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What is WLS? |
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WLS stands for Weight Loss Surgery. WLS also stands for HOPE. For many overweight people, WLS is the last straw, the final attempt, the desperate measures sought out for their oh-so-desperate times.
What WLS is NOT is "the easy way out." It is not a "quick fix." WLS takes courage. It takes willpower. It takes motivation.
I don't really want to be showing off my "Before" pictures to complete strangers, but I feel that WLS is such a misunderstood (and fast-growing) phenomenon, that I feel led to share my WLS journey with whomever happens to glance this way.
The information (below) is taken from a hand-out I received at my first Info Meeting. No copyright infringement is intended.
(c) Copyright 2002 Allina Hospitals & Clinics |
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Pictures of Me when I started the WLS Process: |
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10/02
A month before I quit smoking (an important step in the WLS journey). |
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2/28/03
The morning I attended my first Info Seminar on WLS |
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For links to WLS Sites |
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For more about my WLS Journey |
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Calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) |
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| One of the most exciting aspects about WLS, for me anyway, is the possibility of Type 2 Diabetes virtually dis-appearing. They aren't sure why it works, but it does in the overwhelming majority of WLS patients who have Diabetes as a co-morbidity. For general information on DIABETES MELLITUS: |
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Below is a diagram of the stomach and intestines, showing the procedure I anticipate on having done this Fall. It is called the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. |
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Minnesota Hospitals |
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Probably the highest profile WLS Success is Carnie Wilson. |
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The above picture was taken on 27 February 2004, three months after my surgery. |
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The OSSGMN Website is for Minnesotans who have had or are planning to have WLS. |
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