Michael had self-esteem issues his entire life, mainly because of his weight. As a teenager, his overeating led to a substance abuse disorder. “I was so uncomfortable in my skin that I had to use drugs to get the courage to go out,” Michael says.
He’s been sober for over 22 years, but he still struggled with his weight. Yo-yo dieting would see him lose well over 100 pounds and then gain it all back. At his lowest point, he weighed over 600 pounds and he landed in the hospital.
“My sugar numbers were off the charts,” he says. After a few days, “the hospital sent me home with insulin. I knew then that I needed to lose the weight. But something had to be different this time around.”
A Path Forward
That “something different” for Michael turned out to be bariatric surgery.
After attending an information session presented by Temple Health’s Bariatric Program, Michael began meeting regularly with Rohit Soans, MD, medical director of Bariatric Surgery at Temple University Hospital.
Over the course of the next year, Michael lost 160 pounds under the guidance of Dr. Soans and a Temple dietitian. At that point, he was ready for surgery.