Name:  Raul Caballero
Age:  51
Date of Surgery:  July 27th, 2004
Procedure:  Gastric bypass
Starting Weight:  375
Current Weight:  195
Medical Conditions Before Surgery:  Insulin dependent diabetic, asthmatic, sleep apnea, borderline high pressure

Before going through with gastric bypass surgery, I had spent the last twenty years of my life weighing over 300 lbs and I’d weighed over 200 lbs since graduating from high school.  In the course of those 30 years, I’d pretty much tried everything to lose weight – hypnosis, acupuncture, the Chic Weight Loss Center, all kinds of things.  I’d had some success with the Atkins diet, but as soon as I stopped following the strict rules, all the weight came right back on. 

The untimely death of my older brother was really what motivated me to go through with the surgery.  Like me, he had been overweight for most of his life and with all the medical conditions I had, I realized that I could end up succumbing to the same fate.  That’s how I ended up at the Surgical Weight Loss Institute.

Once I met with Dr. de la Cruz-Munoz, the whole getting healthy process began.  I went to the nutritionist, psychologist and cardiologist and I went through six months of monitored weigh loss with my primary care physician before undergoing the surgery.

After having the gastric bypass, I started dropping the weight without having to do much…I’ve been really lucky.  I did start exercising about four months after the surgery and have kept up with it ever since. I went from a size 56” jeans to a 34” – I literally lost more than half my body weight!

Now I feel like I’m living the life that I should’ve been living all along – I walk better, I sleep better, and I feel better.  One of the downsides is that now I can’t have more than two drinks at a time, but come to think of it, that’s probably a good thing!

My advice to people that are struggling with their weight and can’t get it off on their own is to get it done…it’s going to improve your life tremendously.  Even if you don’t have insurance, find a way to get it done.  You finance your car and your house…why would you not do the same for your life?