Weight-Loss Surgery Opens Door for Nurse
Brittany Creese, a registered nurse who works in the emergency department at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, had gastric sleeve weight-loss surgery last year.
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One of the best moments of Brittany Creese’s young life took place as she walked into a department store a few weeks ago and realized that she no longer had to shop for plus sizes.
Another occurred when she crossed the finish line for the Warrior Dash, the obstacle course 5K she ran in Huntersville back in May. She anticipates yet another at the conclusion of the Outer Banks half-marathon she has planned for November.
“I’m not ready for a marathon, but I’m ready for a half,” she says.
Until just a few months ago, shopping for pretty clothes and running half-marathons had taken a back seat to Creese’s weight-related high blood pressure and diabetes. That was before the 25-year-old emergency department nurse had gastric sleeve weight-loss surgery at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.
Creese’s life is very different now. She came off her diabetes medicine the day of her surgery, her blood pressure is now down to a healthy 110/60 and, by Aug. 20, six months after her surgery, she weighed 79 pounds less than she did before.
“I wouldn’t hesitate to have the surgery again — at all,” she says.
Gastric sleeve is a bariatric or surgical weight-loss procedure that Creese’s surgeon, Dr. Raymond Washington, predicts will eventually surpass gastric bypass as the “gold standard” of weight-loss surgeries.
“Over the past five years, gastric bypass and Lap-Band surgeries have gotten most of the attention in the media,” Washington says. “But data have shown great results comparable or better with sleeve surgery with less concern about the nutritional deficits and long-term complications of the other surgeries.”
With gastric sleeve surgery, much of the stomach is removed, which reduces it to about 20 percent of its original size. The open edges of the remaining tissue are then attached to form a banana-shaped “sleeve” that limits the amount of food the patient can eat and helps the patient feel full sooner.
Since there is no rerouting of the small intestine to bypass the natural stomach outlet, there is less chance of the nutritional complications associated with the more traditional surgery.
Creese decided on gastric sleeve surgery after discussing the pros and cons of all three procedures done at Moore Regional Hospital — Lap-Band as well as gastric bypass and gastric sleeve — with both Washington and his colleague, Dr. David Grantham, of the First Health Bariatric Center.
She was especially interested to learn that sleeve surgery eliminates the part of the stomach that produces grhelin, the hormone that controls hunger, appetite and nutrition. As someone who had tried many of the traditional weight-loss measures, including exercise under the direction of a personal trainer, she felt the sleeve procedure was her best option.
A gynecological diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome, which made weight loss even more difficult, was another important factor in her decision to have the surgery.
“We were all in agreement that the sleeve would really be best for me,” she says.
Creese’s surgery, not to mention its preparation and aftermath, couldn’t have gone better. She believes her pre-surgery preparation, which included behavioral and nutritional counseling, helped prepare her for what lay ahead, and that the schedule of post-surgical follow-ups, which began two weeks after her surgery, will help her maintain her new status.
“You know exactly what you’re getting into,” she says. “You are prepared in every way.”
Creese did so well, in fact, that she actually pushed her return to work and favorite activities more dramatically than Washington preferred. He was surprised to find her back at work in Moore Regional’s Emergency Department much earlier than expected.
But Creese was feeling well, minus the back pain that had affected her physical activities, and ready to get on with her life — her job, her crafting and card-making, and the progress she’s making toward a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Even her gynecological problems have stabilized, offering her a better opportunity for something else she hopes will be in her future.
“I want to have kids,” she says, “and now I have a better chance with the weight loss.”
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Comments
SH59 4 months, 1 week ago
I don't mean to be insensitive but I don't understand the need for surgery when diet and exercise is extremely successful when one is motivated. I can't believe that taking part of her stomach that controls hunger is the best way to go for someone so young. I know what it takes to really diet and watch calories and it's hard but you don't gain success unless you work at it.
Matt_Woodruff 4 months, 1 week ago
SH59 Spot on! Removing part of the stomach? Seriously? You can never get that back! Read "It Starts With Food".
vikingmom 4 months, 1 week ago
I too had this surgery done and guess what if it was as simple as watching what u eat, i would have done that..It is not..The stomach will stretch back over time. However as Dr. Washington is very fond of saying, this is a TOOL... you will not succeed if you do not follow their guidelines. I started this process myself in Jan of 2012. I have lost 148 lbs to date. People who are morbidly overweight do not go into this process thinking, alright they are removing my stomach and I will be skinny..No it takes a lot of dedication to make this work. Please think twice before bashing us who have had this done..Trust me, I did a lot of research and I felt this was best for me..as I am sure any patient who has gastric procedures done did the same...
RD28327 4 months, 1 week ago
Go Vikingmom!!!
Matt_Woodruff 4 months, 1 week ago
There are plenty of morbidly obese people who have lost weight without surgery. I agree that it is not as simple as "watch what you eat" because the information we are given by the USDA and nutritionalists is not rational. The USDA website actually lists corn as a vegetable!! They should recommend a Paleo Diet before surgery imho. No grains, ever. The USDA says 8-10 servings a day! It is all about leptin resistance. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/leptin/#axzz2I47KylM6
jahuphs1982 4 months, 1 week ago
Ignorance is Bliss! @SH-59 and Matt-Woodruff unless you have walked in the shoes of someone battling morbid obesity and polycistic ovarian syndrome you have no clue what you talking about. It amazes me how everyone has all of the damn answers. Don't bash someone who is trying to help themselves........
junebug16 4 months, 1 week ago
Morbid obesity is a disease just like diabetes, hypertension and cardiac disease and involves many factors, not just food! It is never as simple as watching what you eat. If it were, we would all be a size 6. Obviously, someone hasn't seen the statistics on successfully losing the weight and maintaining that weight loss. While a few people are able to successfully lose weight and keep it off, the majority of people are not successful. Weight loss surgery is never the first option of a morbidly obese patient. These patients have tried every diet and exercise program in the book including "watching what you eat." Exercise is a whole other story for morbidly obese patients. Most suffer from medical conditions that limit their ability to exercise. Bariatric surgery offers patients the hope of having a more normal life and being able to do the things most people take for granted such as exercise, riding a roller coaster, being able to fit in a chair with arms, being able to play with their children and grandchildren. Bariatric surgery is not a quick fix or "the easy way out" by any stretch of the imagination. It requires commitment and dedication from each patient.
clarabelle 4 months, 1 week ago
" It requires commitment and dedication from each patient. "
I am sympathetic to the plight of obesity and I ask this question out of admitted ignorance. If after the surgery (which is very dangerous) the patient needs to follow "strict" dietary guidelines", why couldn't a strict diet implemented by a nutritionist be used initially rather than the surgery!
Thatcher 4 months, 1 week ago
Ms. Creese, you look absolutely beautiful! Best of luck to you for a long, healthy, and fun life! You will do well. Cheers!
LSM 4 months, 1 week ago
I wonder how weight-loss surgery will fit in under the upcoming new National Health Care Act. Eventually this will be everybody with one provider the US Government, in turn supported by the taxpayer. Will there be enough money to fund such operations, and what will be the criteria of who receives such operations? When the issue becomes really about cost verses services just what will be allowed? I somethimes wonder about air ambulance services to auto wrecks, how will that be justified and who will make the decision, someone at the scene or someone in Washington.
junebug16 4 months, 1 week ago
First, Bariatric surgery is not "very dangerous". As with any type of surgery where anesthesia is used there are associated risks. Bariatric surgery has come a long way from the way it was performed when the surgeries were done years ago. Most are done laparoscopically and patients return to work in two to four weeks, some even return to work after one week at the descretion of their surgeon. Bariatric surgery reduces the size of the stomach giving patients restriction of how much they can eat. This is a tool and not a cure-all. During the pre-op process to have bariatric surgery, patients are also educated on the importance of proper diet and exercise to obtain their goals. This education is on-going as they are required to attend follow up appointments and support groups for the rest of their lives. Again, you have to realize that obesity is a multi-faceted problem and not just a food issue. There are many reasons patients become obese including medical, psycological and inherited genes. Usually by the time they make the decision to pursue surgery, they have exhausted every other option and have given up trying to lose weight on their own. I don't know of anyone that "chooses" to be obese. For some patients their are psycological factors as well. That is why they are required to have psycological evaulations to identify these issues and help them address these before and after their surgery.