To see and talk to her now, you’d never know that only a few years ago Melanie wasn’t the super-charged ball of fun and energy that she is now. As she put it “Every day I didn’t feel good. I was pre-diabetic and pre-hypertensive. All of my lab work would come back as abnormal and I was pretty much borderline for a lot of issues.” That was before Melanie made the decision to get weight loss surgery, a duodenal switch, with Dr. Folahan Ayoola of Weight Loss Specialists of North Texas.
Years of Frustration
The Melanie of 2022 has a much different outlook on life. Struggling with being overweight for most of her life wasn’t what she wanted, but she’d tried everything – without success. Diets that would have her lose five to ten pounds, only to gain back 20. Her frustration grew and seeing her dad have a heart-attack when he was just 41 years old left her feeling even worse about her own health.
The Start of Something Great
Not wanting to follow down the same path, Melanie decided she needed to find a solution – one that would actually work! As luck would have it, multiple colleagues in her office were patients of Dr. Ayoola and she’d personally witnessed them transform their lives through weight loss surgery. “I saw how much better their lives were after surgery and they raved about how wonderful Dr. A was!” Well, that was enough for Melanie. She decided to book a consultation with him and she’s never looked back. Melanie says “From that day of my first consultation, I knew I could trust him with my life.”
Melanie had her DS procedure on December 9th of 2019. Her weight was 255. Fortunately for Melanie, she had a huge support system in place. Her entire family was 100% behind her from the very beginning of her decision to get surgery. And while her support system was so important for her success, Melanie doesn’t shy away from talking about the role she’s played in her success, acknowledging that “I won’t lie, coming out of surgery, it was difficult. I had to re-learn how to eat! But I wasn’t going to screw it up. I’d been given this opportunity and I was dedicated to making it happen – and I’m very proud of myself for that!”
Not Looking Back
Less than three years later, she’s at 123 (over 130 pounds lost!) and feeling like she has a new lease on life! When asked how her weight loss has positively impacted her life, Melanie answered “The biggest impact, without a doubt, has been my relationship with my nephew.” Melanie shared that before surgery, she couldn’t be the aunt that he deserved. “He’d want to get on the floor and play and I wasn’t able to. It was heartbreaking for me.” But now, she’s able to spend time with him doing things like going to the zoo, running around in the backyard or playing cars. It’s exactly how she hoped it would be.
So what advice does Melanie have for those struggling with obesity like she did? “As long as it’s something YOU want for YOURSELF, do it!” she says. Although not always easy, she’s never regretted her decision for a second. She’s been so happy with her results that she’s referred three of her friends!
If you’re considering bariatric surgery or perhaps you just haven’t found the success you want with other options, we invite you to experience our no blame, no shame approach here at Weight Loss Specialists of North Texas. You’ve got this. We’ve got you.
