Local woman loses more than 100 pounds after gastric bypass surgery

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - If shaping up for spring is on your mind, a local woman who lost more than a 100 pounds has quite the inspirational story.

She said for years she struggled until she had weight-loss surgery and found the right team for support at the TriHealth Weight Management Center.

"I had the gastric bypass. At my highest, I was over 400 pounds. I was in a lot of pain mentally and physically. And I had no idea how the weight was aging me, as well as making me feel horrible," Pam Brown said.

It's hard to imagine if you meet Brown now that she was ever anything but motivated.

"Just knowing that I can offer the world so much more by not...sitting around, not being depressed about having the weight, having the embarrassment. I can't shop here; I can't go there; I can't buckle my seat belt -- that kind of thing. Just having the love for myself that I feel like I should've always had, but I have it now, and I'm just taking it and running with it," she said.

And that is exactly the point of weight-loss, or gastric bypass, surgery. The surgery shrinks the stomach and rearranges the intestines for drastic weight reduction.

"There's really two mechanisms for weight loss. There's a small gastric pouch where patients will feel really full early after a meal, and there's malabsorption, where bypassing the small intestines -- that limits the amount of nutrients being absorbed," said bariatric surgeon Dr. Kevin Tymitz.

For Brown, what worked wasn't just the surgery -- it was also what she could do as the weight dropped.

"I love stairs now. That's my thing. When I see a flight of stairs, I don't cringe anymore, I just say, 'Oh, stairs! Yes!' So I love stairs," Brown said.

"I notice patients coming back to our office...happy, with a new outlook on life. Not too infrequently patients come back with tears, so thankful that they have their life back," Dr. Tymitz said.

If you'd like more information on the program that worked for Brown, you can call 513-862-4957. If you meet qualifications, this surgery is covered by medical insurance plans. They're also having a free information session you can attend on April 23 from 6-7 p.m.