BETTER HEALTH MAGAZINE
The Power of Two: By leaning on each other, Jan and Kelly Curtis keep on losing...and losing with great SUCCESS.
There were days when Jan Curtis couldn’t walk up her driveway without huffing and puffing. Her weight was literally bringing her down, affecting her health—both physically and mentally. It had become a regular part of her life, though Jan was happy and accepting of herself. She just thought: I’m a large person, and I will always be large. Then something big was about to happen. Jan, now 51, was becoming a grandmother. She had one of those Aha moments most do when facing a life change. “I wanted to be around to watch my granddaughter grow up.”
That was three years ago before she had lapband surgery, a procedure that restricts the stomach with a “band,” making you eat less and lose weight. Thanks to the Hospital of Saint Raphael Center for Weight-Loss Surgery, Jan is “exactly 100 pounds lighter than I was three years ago.” She now goes for extended walks with her granddaughter, loves clothes shopping, and is happier with herself than ever. “I went from a size 28 to a 14,” she said. “When I look in the mirror now, I see success.”
So does Jan’s husband, Kelly Curtis. The two Derby residents, who have been together since they were 14, both looked into the Center for Weight-Loss Surgery at the same time, but only Jan initially followed through. Kelly, a utility supervisor for the Town of Bethel, was admittedly afraid. He had some more health challenges with Type 2 diabetes and an irregular thyroid. Since he had advanced Diabetes, gastric bypass was a better fit. It’s designed to induce food absorption and would allow him to lose more weight faster—something his health greatly needed.
“I thought about the surgery, but I was skeptical,” he said. Just like his wife, Kelly had a fat-person’s mentality or what professionals call cognitive distortion—he labeled himself as fat and couldn’t conceive of that changing. But Kelly was witnessing first-hand how Jan’s life was dramatically changing, and slowly became open to the idea. “I started to do the research more. I read it was reversing [diabetes],” he said. With this, Jan became his change agent, and diabetes his motivator. Two years after Jan, Kelly had surgery.
Today, Kelly weighs less than he did when he was a freshman on the Derby High School football team when his then-girlfriend, Jan, was a pop-pom girl. “I no longer have an insulin pump. I went from three vials of insulin a month a to a half of a vial!” said Kelly. “I lost 100 pounds within a year, and now I am maintaining it.”
The fact is couples who plan weight loss together, keep it off longer. Studies have shown that weight-loss surgery patients lose 30 to 40 percent more weight if they get surgery with a close family member, and double the improvement in obesity-related health problems. That’s why the Hospital of Saint Raphael has launched an outreach effort for couples and other family members considering weight-loss surgery.
Dr. Geoffrey Nadzam, the Curtises’ Bariatric surgeon, says the Curtises’ have had excellent success because of their support of each other. “When you do it with an internal support structure you wouldn’t have otherwise, there is a bit more sympathy and empathy for the other person. Both parties may end up altering their life habits in a way that is successful.” It’s not easy, though. You have to eliminate your old tendencies to let change happen. It can be quite daunting.
Dr. Nadzam believes that’s what separates The Hospital of Saint Raphael Center for Weight-Loss Surgery from other weight-loss programs is its very tailored and personalized approach, from preoperative to postoperative. “We hold their hand and lead them through all obstacles and barriers before, through, and after surgery,” he explained. “There is a caring touch. Patients who undergo such a big change in their life need to know we are there for them, that they are not just another number and not just another surgery.”
Each patient goes through an initial screening with a nutritionist and a psychiatrist to test their mental capacity for the difficult journey ahead. It’s important because a patient can enter many phases, from a beginning honeymoon phase when weight loss is great to depression when loss tapers off to a more normal pace. These issues need to be addressed. The Center offers a variety of services rich with weight-loss surgery specialists, nutritionists, psychiatrists, and social workers who run seminars, workshops, and support groups all designed to keep a patient on track and motivated to ensure weight-loss success—for life.
Dr. Raymone Shenouda, the Center’s preoperative psychiatrist, says the road to success begins with the first patient visit. “I tell them that their new diet begins now [before surgery], because they have to be able to handle the change.” The first six weeks after surgery is a complete liquid diet, something not easy for those who have never done it.
Jan and Kelly Curtis are a great success story because they made a huge commitment to undertake their lifestyle changes together. They now have an entirely new relationship with food. Their refrigerator is stocked with healthy options. They no longer host large Italian Sunday dinners. Jan, who is a hairdresser and a nail technician, now eats yogurt, eggs, toast, and focuses on protein. She rarely deviates and knows her limitations. “Before I could do three cups of macaroni,” she said. “Now, one cup of food on my plate is a lot for me.” “We still love to cook,” said Kelly, “but we just don’t cook as much. We don’t thrive on it.”
To say the Curtises’ before and after pictures are dramatic is an understatement. “People don’t recognize me [at first] then say I look great,” said Kelly, who admits after a lifetime of being large, it feels good to hear. “It’s been such a positive experience. [Jan] has been my motivation.”
The Hospital for Saint Raphael Center for Weight-Loss Surgery
The Hospital for Saint Raphael Center for Weight-Loss Surgery adopts a holistic multidisciplinary approach to ensure a high success rate for its patients. Every patient interested in the program must go through a screening assessment to determine if he/she is a good candidate. It measures willpower as well as a basic level of mental understanding for how difficult the road ahead will be.
Patients meet with Center psychiatrist Dr. Raymone Shenouda, and are screened through a series of questions. “We look at whether or not the surgery will be beneficial to them mentally and assess if there are other psychological problems that will interfere.” Dr. Shenouda tests for eating disorders and depression, and will work with the patient and the patient’s physicians to clear them for surgery. Depending the issues, it could take up to six months or longer.
Gina Kessler, registered dietician with the Center, also does a nutritional assessment to help patients understand their new dietary restrictions, especially the initial liquid diet immediately following surgery. A weight history analysis and current food factors in the house are also taken into consideration on whether a person is ready. If others in the home are in need of a change, this patient can be a real motivator because they are all in it together. “Families make changes as a whole,” she said, “even if only one person has surgery.” Gina also has postoperative follow-up classes and is there as needed to help a patient through any dietary issues.
Other postoperative care includes educational workshops designed to help patients acclimate to their new lifestyle.
Elizabeth McMahon, a Psychiatric Utilization Review Coordinator and licensed social worker for the Center, runs monthly behavior support groups. She also holds six-week seminars, some in tandem with Dr. Shenouda. Aimed at developing success skills, the goal is to help patients “think differently so you can change sabotaging behavior you had in the past,” she said. Some of the Workshop themes include: How Your Thinking Can Lead You Astray; Dieter’s thinking versus Think Thinking, Fighting Undermining Ideas, and Learning the Power Of Oh Well. “You have to learn to accept the circumstances as they are, not focusing on why me, poor me.”
Elizabeth also teaches coping mechanisms when each patient inevitably reaches that plateau and the weight loss slows down. “We are trying to help patients [pinpoint] physical hunger versus emotional hunger,” she said. The goal is for patients to feel in control so they can “say no to food pushers” and embrace a lasting new lifestyle where they are motivated daily.
GLOSSARY:
Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y) — Makes the stomach smaller (size of an egg) and causes food to bypass part of the small intestine, reducing what can be absorbed. Leads to greater and quicker weight loss. Recommended for diabetics and obese.
Adjustable Gastric Band — Laparoscopic: An adjustable band is placed around the stomach restricting its size. You feel full, eat less, and lose. (Most common of all bariatric procedures.) Vertical banded gastroplasty: A restrictive band is placed around the stomach and the stomach is stapled above the band. (Least common.)
Sleeve Gastrectomy—
The stomach is restricted by dividing it vertically and more than 85 percent of it is removed. Also involves stomach stapling.
Weight Loss Banded Together, Milford Living magazine
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