April Delagarza

I am 36 years old and work as an advocate for Dr. Duperier and Dr. Seger. I have always been overweight and after a year of debating I decided to have a consult for weight loss surgery. I had high blood pressure, severe back pain, and was a borderline diabetic. I spoke with both doctors regarding my medical problems and decided to have the Gastric Sleeve procedure.

On May 18, 2009 had surgery at Foundation Surgical Hospital and I have lost a total of 86 pounds. I have never felt better in my life and I no longer have any medical related problems. I encourage anyone who has ever battled obesity to contact our office to discuss the options that are there for you. Our office offers so much support and our doctors are two of the best. I owe my new life to both of them.

John Trigg

I have been overweight since I was a little boy. I suffered the taunts and the abuse of elementary school. I developed a jovial “laugh-it-off” persona and was able to grow to adulthood with a fairly positive outlook on life. I played varsity sports through high school and was active in high school and college Army ROTC.

I maintained a decent weight through my Junior year in college, fluctuated from 210-220, when I injured my knee on a military exercise and ballooned up to about 250. A crash diet at 23 enabled me to enter the Army at around 220 and I finished basic training at 205. I gained weight during my time in the Army and battled with weight at the end. I left the service at about 230. I married soon after finishing my bachelor’s degree in 1989 and started my civilian career. Long days doing physically demanding field work kept me from gaining too much weight, but career progression had me spending more time behind a desk and my weight creeped up to around 250….then to around 270. Numerous diets and programs (slim fast, atkins, lean cuisine, etc) kept me hovering between 250 and 270 for several years.

My weight continued to creep up and by age 40 I was probably “stable” at around 275-285. I remained around this weight and have been lighter/heavier, but fairly stable. I started investigating WLS in about 2002 and just never pursued it. I scheduled to attend a WLS seminar in September 2006. I had always considered the Lap Band, but I came out of the seminar relatively convinced that a permanent solution was what I needed. I needed to commit mentally and physically. I know it works great for a large number of people, but to me, the Band seemed like half a commitment. I scheduled my first visit with Dr. Duperier and went on December 28, 2006. My wife attended the appointment with me, (she’s a Physician Assistant) and we moved down the road toward a decision.

At that appointment, Dr. Duperier first mentioned VSG as another surgery option. My wife and I were immediately intrigued by the idea of permanent restriction without the malabsorption. Part of me wanted dumping as a tool, but given the stats on RNY patients who don’t dump (like 30%), I didn’t think that I wanted to “rearrange my plumbing” without a high likelihood of having dumping as a tool. Further, many VSG folks report symptoms similar to dumping. For these reasons, I ultimately selected the VSG procedure. I was given some pre-surgery requirements: upper/lower endoscopy; sleep study; gall bladder ultrasound; and lose 15 pounds. I managed to accomplish all of these requirements and was scheduled for surgery. I had surgery at Northeast Baptist Hospital and began my “new life” on April 23, 2007. I’m now about 10 pounds under my goal weight.

I’m now 28 months post-op and I’ve been maintaining at or below my goal weight without serious effort since about 9 months post-op. I’ve gone from size 44-46 pants to size 36. I’ve gone from size XXL shirts to size Medium or Large. Moving around is easy. And even long airplane rides are no longer the uncomfortable trial they used to be. I’m now very physically active and my weight loss has allowed me to pursue my goal of refereeing high school football and lacrosse (among MANY other things). If it’s right for you, I highly recommend the VSG to anyone considering WLS. I am also happy to recommend Dr. Duperier and his organization. He is dedicated, accessible, knowledgeable and personable. He takes great interest in each individual patient and their problems/progress. I attribute much of my weight loss success to Dr. Duperier and his staff.

Jason Minnix

I battled weight issues most of my adult life, and I was OK with being ‘the fat guy’, until I started having some major health issues. Despite the amount of medications I was taking, I didn’t realize how unhealthy I really was until a doctor told me I needed weight loss surgery. When a doctor told me point blank “you have a daughter in the seventh grade, if you want to be around to see her graduate high school, you need to do something.” I’m only 38…That was reality slapping me in the face. I took a lot of medications, had high cholesterol, blood pressure, constant heartburn, circulation issues, pain in my knees and back, sleep apnea…this list goes on and on. That emergency room doctor told me he could put me on a diet, make my life miserable and I would lose 30 pounds, feel great and then gain it all back. He said I needed to make a permanent change.

I had always thought weight loss surgery was for really big people - 400, 500 pounds or more. I was only at 276. I started researching weight loss surgery, talked to former Dallas Cowboy Nate Newton and set appointments with some doctors to discuss my options. After meeting with Dr. Duperier and attending one of the seminars at BMI of Texas, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I instantly connected with Dr. D. and I was comfortable with him. He did not pressure me at all, unlike some of the other doctors I talked with. While I did not previously know it, I knew a couple of people who had the surgery with Dr. D and after talking with them, I knew I was in very capable hands, confident and excited.

I had the gastric sleeve surgery on October 25, 2010…I hit triple digits lost on April 21, which was 4 days shy of the six month mark. More than 100 pounds lighter, I can’t begin to explain how much better my life is now. I am off all my medications, I sleep great (the sleep apnea machine is in the closet), my wife says I don’t snore near as much, my back and knees are fine and I have more energy than I have had in years. I actually enjoy exercising now. My new thing is to compete in 5k run/walks – which you could not have paid me to do pre-surgery. My goal is to do two races a month - they are fun, helps a charity and more importantly, keeps me motivated to keep exercising. I have gone from size 42 pants to 34’s, XXL shirts to Large (medium in some). The way down the scale is so much better than the way up. I love my new life. It’s a win for my health, a win for my family and I can say the best thing that I have ever done for myself. Thank you Dr. Duperier, Dr. Seger and the entire BMI of Texas staff – not only do I think you ultimately saved my life, you gave me my life back. October 25th will forever be a special day in my life, like a birthday or anniversary.