Patient Stories

Lindsey Wack was overweight-and frustrated with the excess pounds-for most of his adult life. "I would lose weight and gain it back. It bounced back and forth all my life," the Rockwall resident says.

He considered gastric bypass surgery off and on for several years. Finally, in 2006, at age 45 he decided to give it a go. He had the operation at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano on a Friday morning and by 10 a.m. on Saturday he was on his way home. Seven months later he had dropped 85 pounds, well on his way to his goal of losing 110 to 120 pounds. Plus, his high blood pressure is now under control.

He says he now eats much smaller meals and has adjusted his eating habits. "I used to drink a lot of diet soda and eat a lot of snacks," he says. "The soda was easy to skip but the snack foods were tougher-it's a learning curve." The classes and sessions Baylor Plano offers as part of the gastric bypass program helped prepare him for the changes he faced, he says. And he had another benefit-easy access to nursing care anytime, thanks to his wife, a Baylor Garland nurse.

With fewer excess pounds on his frame, Wack is able to play racquetball a couple of times each week, and he's back on his bicycle for 20- to 30-mile rides. "The restricted meals and the exercise help with the continued weight loss, and the exercise keeps my metabolism going at a good rate, plus it helps my heart," he says.

By Stephanie Thurrott

If you are interested in weight-loss surgery and would like to know more, we invite you to attend a free Weight-Loss Surgery Informational Seminar. For more information or to register for an upcoming seminar at Baylor Plano, please call 1-800-4BAYLOR.