Hello, my name is Sheila Bradley. I'm 5'2" and I used to weigh 312 Ibs. Can you imagine?!! I hurt all the time, especially in my knees and joints.

I had my surgery June 29, 2004. I thought to myself last night, as I stepped on the scale and now weighing 137 Ibs. as of July 25, 2007, over three years later - it was so worth having the gastric by-pass!!! I HAVE LOST 175 LBS!!! WOW!!!

I went from a size 28W-30W to a size 6 or 8 (in "short" of course) lol. I am so happy and now I can actually enjoy my life!!!!

The surgery itself went great and it was not as painful as I thought it would be at all. I sat up for about 20 minutes in a chair as soon as I got out of recovery!! Dr Clarey and Dr Bruce are the best!! They have been so great and the most pleasant doctors I know. They don't just treat you like another patient. They treat you like a real person. And as you know, if you're heavy, being treated like a real person doesn't happen very often.

I've had no problems and I feel like a new person. My whole life has changed. I'm able to go bowling, run and walk and actually keep up with my teenage daughter and my two adult sons. My husband and I take walks all the time and now he has a hard time keeping up with me!! We have a blast now. I had missed out on so much and I was tired of missing out on life because I never felt good. But now, I'm healthier than I've ever been.

My success is due to the fact that I followed the directions that the doctor's and support group gave me. I still do. I drink my protein drink every day and take my vitamins every day. I do not eat anything with sugar in it, if I do it has to be less than 8 grams of sugar and I eat more healthy now so I've totally changed my eating habits. You just want to. You really do. So, if you are considering this surgery, I highly recommend it because it's been the best thing I've ever done for my health and if you do what the doctors tell you to do, you will be successful too.