Woman stops reflux, diabetic meds thanks to bariatric surgery

Carol Valdez loves telling a good dad joke.

So much so that right after her bariatric surgery, she told her surgeon one of her best jokes.

“Laughter is the best medicine,” says Valdez. “I knew that I was beginning a new part of my life and I was happy to get started.”

Like so many others, Valdez struggled with her weight since she was young. She tried all the conventional diets, including WeightWatchers and Jenny Craig — even over-the-counter medications.

“None of it seemed to be working. I was desperate!” she recalls.

That’s when Valdez sought advice from a friend who had bariatric surgery.

“My friend told me how much it helped her and how good she felt,” she says. “That’s when I knew it was time to look at bariatric surgery as an option for me.”

Valdez’s primary care provider referred her to Monica Young, MD, with MultiCare Capital Bariatric & Obesity Surgical Services. She scheduled her initial seminar during the appointment, and that’s when she realized this was exactly where she needed to be.

“The bariatric program coordinator is someone I knew from a previous provider,” Valdez says with a smile. “I loved working with her and knew that if she was part of the program that this program would be best for me.”

She wasn’t disappointed.

“This team is awesome,” Valdez says. “They made me feel welcome and comfortable. I know I can call and speak to anybody on this team, and they will understand. I knew surgery would be easy with them supporting me.”

With that in mind, she was confident going into her Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedure. Surgery lasted nearly two hours and required an additional repair of a hernia.

Valdez was worried about the pain she might have after surgery.

“I didn’t have any pain,” she says. “I didn’t have to take any of the pain medication, and I felt really good after surgery.”

A year later, Valdez is 70 pounds lighter and dropped from a size 22 to a 14. She can now enjoy long walks with her German shepherd and more time with her 17-year-old son.

“He is a baseball player and going to watch him is so much easier for me now,” she says.

Prior to surgery, Valdez also suffered from Barrett’s esophagus, a condition where the esophagus is damaged due to acid reflux. Since surgery, she hasn’t had any reflux and is no longer on medications for the condition.

She also stopped her diabetic medication and no longer needs to check her blood sugar multiple times per day.

“I am no longer tied to my blood sugar machine,” Valdez shares. “And not having reflux has made a huge change in my life.”

She’s happy to be moving forward and living her best life.

“This was a great experience from start to finish,” Valdez says. “And now my sister is having surgery, so we can do it together!”