“I used to have a lot of confidence like fake it till you make it, but now I have real confidence.”
“My Gastric sleeve surgery had such a positive impact on my life. I now go to concerts. Making considerations are now gone. I don’t have to consider if I’m going to fit in a chair or if it is going to hold me. I don’t have to hide in the back of a picture, so they can only see my face and not my body.”
My life was complacent before I met Dr. Davtyan and had Gastric Sleeve Surgery. I knew I had a weight problem, and it was one of those things that I was accepting of, but I was not happy. I tried it all like dieting and exercising, but I would just yo-yo up and down with my weight goals. Honestly, I have an addictive personality, and I was addicted to food. It’s like a self fulfilling prophecy: I knew I was fat and accepted I might as well stay fat. Then the day came that I finally said, “Enough is enough!”. I wanted to change, but no matter how hard I worked out and limited my diet the results weren’t there. Despite my desire to lose weight, it was very frustrating and difficult to stay motivated. I would ask myself all the time like, “Why am I doing this?” and “Why would I starve myself?” which was emotionally and mentally draining. I felt edgy all the time because I was hungry and nothing was changing, and it affected my personal and professional relationships which caused me to withdraw from going out. For example, when there was a concert I wanted to attend, whether it was far or near my house, I would take some time to really think about making that decision because I did not want to take up a huge space amongst the crowd and make them uncomfortable. I had plenty of challenges before I had the Gastric Sleeve procedure. I would look at chairs and wonder if it would be able to support my weight. Going up and down the stairs was considered a workout for me. I had zero energy which made me just sit on the couch and watch TV all day. I couldn’t even see my feet in the shower, just my belly. Every time I would fly, I would feel nervous while boarding the plane because I knew I would have to use a belt extender (if they had any available) and be embarrassed all over again. Plus, I would struggle to keep my body from touching the passenger body that sat next to me. My knees would hurt and my back would hurt because all that weight would weigh me and my joints down. Now, I’m beyond happy to say that I don’t go through any of those challenges anymore.
I found out about Dr. Davtyan through my wife. She would go to her doctor at a weight loss center in Rancho Cucamonga to see Dr. Cohen for her issues. At some point she asked to see if anyone can help me out with my weight problems. Dr. Cohen kindly referred Dr. Davtyan to my wife, and she then told me to give Dr. Davtyan a call.
I was a little nervous about my Gastric Sleeve surgery experience because I never had surgery before in my life. You can be told a surgery can go great, but the question of “What if…?” would creep into mind. Ultimately, Dr. Davtyan made me feel very comfortable for my surgery day. The nurses were top notch. Everyone was very reassuring and professional. My gastric sleeve surgery went great. Obviously there is pain, but the medication they gave me helped with the temporary pain. It’s unremarkable as nothing out of the ordinary happened. They had me up and walking, moving around, and I thought to myself, I am going to be okay. I’m actually okay.
Even though I hate hospitals, my recovery process was great. I went home the next day. I stayed home for about a week, and then I went back to work like normal. In fact, the weight loss process started before I had my surgery, and now I’m on a liquid diet. I felt as if my energy was coming back slowly. Immediately, after a month I had a huge energy surge, which made me want to work out again. I felt so good that it made me remember back when I was a kid and how I used to play football and lift weights. I couldn’t wait to work out again. I have to pace around my office because I feel energetic, whereas before I had no problem just sitting down.
My everyday life is so much better now. I had a really solid relationship with my wife prior to surgery and so much more since. I want to do more things with my kids now to get them off video games, and instead I go walk around or play together with them to have that quality family time. Also, what is really cool is that after leaving a prior job and not seeing that boss for around 8 months, I ran into him again at a job site. I waved at him and to my surprise he just gave me a halfhearted wave. I knew he did not recognize me. Then, when we had a conversation he happened to recognize my voice, and as soon as that happened, he took a step back and finally recognized me. Eventually, I had to understand:
- People don’t recognize you after gastric sleeve surgery.
- People want to know how you did it.
- People ask if you are sick because of my amazing weight loss.
- People who knew me before would say, “Wow, you look so great.” I know it’s a compliment, but you have to get used to it because it makes you wonder if those people thought I looked like crap before my surgery.
My Gastric sleeve surgery had such a positive impact on my life. I now go to concerts. Making considerations are now gone. I don’t have to consider if I’m going to fit in a chair or if it is going to hold me. I don’t have to hide in the back of a picture, so they can only see my face and not my body. All of these things that I had to think about before a social event, I don’t have to think about it anymore which is absolutely freeing. I used to have a lot of confidence like fake it till you make it, but now I have real confidence.
My overall experience with Dr. Davtyan was great. I am very pleased. He is very knowledgeable. He takes plenty of time to answer any questions I might have now or later. I can’t think of enough adjectives to describe how pleased I was with Dr. Davtyan and the whole process. The staff was very professional and very timely. I’m a busy person. If I show up to my appointment, I want to go in and out and go with the rest of my day. Also, it was very refreshing to know that they would take the time necessary with me to help me with my weight loss journey, which is not what you typically experience in the medical field. The staff made me feel important and appreciated. I wasn’t just another patient and they seemed like they actually cared about me and my goals. They seem committed to helping me achieve my weight loss goals.
If you’re considering the Gastric sleeve procedure, then do it now. Don’t wait. Definitely do your research to find out who is the best doctor for you and your specific situation. Ultimately, do not wait. I probably considered this for 5 years before I finally did it. I wish in retrospect that I would have done it 5 years ago. I used to weigh 409 lb, but now I weight 258 lb, My total weight loss is 151 lb. Thank you Dr. Davytan!
“My life was complacent before I met Dr. Davtyan and had the Gastric Sleeve Surgery. I knew I had a weight problem, and it was one of those things that I was accepting of, but I was not happy. I tried it all like dieting and exercising, but I would just yo yo up and down with my weight loss goals. After being referred to Dr. Davtyan, I called him to set up a consultation at his weight loss center in Rancho Cucamonga. Then, on surgery day Dr. Davtyan made me feel very comfortable. The nurses were top notch. Everyone was very reassuring and professional. After my gastric sleeve surgery, I went home the next day. I stayed home for about a week, then went back to work like normal. My Gastric sleeve surgery had such a positive impact on my life. My everyday life is so much better, I can spend more time with my kids, I don’t have to consider if I’m going to fit in a chair, I don’t have to wear airplane belt extenders, I don’t have to hide in the back of a picture, and all of this is absolutely freeing. I used to have a lot of confidence like fake it till you make it, but now I have real confidence. Unbelievable! I used to weigh 409 lb, but now I weight 258 lb, My total weight loss is 151 lb. Thank you so much Dr. Davtyan!”
