| My
Story
Hi, my name is Donna Naquin. I have been overweight since
I was 15 years old, I am now 46. I have battled with my weight
for many years. I have tried many different methods such as
Aspen Clinic, Quick Trim Clinic, and LA Weight Loss, just to
mention a few. I have spent countless amounts of money trying
to lose weight. I would lose it and gain it back and more.
I ran into a friend who told me she had had the lap band
surgery. She said “girl, you need to look into this, it’s
great!” I was not sure about it so I wanted more information.
About a week later, I ran into another friend who looked
great also. She told me that she had had the gastric bypass
surgery.
She too had good things to say about the surgery.
I then placed a phone call to Ms. Elrena at Surgical Weight
Management, within minutes I found myself at her office receiving
a packet of information. She really helped me to gather all
the information I needed to get started.
I suffered from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, fluid
retention, sleep apnea, just to name a few of my medical problems.
I would take a handful of medication every morning and every
night. I went to my cardiologist; he examined me and did many
tests to determine if I was healthy enough to undergo the surgery.
It took about 6 weeks to get insurance approval, but I was
approved for the lap band.
I was so excited! On August 3, 2005 I had my surgery. I weighed
in at 230 lbs. By December 5, 2005 I was weighing 140 lbs.
and feeling great! I am off of all medication.
I am here today to tell you that there is hope, don’t
give up. Ms. Elrena at Surgical Weight Management will do
all she can to get you approved. The doctors will give you
a tool
to help you lose weight. The nurses and the monthly support
group will help you succeed. Here I am a year later and the
nurses are still just like family. I love them all, my hero,
the man that gave me my life back Doctor Donald P. Schwab
Jr. along with all of the doctors, David, Eric, and Fritz
Rau.
I wish all of you the best of luck in everything you do in
life, because you’ve all given me mine back.
Thanks and may the grace of our good Lord be with us all!
Donna Naquin
END
 B BEFORE
AFTER
My name is Sandra Marcel Buquet. I am
sharing my success story because I am so excited I want the
world to know. My story begins with me having my tonsils out at
age 16; I gained 60 pounds that summer. Prior to that, I had
never experienced a weight problem. From that point in my life I
gained weight and lost weight but was never able to keep the
excess weight off until my gastric bypass surgery. I tried every
diet on the market. I went to Weight Watchers and TOPS, and had
wonderful friends who shared my weight problems. The only thing
I was able to keep was good friends with similar problems. I
know now, I will never have a weight problem again because my
gastric bypass surgery gave me success and for that I thank Dr.
David Rau.
Before surgery I suffered with many
chronic life threatening conditions. I took medications for high
blood pressure, hyper thyroid, and high cholesterol and knee
problems. I had pre-diabetic symptoms, sleep apnea and suffered
infertility. I snored like a big ole bear. I tried everything
possible to succeed at keeping off the weight I lost. I found NO
long term success! I knew what to do, I just could not find the
self discipline to continue on any program long enough to
continue to lose the weight. I suffered infertility trying
fourteen years to get pregnant. I finally did but I experienced
the grief of losing my baby at birth. Grieving for four years, I
gained more weight. Finally I had a successful pregnancy. My
daughter brought such joy to my life all I wanted to do was be
happy with my husband and my baby. I did not worry about dieting
so I continued to gain more weight. One day I ran into a friend
in Wal-Mart; I hardly could believe all the weight she had lost.
She looked wonderful, happy and radiant. I just had to know what
her success was. She was too happy to share her story of how Dr.
David Rau had done her Gastric Bypass surgery. I could hardly
believe my ears when she told me how much weight she lost in a
short period of time and that she was NEVER hungry. She could
now make good healthy choices of her meals. I made up my mind
right then and there this would be my success also. That same
afternoon I called Elrena for a packet of information. To my
disappointment the Surgical Weight Management Associates were
not in my insurance network. I did some extensive research about
the gastric bypass and lap band surgeries. I found a doctor in
network in the New Orleans area. I went through the processes
necessary to have the surgery in New Orleans. The week of
Hurricane Katrina was my scheduled date for surgery. Needless to
say, it was not meant to be; my surgery was cancelled. A few
days after the hurricane, I called Elrena again. I was desperate
to have my surgery. I believe it was an answer to my prayers
that she was able to get my insurance to allow my surgery in
Houma. I attended the seminars and did a lot more research of
the two procedures.
Now I had been overweight over 35
years and I was ready to get my life back. I was not worried
about the surgery risks or the reports of high mortality, nor
the malnutrition. I knew being over 300 pounds; I was already in
a risky situation and in high mortality range. Being constantly
on a diet, I was certainly not enjoying proper nutrition and
probably close to malnutrition already. I prepared myself to be
a success. I knew “If God brought me to this- he would bring me
through it”! I had no fears at any point in time. I had complete
confidence in Dr. Rau and his staff.
On September 28, 2005, I checked into
Physicians Surgical Specialty Hospital for my gastric bypass
surgery. It was like a five star hotel. I was treated like
royalty. At 306 pounds, I knew this was the best thing to help
me. I had surgery on Wednesday and went home on Friday. In only
two weeks, I had already begun finding success; I had already
lost 25 pounds. After ten months, I lost 125 pounds.
I went to surgery wearing a size 28
clothes, now one year later I wear a size 12. The best part is
that I am NEVER HUNGRY! I make wise healthy choices in what to
eat. I eat small amounts but I enjoy my food. I am no longer on
a diet. I choose to restrict certain foods with high sugar or
carbohydrate content. I attend the monthly support group
meetings. WE share our stories and support one another with the
social adjustments we all experience differently. We are almost
like a family as we share our new found self esteem looking
forward to a healthy future.
I have now found long term success! My
co-morbidity problems are gone. I no longer snore; I do not have
sleep apnea any more. I no longer take all the medications for
high blood pressure or high cholesterol. My energy level is
great. I now love to shop, as I can now find clothing to fit on
the sales racks. I save money on buying food but spend it on
clothes.
There are not enough words in the
dictionary to express my grateful appreciation to Dr David Rau
and Elrena. Elrena did a wonderful job in helping me get all the
necessary paperwork and insurance approval done. I feel these
two people are my heroes! They have no idea how they have given
me another chance at life! I now look forward to living long
enough to see my 14 year old daughter grow up. I am no longer
concerned about the medical problems I would certainly
experience had I not lost weight. I can again look forward to
growing old with my wonderful husband Harry.
God bless you Dr. Rau for all you
have done to help me to get where I am today. I am so grateful.
I will forever thank God up above for what you have done for me.
I will continue to share my success story with anyone who wants
to hear. This is one of the best things I have done for me.
Sincerely,
Sandra Buquet
|
