Patient Stories

Chanda Leigh Furlough-Combs 

In my brain, I was simply “full figured” and fabulous - but when I saw pictures of myself, I was mortified at what I REALLY looked like. I attended a health fair at my office and my blood tests indicated that I was MORBIDLY OBESE. That label hit me like a ton of bricks.

But in all actuality, the extreme amount of excess body fat was ruining my life day after day after day. I had been missing quite a bit of work because I couldn’t (and didn’t want to) get myself together every day…I had no energy, and every part of my body constantly ached. Just prior to my health fair I had diagnosed myself as having Fibromyalgia and had made an appointment with an Endocrinologist.  This Doctor was a much older man, very gentle and soft spoken who listened to my ramblings about what I thought was wrong with me. When I was finished, he stood up, walked over, and handed me a packet and said “before I do any testing….and any time or money wasting………….. I need you lose a lot of weight. You are clearly morbidly obese (there were those words again) and my guess is - that most, if not all, of your problems have to do with how overweight you are.” That man changed my life right then and there. His complete and total honesty and that packet he handed me, led me directly to Dr. Marvin.

I have had the band on for almost 22 months and I have dropped from 250 the day of my surgery to 160…..10 more lbs and I will be down a full 100 lbs from where I started! I couldn’t be more excited! My life is COMPLETELY different. I finally look as good as I feel….and I feel better than I can ever remember feeling. AND I am HEALTHY…. not only in my body, but in my brain. I am up early, at work every day (and up for my 2nd promotion)! My confidence at work and in public is through the roof! You have no idea how invisible you are in all areas of your life when you are fat. A sad fact - but a fact all the same. My family is thrilled, my kids are proud to have me around their friends and out in public with them, my friends can’t believe how young I look and how much my personality has changed for the better. And my husband….well he is just sitting back and watching me Go and enjoying every minute of it. He isn’t real pleased with all the male attention I am now getting……but I’m loving it!

It is great to be able (and to want) to fully participate in life. Getting the LapBand was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and the person I knew I could - and will - be.

To Dr. Robert Marvin - thank you for being so approachable and informative at that Methodist Medical Weight Loss Seminar. You had me at “Hello.” ;) And thank you for a completely uneventful surgical procedure…it went perfectly. Early that morning I was being rolled into surgery and the next thing I know I was doing a lap around the nurse’s station and heading home in the early afternoon. I couldn’t believe how easy it was and how quickly I was back in the game. Surgery on Thursday morning, I showed property Thursday night (not recommended but was in good enough shape to do it), and was back to work full time the following Monday. Incredible!




Heather Crisman

When I first meet with Dr. Marvin in October 2009 I was at a very low in my life weighing 220lbs.  At the time my daughter was 2yrs old and although she is the best thing that ever happen to me, I just couldn’t find happiness and depression had taken over.  All my life I had been over weight trying every program out there and this was like being on a roller coaster.  It was actually quite embarrassing when your friends and family would see you fat, thin, fat, thin and question what happen.  After getting pregnant and having my daughter you would think I would be on cloud nine in the happiest time in my life, but that wasn’t the case, I was so depressed with myself.  After seeing the success that Dr. Marvin did with my cousin and her losing well over 100lbs, I had decided that it was my turn.  I wanted to get off the roller coaster and make a change with my weight that would have an effect on the rest of my life and my daughter’s life.  With that being said, I just wanted to take a moment to thank Dr. Marvin and his staff for all that they have done to help me.  To date I have lost 60lbs and continue to have weight loss every week.  I feel very health and can enjoy the happiness of my very active 3yr old daughter.  The best thing about Dr. Marvin’s help is, this is no roller coaster and there is no going back, and my journey has not ended.  You can finally see the person that lives on the inside, thank you!!    




Heather Mallett

Majority of my life I was thin.  As a teenager, I was a cheerleader, dancer, & a gymnast.  I started to gain weight when I had several major life changes in a short period of time.  I started teaching in August of 2000.  Teaching is a very stressful job and there always seemed to be candy or junk food somewhere in the school.  In my second year of teaching, my brother-in-law was killed in a car wreck.  I spent many hours under tremendous stress worrying over my only sister and her nine year old son.  Of course, I ate to deal with the stress.  The next year, I got pregnant for my first child, who is now almost eight years old.  By this point, my weight was out of control.  I weighed 235 lbs when my son was born, which is a lot of weight to carry on a 5’4” frame.  He was such a joy, but like most mothers, my whole focus was on him.  My needs were placed on the back burner.  
   
During the next several years I tried the typical weight loss programs; Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss, Atkins, Sugar Busters, etc.  I was even chosen to be on a local edition of The Biggest Loser.  I had a personal trainer and dietitian for 11 weeks.  Of course, I lost weight.  I ended the competition at 199 pounds.  Eventually, reality kicked back in and I started to gain the weight back.  I was tired of the roller coaster, so I decided to have Lap Band surgery.  Unfortunately, I did NOT use Dr. Marvin for this surgery.  I was only able to lose about 25 pounds in two years. 
   
I was miserable.  I felt like I didn’t fit in my world or our society.  I was only 35 years old and was almost completely anti-social.  I would dread going to the grocery store for fear that I would see someone that I grew up with.  I just knew that they would walk away thinking “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe Heather got so fat!” I was very nervous to even consider having gastric by-pass because my Lap Band surgery was so unsuccessful.

I reached my breaking point around January 2010.  I am from south Louisiana, so my husband and I are very involved in the Mardi Gras season.  We are in a Mardi Gras krewe and so are most of our friends.  I spent several days helping all my friends find formal dresses to wear to the various balls, while I sat there and tried to figure out what “tent” I was going to wear.  I began to research doctors that were reputable weight loss surgeons.  I found Dr. Marvin’s information online and contacted his office.  His staff was WONDERFUL.  They answered so many questions I had and put all of my concerns to rest.
 
Many of my friends and family members were very concerned about my decision to have another weight loss surgery.  They would tell me things like “you have lost weight before”.  And yes, I had, but I could not make them understand that losing 30 or 40 pounds and then gaining it back was like trying to climb up a mountain and only getting a little ways up, then sliding right back down.  I would constantly climb part of the way up and slide back down again.  I knew I could not conquer the entire “mountain” without some real help.
 
Because I had a Lap Band, Dr. Marvin was very cautious and ran many tests prior to the surgery to be sure there were no digestive problems caused by the Lap Band.  After I started the process, I was informed that my insurance was going to discontinue covering weight loss surgery on May 1, 2010.  Dr. Marvin was so helpful.  He quickly ran all of my tests, blood work, etc, so that I was able to have the surgery on April 26, 2010.
 
After surgery, he and the staff were very supportive & informative so that I knew exactly what to do (and not do) each step of the way.  I recovered quickly and was back at work within two weeks.  As I approach my one year surgery anniversary, I have lost a little over 80 pounds.  I have never been sick and never regretted my decision to have the surgery.

Many obese people have high blood pressure and are diabetic (or nearly diabetic).  I was fortunate to not have either of those issues prior to my surgery.  My transformation has affected my emotional state more than anything else.  I feel like I have found myself again.  I always felt like I was trapped in that huge body.  During the summer I was involved in everything that my friends and family were doing.  I was tubing on the river, shopping, and smiling more than I had in years.  I went on a cruise at the end of July.  I actually got in front of a crowd for the first time and sang karaoke!  I never would have done that before my weight loss for fear that people were judging me for being so large.  The most amazing thing is that I am able to look in the mirror every day and actually recognize myself.  I feel so much more confident and so much more like my “true self”.  Now my regrets are down to two:  not finding Dr. Marvin for my first surgical procedure and waiting too long to have gastric by-pass. 


Steroula Peristeris

I had been fighting obesity for several years before seeking help for it.   My 3 boys would get picked on at school because of me and I could not let that happen.  I knew I had to do something, if not for me then for them.   Dr. Marvin and his whole crew helped me change my life from the moment I walked into their office.  I had surgery September 24, 2009 and that’s the day my new life began.  I have lost 137 pounds!  I started playing sports, chasing after the boys, and just doing normal things without being tired after.  This surgery was the best decision I have ever made in my life.  My family and I want to say Thank You for everything.



Raymond Dumas

I was 46 years old, 5’8, weighed 345 pounds, and I had hypertension, diabetes (on Metformin),and arthritis in both of my knees. My orthopedist said I would need a knee replacement by the time I turned 50.  My family doctor and orthopedist both agreed I should look into a bariatric procedure. A co-worker used Dr. Marvin and I checked out his website.  I saw what diabetes did to some of my family members and I wanted to get healthy and prolong my life.  I have a wife and two kid that I want to be around for as long as possible.

My wife and I went to a bariatric information meeting at Methodist and heard Dr. Marvin speak about the procedure. It was very informative and left us very positive.  I had previously been unsuccessful on different diets, exercise programs, and my ability to exercise was limited since my knee kept giving out on me. I went through a physician supervised diet, a cardiac work up, psychologist visit, a sleep study (found out I had sleep apnea), and visits with Dr. Marvin and his wonderful staff.

The gastric bypass (Roux n Y) surgery I had was not bad at all. I came in as an outpatient, and was up walking without assistance 4 hours after surgery.  I wanted to walk as much as I could to get better faster.  I got to go home the next day.  The 1st week of clear liquids was tough, but manageable with the support of family. My family helped me with the broth, jello and popsicles. Then 3 weeks of soft foods and lots of walking.  I was able to return to work 2 weeks after surgery.  After the soft diets, I have been on a low fat, low sugar diet.  I have lost 130 pounds in 6 months.

The is the best decision I have made. I am more active, I have more energy, my knees don’t hurt, I can walk/jog on a tread mill for 10 miles. I have not had diabetes medicine or a elevated blood sugar since the day after surgery, I am only on a low dose blood pressure medicine, compared to being on 3 different ones. I have new clothes, I went from a BMI of 54 to 33, and a waist size of 54 to a 38, and a shirt size of 3x/4x to a Lg/XL.

My family and friends have supported me. My family joined a gym together, we diet together, and they have lost weight also.  This is a life saving procedure as long as you are ready for your life to be changed while it is being saved.