
Life After Gastric Bypass Surgery
Medical Authors: Angela Generoso and
Laura Lee Bloor
Staff Writers, MedicineNet.com
Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
As of July 14, 2008, Mara Owens has lost 132 pounds.
"I feel amazing; I feel really good about what I?ve done. It takes a while for you to wrap your head around not being as big [anymore]. I still think I won?t fit into that airline seat or [I?ll] take up too much room. But that will come," she says.
At 5-foot-5, 272 pounds, Owens underwent gastric bypass surgery, a procedure in which part of her stomach was stapled down to create a small pouch, limiting the amount of food she can eat. A Y-shaped part of the small intestine was attached to the pouch, which lets food bypass the first part of the small intestine and a section of the second part. This results in fewer calories and nutrients taken in altogether.
Owens says her decision to undergo weight-loss surgery stemmed from years of research after countless failed diets and exercise programs. She felt she had tried everything that was reasonable in an effort to bring her weight down.
"I didn't have high blood pressure yet," she says. "I didn't have diabetes yet. But if I didn't do something soon, I would have it."