Dr Omar Sammaraie - 8 months after a gastric bypass

My reason for choosing bariatric Surgery was for the elimination of Diabetes which I had had for just over 2 years. As I come from medical background I knew the severity of such disease and knew the impact it can have on the body in the long term.

The information I received from Samer Humadi made me feel comfortable with the type of surgery proposed (the gastric bypass) and the process I had to go through. I knew I would be in good hands.

The first 2 weeks after the surgery were really hard but I felt far more comfortable when I started on solid foods around 5-6 weeks post-op. My energy levels increased and I now do sports 5 times a week. I am now 8 months post-surgery and I need none of my medication for diabetes at all. I used to take 5 tablets a day for hypertension and now I take 2. I am expecting to be able to reduce this to none at all. I have lost 29kg so far but I am still a “work in progress”. My main motivation was my health but the surgery has far exceeded my expectations. Before the surgery I used to wonder whether I would wake up in the morning! Now, I wake up positive and ready to face the day. The idea of surgery is frightening and the road is sometimes not as expected. I would recommend attending the support groups and keeping in touch with the support team for reassurance and to address any concerns.

My advice to other people is that obesity is a disease and it’s important to stop living a compromised way of life. Whether the solution for them is surgical or not, they need to start doing it now. My only regret is that I didn’t have this procedure 10 years earlier!