Healthcare Directory

2021 Medical & Dental Directory | 17 Dr. Classen said both the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery and sleeve gastrectomy are effective in helping patients lose weight and lead healthier lifestyles. "I can do surgery and put your diabetes in remission," he said. "A lot of people who've had diabetes leave the hospital off their diabetes medicine." Eligible patients are those with a body mass index, or BMI, of between 35-40. Healthy BMIs fall between 19-25. Patients will undergo screenings for underlying health issues and must make lifestyle changes following surgery. "We're going to make you lose weight," Dr. Classen said. "But it is still up to you to make good food choices and get on an exercise program that works." After years of trying a variety of diets, exercise and even medication, Santillan found her solution in Cape Fear Valley Health's bariatric surgery program. afterward in that even your taste buds change. You're trying to figure out what works for you and making sure you get enough protein in. "I've mentored a couple of people going through this process," she said. "I always tell them, you don't have to be perfect in terms of your diet. You can mess up, and you just have to get back on the horse and keep going. It's going to be ok." The hip and knee pain she had before her surgery has disappeared, enabling her to get down to the level of the subjects she adores. She also was able to take a three-week trip three months after her surgery with a nonprofit organization to Eastern Europe, including to Romania and the Czech Republic. "That is one of the main reasons I had the surgery," she said. "I was having such a hard time going to these places. I couldn't sit in an airplane for 15 hours, and I couldn't hike to these remote areas where I needed to go. I just knew that I had to make a change." n A native of Buffalo, New York, Santillan had battled weight issues much of her life. Her father had been a stickler for making sure his large family avoided junk foods and sugar. When she left home for the Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio, she was excited to enjoy all the forbidden sweets she wanted. "When I went to college, I went crazy," she said. "It was like, Lucky Charms for breakfast. Instead of the freshman 15, I gained the freshman 30." She and her husband of 21 years, Mariano, were married after graduation in 2000. Five months later, they were expectant parents. Having two babies two years apart caused more weight gain, but whether she was gaining or losing, she was beautiful. Especially in her husband's eyes. "Oh my gosh, he's amazing. He loves me both ways," she said. "He was happy that I was going to get healthy, but he loves me either way." Like all bariatric surgery patients, adopting new eating habits was challenging to Santillan. Cape Fear Valley Health offers a support group for bariatric surgery patients, as well as a Facebook group. "I was not hungry, and that part was really nice," she said. "But it was difficult Like all bariatric surgery patients, adopting new eating habits was challenging to Santillan. Cape Fear Valley Health offers a support group for bariatric surgery patients, as well as a Facebook group. Photo by Jamie Smith

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