Bariatric Surgery San Antonio Success Story – Mary Diaz

Read the details of our Bariatric Surgery San Antonio Success Story – patient Mary Diaz.  Mary, like so many others, has spent the majority of her life trying to lose weight.  When she was a senior in high school she came down with pneumonia; however, there was a silver lining to this, as it helped jump start her weight loss. While she was ill she was unable to eat as much as normal and lost a few pounds, and once she was feeling better, she was able to keep off the weight she’d already lost plus more by starting a daily exercise routine.  By the end of her senior year, she’d lost 50-60 pounds and then was able to keep it off throughout college and into her marriage.

Mary Elaine Diaz
Highest Weight: 272
Goal Weight: 140-145
Current Weight: 184
Procedure: RNY 12/28/15
“This is it, this is forever”

After Mary’s second pregnancy, she did not have the weight loss that she had after her first pregnancy and started seeing the weight come back on.  She stated that “the weight piled on between 40-65 years of age.”  Mary tried every diet she could; she did Weight Watchers numerous times, Jenny Craig, Atkins and other fad diets, and she even tried weight loss programs and prescription pills from doctors with little to no longstanding results.  Mary said it wasn’t until she went to her endocrinologist and “as my A1c was creeping up, he asked if I had ever considered bariatric surgery.  Then when my sleep doctor asked the same thing, I did the lap band…huge failure!”

Mary got the lap band and lost only 36 lbs. before she started experiencing complications.  She ended up having a chronic slip and was never able to get it back to working properly for her.  After five years of battling with the band, Mary decided there had to be another option, so she set out to find something better. “My sister-in-law and niece had surgery with Dr. Patel and both had great results, and I was able to see firsthand how great the staff were.”  Mary decided that Dr. Patel was the answer she needed. After meeting with Dr. Patel, he agreed to remove her band and do a RNY.  So on December 28, 2015, that’s exactly what he did.

Now, Mary is just a year out from surgery and has already lost almost 100lbs.  She first weighed in with Texas Bariatric Specialists at 272 lbs. and now weighs 184lbs.  She still has about 40 lbs. to go to reach her goal weight, but she is already feeling amazing about her weight loss. “My husband keeps me motivated because he is so proud and tells me all the time that he doesn’t think he could do it!” exclaimed Mary. “Knowing this is it, this is forever, that’s all the motivation I need.”  Of course, it is an added bonus that she can keep up with her grandchildren or decorate the house for the holidays without feeling winded or waking up sore the next day. She also loves sporting her new skinny jeans and the fact that she can wear heels and actually walk in them.

Though Mary now feels amazing and wouldn’t change a thing, the first few months were very challenging.  She struggled a lot with the liquid diet and wanting to chew something.  Since she had to lose 20lbs prior to surgery she was relying mostly on shakes from August to February between the pre-op diet and post-op diet.  She learned in this process that she is allergic to whey and casein in cow’s milk so she had to find a shake that would work for her; luckily she discovered Black Bull goat whey protein powder, which is easier on her digestive system, and she found that when mixed with fresh goat’s milk, she actually enjoys it.  Not being able to eat wasn’t her only struggle, “surgery itself was tough.  I had a lot of adhesions due to the band and coming home with a drain was rough,” she said.  She also struggles with her body image due to loose skin, but she is getting better and is still surprised when she looks at pictures and sees how far she has come.

If someone came to her for her advice on whether to get the bariatric surgery in San Antonio, she says she would be honest. “Having the surgery has been the hardest thing for me, and it’s been the best thing for me.  Surgery is a tool I could not have done without.  It’s not a cure-all, you still have to work, but it is certainly worth it.”