A "Cure" For Type II Diabetes? YES!!

YES!  An actual cure for diabetes.

When looking at the typical bariatric surgeries there are many benefits to a Type II diabetic but one stands out above and beyond the rest!

Duodenal Switch.

Lap bands have an extremely high failure rate, I sincerely wish the FDA would take them off the market. Bands have been around since the 1970s and the stats are no better today with new technology than they were in the 70s. Diabetes remission is going to be temporary due to faulty bands needing to be removed.

Sleeves, diabetes usually improves drastically by about 10 days to 2 months post op, (my experience with patients). Again, remission but not a cure.

RNY- A Welsh study that came out about 5 years ago or so shows that diabetes goes into remission in 80+% of patients within 10 days of surgery. It is due to the change in the hormonal chain reaction in the gut due to surgery. However, with bypass diabetes comes back in 1/3 of bypass folks.

Duodenal Switch, whole different ballgame. 98.9% of patients experience a cure before they ever leave the hospital. Not remission, a cure.

Check it out:

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Diabetes Cure with Duodenal Switch

Obesity is the leading cause of Type II diabetes mellitus (adult onset diabetes) in the United States. With sufficient weight loss, diabetes will in most cases improve or resolve. Walter Poires, M.D. published in 2004 a study outlining the improvement in Type II diabetes after Roux-En-Y gastric bypass. Since we began performing the Duodenal Switch (DS) in 1993, we have observed that the majority of our patients following their DS for their morbid obesity have had their diabetes cured immediately following the surgery. In fact, we have seen a remarkable 97% recovery rate for our patients with diabetes. Many of our patients discontinue their insulin and/or oral hypoglycemic medications prior to their hospital discharge.

This phenomenon of immediate cure of the diabetes following the DS is, in large part, due to the intestinal rearrangement that is a component of the procedure. We have found that the improvement in and cure of Type II diabetes mellitus following weight loss surgery is, by far, most dramatic following the Duodenal Switch. We routinely perform the DS laparoscopically (LapDS) since we pioneered this minimally invasive approach in 1999.

Below is a chart outlining the differences following weight loss surgery in the cure and or reduction of diabetes and other serious morbid obesity related diseases reported by Harvey Buchwald, M.D. in his meta analysis published in 2004. In this study over 20,000 postoperative bariatric patients were followed for up to 13 years.

Obesity Related Illnesses that Improved/Resolved Following Weight Loss Surgery:

Diabetes Mellitus :
Gastric Band 47.9% 
RnY (gastric bypass) 83.7% 
Duodenal Switch 98.9%

Buchwald, H. Bariatric Surgery, A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA, October 13, 2004-Vol 292, No. 14
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One interesting issue to note, when people have bypass (RNY) only 80+% go into "remission" and diabetes comes back with or without regain in 33%.

However, with DS.... regain or no regain it's a "cure" 98.9% of the time.

This is why DS is being tested in Europe on normal size BMI folks with out of control diabetes. Insulin is no longer effective for this population.

Stem Cell therapy is also proving to be an amazing thing for Type I and Type II diabetics. Within a couple of months of the first treatment many Type I diabetics have a drastically lower dose of insulin and with a 2nd treatment many are off all medications completely for diabetes. For the first time since childhood these people are off insulin completely.

There are a couple of downsides to stem cell treatments. Much research still needs to be done. If someone has any tumors (cancer) existing the stem cells will go to the tumors instead of the pancreas and help the tumors grow like crazy. Also, stem cells only last about 2 years or so for diabetes and must be repeated. But stem cell therapy is the only known treatment for pancreatic disease causing diabetes and DS is the only known cure for Type II.

Studies Weigh in on Safety and Effectiveness of Newer Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Procedure

Published June 2012

 Download PDF Document

SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 20, 2012 – Studies from Stanford University, Cleveland Clinic Florida and the Naval Medical Center in San Diego show laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, an increasingly popular surgical procedure where the stomach is reduced by 85 percent, is as safe as or safer than laparoscopic gastric bypass or gastric banding. The studies* were presented here at the 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

In one study, Stanford University researchers analyzed safety data from nearly 270,000 metabolic and bariatric surgeries performed between 2007 and 2010. Nearly 16,000 of the procedures were sleeve gastrectomies, which had a 30-day serious complication rate of less than one percent (0.96%), compared to a rate of 1.25 percent for gastric bypass and one-quarter of one percent (0.25%) for gastric banding.

The 30-day mortality rate for sleeve gastrectomy was 0.08 percent, while the rate for gastric bypass was 0.14 percent and 0.03 percent for gastric banding. These mortality and complication rates are lower than those typically associated with gallbladder or hip replacement surgery.

Gastric bypass resulted in the most average weight loss after one year. The average body mass index (BMI) after this procedure dropped by about 40 percent (47.7 to 31.2). Sleeve gastrectomy patients experienced about a 30 percent drop (47.5 to 34.1), while gastric band patients had a 20 percent reduction (45.1 to 37.5).

“In terms of risk and benefit, sleeve gastrectomy sits nicely between gastric bypass and adjustable gastric band,” said lead study author John Morton, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of Bariatric Surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics at Stanford University.

This data, along with several other large studies published within the last two years, was recently submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as the agency considers a new national coverage determination for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for its beneficiaries.

Researchers from Cleveland Clinic Florida reviewed safety outcomes of more than 2,400 of their patients who had sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass or bariatric and metabolic surgery between 2005 and 2011. This study found sleeve gastrectomy had the lowest complication and reoperation rates of the three procedures.

The rate of a gastrointestinal leak, considered a serious complication, was three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) for sleeve gastrectomy versus four-tenths of one percent (0.4%) for gastric bypass patients. The percentage of procedures requiring reoperations due to complications was 15.3 percent for the gastric band, 7.7 percent for gastric bypass and 1.5 percent for sleeve gastrectomy. On average, patients had a BMI between 44 and 48, were 46 years of age and had at least two obesity-related conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

A third study on sleeve gastrectomy conducted by the Naval Medical Center in San Diego found while gastric bypass patients lost more of their excess weight after the first year, 72.3 percent versus 63.7 percent, there were no statistically significant differences in excess weight loss after two and five years. This study examined 486 patients, half had gastric bypass and half had sleeve gastrectomy.

“Sleeve gastrectomy has proven itself to be a safe and effective option in patients with morbid obesity and this procedure should be considered a primary procedure for weight loss and obesity-related disease improvement and resolution,” said Robin Blackstone, MD, President ASMBS.

About Obesity and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery

Obesity is one of the greatest public health and economic threats facing the United States. Approximately 72 million Americans are obese[4] and, according to the ASMBS, about 18 million have morbid obesity. Obese individuals with a BMI greater than 30 have a 50 to 100 percent increased risk of premature death compared to healthy weight individuals as well as an increased risk of developing more than 40 obesity-related diseases and conditions including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The federal government estimated that in 2008, annual obesity-related health spending reached $147 billion, double what it was a decade ago, and projects spending to rise to $344 billion each year by 2018.

Metabolic/bariatric surgery has been shown to be the most effective and long lasting treatment for morbid obesity and many related conditions and results in significant weight loss. In the United States, about 200,000 adults have metabolic/bariatric surgery each year. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reported significant improvements in the safety of metabolic/bariatric surgery due in large part to improved laparoscopic techniques. The risk of death is about 0.1 percent and the overall likelihood of major complications is about 4 percent.

About the ASMBS

            The ASMBS is the largest organization for bariatric surgeons in the world. It is a non-profit organization that works to advance the art and science of bariatric surgery and is committed to educating medical professionals and the lay public about bariatric surgery as an option for the treatment of morbid obesity, as well as the associated risks and benefits. It encourages its members to investigate and discover new advances in bariatric surgery, while maintaining a steady exchange of experiences and ideas that may lead to improved surgical outcomes for morbidly obese patients. For more information, visit www.asmbs.org.

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*PL-102: Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass Versus Laparoscopic Vertical Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity:

5 Year Results in A Military Institution

Dr. Gordon Wisbach; David M. Lim, DO; William Bertucci, MD; Janos Taller, MD; Robert H. Riffenburgh, PhD, MD; Jack O’Leary, RN 

*PL-104: National Comparisons of Bariatric Surgery Safety And Efficacy: Findings from the BOLD Database 2007-2010

Dr. John Morton; Bintu Sherif, Deborah Winegar, PhD; Ninh Nguyen MD, FASMBS; Jaime Ponce, MD, FASMBS; Robin Blackstone, MD, FASMBS

*PL-133: Procedure Related Morbidity Comparing Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, Sleeve Gastrectomy And Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Band: A Retrospective Long Term Follow Up

Dr. Raul J. Rosenthal; Abraham Fridman, DO; Karan Bath, MD; Andre Teixeira, MD; Samuel Szomstein, MD, FASMBS

REFERENCES 

[1]Pedersen, A. B., Baron, J. A., Overgaard, S., et al. (2009). Short- and long-term mortality following primary total hip replacement for osteoarthritis. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 93-B(2) pp. 172-177. Accessed March 2012 fromhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21282754

[2]Dolan, J. P., Diggs, B. S., Sheppard, B. C., et al. (2009). National mortality burden and significant factors associated with open and laparoscopic cholecystectomy: 1997–2006. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. 13(12) pp.2292-2230. Accessed March 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19727976

[3]Flegal, K. M., Carroll, M. D., Ogden, C. L., et al. (2002). Prevalence and trends in obesity among US adults, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 288(14) pp. 1723-1727. Accessed March 2012 from http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/prevention/

[4]Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Obesity; halting the epidemic by making health easier at a glance 2011. Accessed February 2012 fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/obesity.htm

[5]Office of the Surgeon General – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Overweight and obesity: health consequences. Accessed March 2012 from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_consequences.html

[6]Kaplan, L. M. (2003). Body weight regulation and obesity. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. 7(4) pp. 443-51. Doi:10.1016/S1091-255X(03)00047-7. Accessed March 2012 fromhttp://edulife.com.br/dados%5CArtigos%5CNutricao%5CObesidade%20e%20Sindrome%20Metabolica%5CBody%20weight%20regulation%20and%20obesity.pdf

[7]Finkelstein, E. A., Trogdon, J. G., Cohen, J. W., et al. (2009). Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer- and service-specific estimates. Health Affairs. 28(5) pp. w822-w831. Accessed February 2012 fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/obesity/causes/economics.html

[8]Thorpe, K (2009). The future costs of obesity: national and state estimates of the impact of obesity on direct health care expenses. America’s Health Rankings. Accessed June 2012 fromhttp://www.fightchronicdisease.org/sites/fightchronicdisease.org/files/docs/CostofObesityReport-FINAL.pdf

[9]Weiner, R. A. (2010). Indications and principles of metabolic surgery. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 81(4) pp.379-394.

[10]Chikunguw, S., Patricia, W., Dodson, J. G., et al. (2009). Durable resolution of diabetes after roux-en-y gastric bypass associated with maintenance of weight loss. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases. 5(3) p. S1

[11]Torquati, A., Wright, K., Melvin, W., et al. (2007). Effect of gastric bypass operation on framingham and actual risk of cardiovascular events in class II to III obesity. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 204(5) pp. 776-782. Accessed March 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17481482

[12]American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. (2009). All estimates are based on surveys with ASMBS membership and bariatric surgery industry reports.

[13]Poirier, P., Cornier, M. A., Mazzone, T., et al. (2011). Bariatric surgery and cardiovascular risk factors. Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. 123 pp. 1-19. Accessed March 2012 from http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/123/15/1683.full.pdf

[14]Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Statistical Brief #23. Bariatric Surgery Utilization and Outcomes in 1998 and 2004. Jan. 2007.

[15]Flum, D. R. et al. (2009). Perioperative safety in the longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery. New England Journal of Medicine. 361 pp.445-454. Accessed June 2012 from http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/361/5/445

https://asmbs.org/resources/studies-weigh-in-on-safety-and-effectiveness-of-newer-bariatric-and-metabolic-surgery-procedure

CHECK IT OUT! Body scan, 250# vs. 120#

 Note:  If you cannot view the photo in full please double click on it.


Liver-

Notice the liver size, fairly remarkable, right? The lower lobe of your liver sits in front of the stomach. This is what your surgeon must keep out of the way during surgery. If you do not follow the pre op diet your liver will be very slippery and hard to manage. If surgery is difficult for your surgeon, it will be more dangerous for you.

Follow the pre op diet! ;o)

Heart-

Obesity does not only affect the heart of a person, but his liver and other organs as well. But more often than not it is the heart that gets the biggest hit. People who are obese are very likely to develop high blood pressure and can even lead to paying more for health insurance or being denied health insurance completely. If a person is suffering from this condition there is risk of developing other heart problems such as stenosis, regurgitation, endocarditis, arteriosclerosis, and other similar diseases. And the moment any one of these develops heart attacks are likely to happen. More serious conditions may even arise such as the sudden or gradual loss of life. In other words, you can die.

Kidneys-

Notice how the organs appear smashed together in the obese person? Think about your kidneys, when that much fat tissue is sitting on your kidneys this in turn causes your blood pressure to increase. There is an increased risk of kidney damage for this very reason if you are diabetic.

Lungs-

Studies have shown that obesity affects the lungs and its air passages as much as the heart. In children, obesity could prevent proper lung growth. When that happens the child's pulmonary functions are reduced in a level where diseases such as asthma and other respiratory problems result. Several researchers have further proven that obese people are more prone in developing asthma. But when these people reduce weight the possibility of having the disease is lessened.

Muscles-

Check out the heavy person's thigh muscles and compare them to the thin persons thighs. The heavy person has far more muscle mass. They need it to carry around excess weight. During weight loss remember, you WILL lose muscle mass, it is not a question of if you will lose it, it is a question of how much you will lose. The more muscle mass you have the faster you will lose so you want to maintain as much as possible. This is done through protein and weight resistance.

Pushing and squishing your organs is not healthy for your body. It causes each system to work harder than it was designed to. Organs can be like auto parts, they wear out after time. When we all overwork our body systems this is what happens.

Ron's Before & After Photos

Ron before surgery at 329#:

Ron six months after surgery at 174#:

Ron's phone  918 630 2970
Email:  RMortie@hotmail.com

Michelle phone 602 539 0970
Email: Bipley@gmail.com

Is Weight Loss Surgery For You?

If you are here you are likely either thinking about WLS or you have already had WLS. Either way, you are in the right place.

I think most obese folks consider WLS and due to the unknown we tend to fear it. Everyone knows someone *or* knows someone that knows someone that had serious complications including possible death from WLS. WLS isn't as scary as it sounds, to be honest obesity carries more risk than the surgery itself. We tend to get used to the risks associated with obesity but surgery? Not so much. We don't worry as much about high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, joint damage, heart disease, dialysis, and all the other complications that go with obesity but the fear of surgery scares many away. This is not acceptable, surgery is safer than obesity!

You have probably tried to lose weight before, right? Are you still trying? Please tell me in detail how well you are doing with this? Some can lose weight but they cannot keep it off. Others are unable to lose weight to begin with. This is NOT your fault! Obesity is a disease, it is not a character flaw. Recent studies coming out of Canada are showing that doctors who suggest traditional diet and exercise for weight loss in the obese are seriously under-educated about this disease and if they understood what they believe they know, they would realize the chances for our losing weight on our own are close to zero percent. Old studies show those who are obese and diet and exercise their way to a healthy BMI make a whopping total of 4% of us. New studies indicate that is 0%.

Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, meals delivered to your home... do you know what all these have in common? They all survive on repeat business. Stop and think about how many people you know (including yourself) that have tried these? Many lose quite well. Kirstie Alley comes to mind. She did very well but as soon as she stopped the program she regained her excess weight and maybe added a few pounds on top of that. These programs survive on repeat business, people lose well, stop the program, regain, and return to do it again. Is this really productive?

WLS isn't a sin, obesity isn't a sin. It isn't a character flaw either. It is a disease. It's time we all start treating it as such. Being obese is not a horror, staying obese is a horror and especially if you have options. Where there is a will there is a way.

Typical feelings we have about ourselves is a lack of discipline, a lack of self control. A lack of self esteem is common. I will cop to them all! I just didn't have what it took to do it on my own. But then had I been diabetic I couldn't have treated that on my own without medical intervention either! We often times start hating ourselves, our lack of ability to lose weight, we don't like the way people look at us, we don't leave our homes, self loathing. It's all a part of what we go through.

Surgery does not cure everything but it sure gives all of us an opportunity to start a new life with improved self esteem.

Take a chance, get your life back!


Ron's phone  918 630 2970
Email:  RMortie@hotmail.com

Michelle phone 602 539 0970
Email: Bipley@gmail.com

What is Duodenal Switch, aka DS

In this procedure, the surgeon removes about 80 percent of the stomach, forming a thin sleeve-like stomach. The valve that releases food to the small intestine remains (duodenal switch) along with a limited portion of the small intestine that normally connects to the stomach (duodenum). The surgery bypasses the majority of the intestine by connecting the end portion of the intestine to the duodenum near the stomach (biliopancreatic diversion). This weight-loss surgery is effective but has more risks, such as malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies, and requires close monitoring.


This is a procedure that is nice in the sense that the first half of the surgery is a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and the second half is the DS, or bypassing of intestine. There is no concern for dilating a stoma as in Gastric Bypass and the long term weight loss is the best of all surgical procedures. The thing about WLS is that the less the risk, the less the weight loss. The greater the risk in surgery the greater the weight loss. This is the greatest risk of all surgery types for malnutrition and various vitamin deficiencies yet it provides the best long term weight loss stats. It does not have "more" complications than Gastric Bypass but if complications occur, the complications are greater in nature.


By the time you have this procedure you will not absorb 80% of fat, 50% of protein, and about 40% of complex carbs. A high fat diet is not only permissible with this surgery type, it is necessary.


One down side to this surgery types more-so than other surgery types is that if you consume a great deal of white carbs such as flour, sugar, rice, or pasta you will have gas that is not pleasant to the nose. This happens with RNY as well but not to the same degree.


Not all surgeons can do this surgery type. It requires a skill as well as an art, much experience is necessary to perform this particular surgery safely and effectively. 


Advantages of this surgery:


1) Best weight loss and best long term weight loss stats of all surgery types.

2) Not only the ability but the necessity for the patient to consume a very high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

3) A more normal stomach than bypass, there is no pouch and no stoma.

4) For Type II diabetics this surgery provides a 97% reversal of diabetes.  As a matter of fact, doctors in Europe are doing this surgery in normal size adults to treat uncontrolled diabetes.


Three disadvantages of this surgery:


1) Highest risk surgery type when using inexperienced surgeons.

2) Highest risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

3) Not appropriate for vegetarians or vegans or those unable to comply with a high fat diet.


Ron's phone  918 630 2970
Email:  RMortie@hotmail.com

Michelle phone 602 539 0970
Email: Bipley@gmail.com

What is the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy? (aka VSG or Sleeve)

VERTICAL SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY

The VSG is a restrictive only procedure meaning that it will limit the quantity of food you can consume at one time but you will not malabsorb nutrition or calories.

The VSG (aka Sleeve) is where your surgeon will surgically make your stomach smaller. Your stomach has an elastic portion called the fundus. The fundus of your stomach can hold 16 - 18 cups of food. Clearly, this is not a benefit to those trying to lose weight. In the sleeve procedure your surgeon will remove the outer curvature of your stomach leaving a small, banana shaped portion of your stomach.

Studies show that obese people tend to produce three times the amount of Ghrelin as a naturally thin person. Ghrelin is a hormone that is mostly (but not all) produced by the stomach and Ghrelin is what tells your brain that you are hungry. People with the sleeve tend to lose the majority of their hunger. Doctors are not in agreement if Ghrelin will return later in life. Quantities of food vary from surgeon to surgeon but theoretically when your sleeve matures in 4-6 months you should be able to eat about 3oz of solid, dense protein such as steak or about 6oz of soft foods such as cottage cheese.

There is a bit of history with the Sleeve procedure. It used to be part one of a two part procedure. Today it is used as a stand alone procedure. If someone has a very large BMI they are often times too high risk for a full Gastric Bypass or DS surgery. So traditionally surgeons have performed a sleeve procedure and sent the patient home to lose enough weight to make a riskier and longer procedure safer. Later they come back and have the malabsorption added to their surgery type. Today they are making smaller stomachs and not doing the malabsorption for those that merely want restriction alone. The procedure itself is NOT new, what is new are the weight loss statistics since it was previously used as part one of a two part surgery.

It should be noted that in 2013 the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy was the most performed weight loss surgery in the United States passing over the traditional gold standard, Gastric Bypass.

There is a chance of a vitamin B12 deficiency. Your stomach produces an enzyme called Intrinsic Factor or IF. IF is needed to absorb Vitamin B12 via the stomach. Some people produce less IF after surgery and they need to take Vitamin B12 under their tongue instead of swallowing a tablet.

Three advantages of this surgery:

1) Safest surgery LONG term of all WLS types
2) Drastic reduction in hunger due to removing the portion of the stomach that over produces Ghrelin
3) No maintenance, no aftercare

Three disadvantages of this surgery:

1) Not reversible
2) Less than 1% additional *surgical* risk over the Adjustable Band
3) Risk of B12 deficiency



Ron's phone  918 630 2970
Email:  RMortie@hotmail.com

Michelle phone 602 539 0970
Email: Bipley@gmail.com

Ron's Weight Loss Journey

Near the end of 2008 it was very clear, if I wanted to live and take care of my family I had to do something about my health problems. Wendy knew how bad I was getting, she had done her best.  Now, it was up to me. Diets just didn't work and time was running out.

Wendy and I talked about weight loss surgery, but we knew very little about it. Lo and behold a friend's husband had surgery a few months prior and was having great success losing weight and was doing well. We started doing some research and found out that most insurance companies don't pay for the surgery. They wanted me to go to counseling, exercise, and diet for a full year. That is a great idea if you have a year to wait and have not yet tried that. Self pay seemed like the best option for us.

Now the hard part, finding the right doctor. Wendy did her homework checking on many doctors, some local and some far away. She researched everything, checking on the cost, the doctors, and the care they gave their patients, as well as if they would even take me on as a patient. To Wendy's credit she always was able to smell BS when she heard it, and trust me there are some bad doctors out there! For whatever reason some of the people she talked to were less than honest about what they were selling. When she got in touch with the team who did my surgery she knew she hit pay dirt. The people were very up front, honest and told the whole story, the good and the bad. Every detail was talked about, even the risks. The choice was clear, the date was set.

On February 9, 2009 I started on a journey that saved my life. Mexicali here I come! Wendy didn't think I would go, but I did. The thought of not being there for my family was reason enough to get this done. I wanted so much to be a good husband and a good dad, I would not let them down. I flew into San Diego and was met by a driver who took me straight to the hospital. I met with the doctors, the staff, and went through some tests. I was a little nervous! The staff was great, they me feel at ease, and yes many of them spoke better English than me! HA HA The surgery was performed the next morning with no complications. There was some mild discomfort, I was up and going outside for a smoke in a few hours. Three days in the hospital and back to the airport and back home. The flight home was the worst part of the whole thing. Airline seats weren't made for fat people.

The day of my surgery I topped the scales at 329 lbs. In a few short months I was down to 174lbs. AMAZING! I would have never believed it. I had my life back, Wendy had a husband back that might live and be around for awhile. Things started to change very quickly. After 4 or 5 days at home I was back in the truck doing what I do best. It was not all that hard learning to eat healthy, there were not any cravings and I wasn't hungry. The first year after surgery I am sure what I saved on junk food and soda more than paid for the surgery. So many things happened the first few months after surgery.

The weight just kept coming off, Wendy wanted me to buy some new clothes but I wouldn't. One morning after checking in at a grocery warehouse I started to back in and jumped out to open my doors the wind was blowing like crazy, I had to make a choice hang on to my pants or hang on to the door. I made a poor choice, when I let go of my pants down they came right there in the middle of the parking lot. Must have been one hell of a sight for all those watching! Later that day I bought a pair of red suspenders.

One morning a couple months after surgery I walked into the Petro where Wendy was working, she did a double take didn't even recognize her own husband.  Her coworkers gave her a hard time about that.

The only regret I have is not being honest and telling people what I had done. People kept asking how I was losing so much weight. Not sure if it was shame or fear but for whatever reason I wouldn't tell people the truth. So many people could be helped if they only knew there was help out there. This is my way of giving back to this industry, and thinking Wendy and remembering her for all she gave to the trucking industry.

Don't wait any longer, you don't have to stay fat, there is help, there is hope. Give yourself and your family the gift of good health, enjoy life again. Please think about it, this is a life changing thing. You will not regret it. Save your life. Save your job. Get busy enjoying life again. Please join me and so many others on this journey back to good health.

You are free to call me or call my nurse. Just learn about this surgery. Save your CDL, save your life!

Ron – 918 630 2970 RMortie@hotmail.com

Michelle 602 539 0949 Bipley@gmail.com

Call now, don't put this off any longer.

There IS life after weight loss surgery!  We can go back to doing the things we love!  I would have never fit in this Model T before I lost weight!



Ron's phone  918 630 2970
Email:  RMortie@hotmail.com

Michelle phone 602 539 0970
Email: Bipley@gmail.com