Puget Sound Surgical Center

My name is Mark Corrales and I weighed 432 pounds before having Gastric Bypass surgery on March 10th 2008. Why did I choose Gastric Bypass and not some other alternative? Let me tell you why. How many times have you heard this statement?

“I have been on every diet known to man”. I have been through so many up and down cycles in my life and ended up gaining more weight back then when I started the diet.

Other factors in my life not to mention, my knees and lower back continued to hurt. I was diagnosed border line with high blood pressure, diabetes and my glucose level was off the chart. Soon to find out I was diagnosed with Gout and it is very painful and I would have not wished it on my worst enemies’…very painful!

I lost over 140 pounds about ten years ago on a popular product called Phen Phen. I thought I was cured and on my way to becoming a thin man, then what happens? They said it wasn’t safe for your heart and took it off the shelves. Well, you know the story; I gained all my weight back after a year and then some. In California my primary physician for the last five years was always suggesting for me to have some type of weight loss surgery. He stated that he wasn’t able to treat me any longer because I’m killing myself. After every visit I always said to myself, “nah’ I can work off the weight at the gym and start to eat better and loose weight when ever I’m ready and put my mind to it.” Well, you know the answer to that saying! That day never came.

I always said to myself that I would eat whatever I wanted this weekend and I will start my new diet on Monday. That lasted until around 11:00am that Monday when it was lunch time and I didn’t have the will power to eat a healthy plate. Besides the salad bar had a line and it looked like a hassle to deal with. It was always easier to eat fat foods with extra mayonnaise, ranch dressing on everything. Besides it was easier to access and definitely more comforting. After I ate I would think about how much of a looser I was, but then I began to realize that I did it again, and I started to feel bad. So to comfort my mind I would just say to myself, “I’ll start next Monday”.

I recently moved to the state of Washington in July of 2007, what a green state! In Washington everything is different from California and having everything new up here, including the different types of Mexican food, which I totally loved before, was a major adjustment. Before I moved to Washington, a lot of my friend’s would tell me that I wouldn’t find any Mexican food up there and that I will hate all the other foods. Well that wasn’t a problem, being 432 pounds and very obese, I hunted down every restaurant on the west side of Washington until I found all my comfort foods, and soon enough I found all of them to be satisfying. That challenge was conquered.

I work for a major corporation and it is one of the biggest places in the nation. When I first stepped inside, I said to myself, “I‘ll never be able to get around here without some type of transportation”. My knees and lower back were just getting worse and I knew that I couldn’t put off the surgery any longer and so finally I made the decision to have it done and began to start the process. This is when I heard about Puget Sounds Surgical Services in Edmond’s, Washington. I can tell you with pure honesty that since day one when I met the staff at Puget Sound Surgical, I became family.

I met Dr. Peter Billing and had my consultation with him. It went very well and right away I felt very comfortable with him. He was able to explain to me everything in detail and was able to answer all of my questions like he has heard them before. He told me exactly what I would experience before and after the surgery. He explained that he wanted to run some tests on me before the process, to make sure I was healthy enough for the surgery. I was able to pick my surgery date and I never felt the slightest bit of being pressured into something I wasn’t comfortable doing.

With every pre-op visit, they made me feel very relaxed and confident every time I was there. They also set me consultations with excellent Nutritionist’s. The people were able to relate to my needs and negative cravings. They explained to me that before the surgery, my life was about to change, but in a totally positive way. But knowing me, I didn’t hear them. You just think that everything will be the same and how do they know that I won’t like certain foods or if my taste will change? I thought to myself, they don’t know me and I will always love the same fried foods and all the soda I can drink.

I have been eating a variety of Mexican foods and drinking soda for the last 40 plus years. I use to think that I will always love the food that I grew up on. But boy was I wrong! I remember asking and begging my Nutritionist Jennifer, “when can I try fried chicken again?” I was dying for it after the surgery. She had warned me and told me I had to wait until it was safe to eat, and then when it became safe enough to eat it, she was right, I hated it. My taste buds were different and I didn’t like it. The grease was so intense like never before. The weight loss tool that was given to me changed my life and with everything new, I started to eat things that were healthier and surprisingly I enjoyed them. I couldn’t believe it.

Before the surgery I thought foods that were healthy, were gross and I use to hate all fruits and vegetables. Now after the surgery, I like most fruits and I’m still trying different vegetables. I no longer have bad food cravings and can finally go to a restaurant with family and friends and order a healthy dish instead of that fried dish with all the fat trimmings and feel great about it. I will not lie to you and tell you that it was easy. But what I can tell you is that it’s truly mind over matter; you hear your conscience asking you “than why did you have the surgery?”

It will make you mad that you can’t eat your favorite foods any longer, but it’s only for your benefit. I will tell you that feeling will only last for the first week post-op. Then after a few days you will start to feel better and encourage yourself as well as thinking to yourself that you can do this and it only gets easier day by day. After the surgery the Puget Sound staff sets up post-op appointments for you with Dr. Billing. They go over your outcome from the surgery and regularly have your blood drawn to check your bodies’ nutrients to make sure everything is okay and your progression is all well.

I can’t thank Dr. Billing, his professional staff along with the nutritional staff enough for helping me change my life for the better. They kept tabs on me and made sure everything was going fine. Today I am three months post-op and have lost 104 pounds and have a new way of thinking and I know for sure this time is no roller coaster ride. I will keep the weight off and stay healthy. I can’t wait to go into the mall and buy clothes off the rack. I also can’t wait to be able to ride in an airplane seat without the added seatbelt, or having that feeling where you think the stranger sitting next to you think that it would have to be them to have the fat guy sit next to them.

Everyday things are starting to change and I can do things today already that I haven’t been able to do for so long. Just bending over to tie my shoes was a major milestone for me and I can only imagine what will come next. I feel great! I have truly realized that I couldn’t have gone through this major process in my life if it weren’t for the support from my beautiful wife Sue by my side and encourage me to make the decision for myself, because she stated that I would have to live with this life changing decision and either enjoy it or suffer the consequences from it, but what ever decision I made, she would be there for me and she truly was, every emotional and painful minute of discomfort she was always by my side. I can’t thank her enough and I owe her my life and gratitude for being there for me when the days were very gloomy and sad. I love her more than ever before. I love my new life.

KING 5 reports that if left untreated, severe heartburn can lead to esophageal cancer. But now patients can get relief with a new procedure that fixes the problem with no incisions.

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The April 20th, 2008 episode of 60 minutes on CBS showcased the incredible benefits of gastric bypass surgery to what some claim to be a cure for diabetes. The cure is not attributed to the weight loss that results from the surgery but the surgery itself.

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With this latest medical report from CNN, gives a personal testimonial of how bariatric surgery is making a huge difference in people’s lives. The emotional and psychological healing that comes as a result of the physical transformation is a life saver.

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Drs. Peter Billing and Robert Landerholm performed one of the first Realize Band surgeries in Washington State at Puget Sound Surgical Center on Thursday, March 27th. Ethicon Endo-Surgery (a Johnson & Johnson Company) has introduced the Realize Band to directly compete the popular LAP-BAND from Allergan.

The Realize Band earned FDA approval in November 2007, but was first commercialized in Switzerland and other Western European countries as The Swedish Band in 1996 (the name was changed to Realize in 2007). The Realize Band was developed at Huddage University Hospital in 1985 in Sweden, and over 94,000 bands have been sold in over 54 countries worldwide.

In addition to the Realize Band, Ethicon Endo-Surgery is backing up their product with REALIZE MySUCCESS, a personalized and interactive tool designed to help enable long-term success

The surgeons at Puget Sound Surgical Center are now the first facility in Washington to offer patients the choice between the LAP-BAND, Realize Band, Gastric Bypass, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. Patients are more informed of their options than ever before, often spending hours researching which band or surgery is right for them. “Weight Loss Surgery isn’t one size fits all,” says Executive Director Tico Sandoval, “we want our patients and surgeons to have every option available to choose the surgery that will work best for them, and that they will be the most comfortable with.”

Gastric banding (LAP-BAND and Realize Band) is growing in popularity after a recent landmark study showed that gastric banding is more than five times as effective at resolving type 2 diabetes than conventional medical / behavioral therapy.

PSSC is offering the Stomaphyx Procedure for patients who have had gastric bypass and have had some weight gain. It is an endoscopic procedure that pleats the stomach, creating a smaller pouch. We know that pouch dilatation is one reason why patients may have weight gain. This is an outpatient procedure. We are the first in the area to offer this new technology. Make an appointment if you are interested. Here is the website for more information. http://www.endogastricsolutions.com/

We had our first committee meeting this week.  Anyone who wishes to participate should contact our office.  We are planning for the walk to be at the end of September.  Anyone struggling with obesity should come and lend their support.

Regards,

Peter Billing

When is it time for a fill ? The reason I ask this, is because now that I have been feeling all the signs, I finally bit the bullet and went in for the fill.

Funny how subtle it is. Hunger … suddenly it bothers me when other people are eating.  Taking a risk, eating some bread, and it goes down without a problem…

danger signs for sure..  so today, I went in and Joy gave me some happy juice… we will see how the next couple of days go… and hopefully a few lbs will go away…!!

Denise

 

 

Hello everyone,

We hope the new website and blog will create greater communication and community for those who are in our program.  If you have a question that you want me to answer, you are welcome to use this site or send me an email.  Our other staff are also open to questions, so don’t be afraid to ask.

Most of you who have been with us for the past 2 years have seen the tremendous growth to the program.  As the program grows we want to maintain that personal touch that you have seen.  We are open to hear any concerns you may have and if you have ideas for solutions, that would be appreciated as well.  Periodically, you will be receiving updates regarding new services at PSSC.  This site will be an opportunity to exchange ideas and hear about upcoming events/news.

Many of you know we have an office and program in Bellingham.  Our office is located next to the Bellwether Hotel at the Harbor in Bellingham.  It has many of the components that you see in our Edmonds office.  Cincy Tobiason, RN is our nurse coordinator there.  We also provide dietary and psychological support locally and of course provide a place to have gastric band adjustments.  We are doing our surgeries at Pacific Rim Outpatient Surgery Center next to St Joseph Hospital.  If you know people in B’ham who are wanting weight loss surgery, I hope they would consider coming to PSSC.

I want to let you know about the Walk from Obesity march this September.  This is to help create awareness about obesity by raising support for education and research.  You can go to the website at walkfromobesity.com to learn more.  We will need lots of volunteers to make this successful and those who are interested in helping will need to let us know soon.  We are putting together a committee in May.

I hope to hear from many of you soon.  It has been a wonderful experience seeing you get your life back.  I never imagined that with one operation that we could treat so many diseases.  More importantly many of you are doing things that you never could imagine doing.  I am glad to be a participant with you in that. 

Take care,

Peter Billing MD