I look at the pictures of me from six, seven years ago and I don't recognize myself.
Angel Pirog looks different today but not so long ago she had a very familiar story.
I weighed almost 360 pounds. We went to restaurants, I hated it.
If they set us in a booth, I was terrified. And I had, like, just incredible
apprehension walking to the booth because I was afraid I wouldn't fit.
I was afraid of diabetes, heart problems coz that runs in the family.
I had mild asthma and I was concerned about that getting worst.
And I just -- I didn't want a life like that. Like many people who struggle with
obesity, Angel tried everything.
I went to the gym, which I couldn't stick because I just felt so uncomfortable there
coz most of the people were in whole lot better shape than I was in.
I had tried different drinks. I had tried pills and nothing worked
and it was just temporary. I had tried going to a weight loss clinic.
And I didn't wanna rely on pills and once I stopped taking them the weight came back
and that's not how I wanted to live. Angel decided to explore bariatric surgery.
I went to blogs because I figured I want to talk to -- I want to hear from other
patients who were happy, coz the medical websites can tell all kinds of things but
it's the people who actually have the surgery who are the ones that I wanted to
hear from, and everyone that I went to recommend [inaudible].
There was not one complaint. Everybody was so happy with everything
and in the support they've gotten from hospital.
Johns Hopkins Center for Bariatric Surgery has performed over 3,000 Bariatric
procedures and is recognized as a center of excellence.
I founded the bariatric surgery program here at Johns Hopkins Bayview in 1996,
so we've been doing bariatric surgery here at the Johns Hopkins Bayview for over 15 years.
We have three different operations we'd perform and the right operation depends on
the patient. Different patients have different medical
problems that need to be treated and different heights and weights and bring
different things to the table, so we try and individualize the operation of the patient.
I knew I needed help and I knew that this was the best way to get to where I wanted
to be.
The truth is bariatric surgery isn't just about weight loss;
it's about improving your health and quality of life.
The reason we do bariatric surgery right now isn't to make people lose weight.
It just what somebody off the street might think.
The reason we do bariatric surgery is to cure people of their medical problems
related being heavy.
Seventy to 80 percent of gastric bypass patients will be cured early or alleviated
off their Type 2-diabetes. And a good number of the sleeve
gastrectomy on [inaudible] patients will
Within a month of surgery sometimes people are off their insulin and diabetic
medications and the patients can't believe it coz they thought that the rest of their
life they're gonna be taking insulin and diabetic medications.
For Angel the decision was easy partly because of the extensive support Johns
Hopkins Bayview offers from signup to surgery and beyond.
I think one of the things that sets up apart is The Center for Bariatric surgery
here at Johns Hopkins Bayview, is that we truly have a team of people committed to
taking care of the bariatric patient. People who specialize in their individual
fields such as dedicated nutritionist who all they do is help people pre and post
bariatric surgery get the best possible outcome. Dedicated and specialized psychologist,
gastroenterologist, who all have a good knowledge of the operation and what we do.
So I think the key thing about Hopkins program is that we have committed so many
resources to ensuring that the patient is fully educated, fully knowledgeable,
fully motivated and committed before we ever allow a patient to go in to the operating room.
I was excited the whole way through. Even as they wheeled mean in the surgery,
I was excited. Following her surgery, Angel faced new
challenges but this time they were challenges she could manage.
And with Johns Hopkins center for bariatric surgery she had a partner in
this new endeavor. I had repeated meetings with the
nutritionist before and after surgery because they try to make you understand
how important it is that you have to change your whole lifestyle, that you have
to work on your nutrition, you have to make sure your diet is good and you eat
your -- you have enough protein.
It was so great to go for my checkup at Hopkins and see 15 pounds gone and 20
pounds gone, and then I'm down 80 pounds. It was exciting.
You know, for the first time I look forward to get on the scale.
Angel's success is not unusual. The majority of Johns Hopkins shed the
excess weight and the illnesses related to obesity.
The secret to their success is commitment.
Angel was motivated and committed to the process. What we gave Angel was the physical tool
to change her life forever. We also gave her the education that she
needed to undo those bad habits and replace them with new habits that were healthy.
For Angel bariatric surgery led to a new life in more ways than one.
I have a daughter now that I never expected. She's just amazing.
And I can get on the floor and play with her. And I can go to the park and play with her.
And I'm not out of energy. And from there the sky was the limit.
It was one of the most amazing feelings that fact that I could do it, that I felt
comfortable doing it, and then the feeling of actually skydiving was just -- it was
probably the most relaxed I've ever felt in my entire life.
We've had patients who have gone on and become triathletes.
We've had patients who have been on a hundred units of insulin twice a day
completely off of all insulin, so it can be amazing what happens after surgery.
Johns Hopkins Center for Bariatric Surgery is helping people lose weight and gain
self-esteem, better health, and a positive lifestyle.
Even before I started losing the weight my confident level just went through the roof
because I was proud of myself for making a decision and making the commitment
and knowing that I could do it. Important features of our program include
an adolescent program, private rooms with accommodations to make all family members comfortable.
As is customary with Johns Hopkins Medicine, research is being done to make
the lives of bariatric patients even better in the future.
At Hopkins you have the option to help others struggling with weight loss by
participating in bariatric research studies. It's not a magic pill or magic button
that's gonna change everything, but to know that you have the surgeons
and everyone at Hopkins has given you all the tools that you need to make others changes
and you have that such a huge support system behind you, it's just -- it was an
exciting time. I look at pictures of myself and I always
recognize myself. And when I finally realized that it's me,
I get excited.
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