“The best things that have happened to me since my surgery are the little things: being able to fit into chairs, not having to turn sideways to squeeze through certain places, not sweating all of the time, and being able to breathe normally when climbing a flight of stairs.”

The Evolution of a Bariatric Patient

The Penn State Hershey Surgical Weight Loss Program has been operating for more than 15 years. Throughout this time, we have seen hundreds of patients become healthier versions of themselves. During the process, we not only see weight changes, but we often see changes in patients’ attitudes toward food, exercise, and themselves.

At the February 2009 support group meeting, we did an exercise to get a more in-depth look at these attitude changes from three perspectives. We had contributions from pre-op patients, from those who were about one year post-op, and from those who were more than two years post-op. Some of the responses from the more than 50 support group attendees are shown in the tables below. Even though some of them are contradictory, they are honest and from the heart.

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