinary approach. Patients attend introductory education classes, followed by consultation with the nursing staff, dietitian, psychologist, surgeon, physical therapist, pharmacist and recreational therapist. Only patients who adhere to strict pre-surgical education receive the surgery.
For more information on the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery, call (563) 421-8361.
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