Prior to the surgery, I had been taking several medications for Type 2 Diabetes; I believe I was on six medications.

I was on high blood pressure and cholesterol medication. I spoke with my doctors trying to find how I could reduce the cost of my medications and improve my health prior to retiring and having to make the decision to live in a refrigerator box or continue my medication. For me, looking into the future and seeing what I wanted to do with my life meant looking back and seeing what was going on in my life. I was kind of inhibited by some of the things I could and couldn’t do. As you age, you lose certain mobility and you lose certain senses and are unable to perform the way you used to. Walking was an issue – getting around like I used to in my youth. And I was thinking I really wanted to continue to do that and not become a burden on anybody else.

So I spoke with my doctor and she recommended that I do some research on gastric bypass because they had figured out that the it could help reverse type 2 diabetic symptoms. I spent several months looking at that on the Internet, speaking with other doctors and just doing my own individual research. I was looking at other possibilities to the sleeve and other potential procedures – but the gastric bypass is the one that kept coming back to me as the possible answer to what I was looking for.

The surgery itself was kind of a scary process; going into it not knowing if you’re making the right decision and also how it’s going to turn out. But once I had decided that this was what I was going to go through with, nobody was going to talk me out of it. So I limited telling people; I just told immediate family and close friends. I didn’t go to those people that I knew would have a heart attack and say, ‘no you’re not going to do this’ – because this was something that was my decision, my body and my purpose, and this is what I was going to do. During the surgery itself was I was out so I didn’t have a clue. And it was all in Dr. Ganta his hands and I figured better him than me.

He didn’t need to coach me; I was out like a light. And two days later I was home and I was off of work for two weeks – and when I went back I was fine. You know, it’s a little slow coming back – especially when you have a little age on you. So it took a little time getting back up, walking and doing all of the things that I used to do. But I would do it all again in a heartbeat; it was the right decision for me.

Since this surgery my medications have dropped down to zero my energy levels are up. I feel more confident; I feel healthier and younger – like I have probably another 30 or 40 years of work left. All in all I feel that it was a great experience and the resolution for me was fantastic. It gave me what I was looking for. Dr. Ganta has been very supportive and answered all of my questions. And I think that the success of the procedure had a lot to do with the information that they provided and in talking with people. I think the success comes from following the instructions and being diligent on your behalf – if they tell you to stay on a liquid diet for two weeks or three weeks, there’s a reason that you need to do that. You can’t be cheating and doing other things. They’ve been through all this with many patients and they know what they’re doing, so listen to what they’re saying, and you’ll have a very good outcome if you are thinking about doing a gastric procedure. I wish I had done it earlier because there’s so much benefit to it. I know a lot of people can consider the financial obligations with this, but a lot of insurance companies are now covering this, especially if it’s reversing the Type 2 Diabetic symptoms. Dr. Ganta and his office will be more than happy to contact your insurance company and find out the requirements that they are that they’re looking for, so he is a good resource for that. I’ve spoken with my general practitioner, my other surgeon, my endocrinologist and all of them have highly recommended Dr. Ganta. So to me he’s the one that you need to go to if you’re here in Austin.