Woman whose store caters to bariatric surgery patients undergoes the procedure herself

Date published: 1/22/2006

By BECKY PIEDEL

Pick a diet--any diet. There's a good chance Margaret Fernandez has tried it.

When she was a pudgy 13-year-old, her mom signed her up for Weight Watchers.

She gained weight.

She then went on a long list of other diets, exercised and even took dieting pills. But Fernandez said while she'd take off 20 pounds here and there, she'd later put on 60.

"You just get to a point where you're like 'What the heck? What do I do?'" she said.

Fernandez suffers from many conditions common in overweight people: high blood pressure, sleep apnea and type 2 diabetes. She also has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, a disease in women that blocks menstruation and can cause weight gain.

She had trouble finding the sugar-free, low-carb foods she knew she needed. So Fernandez started her own business, carb way.com and Carbway Low Carb Foods in Fredericksburg. It sells vitamins, supplements, and foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates and sugar-free.

At first, Fernandez says she was excited at the prospect of helping diabetics such as herself. Then gastric-bypass patients started coming in.

These patients can become malnourished after surgery because their bodies absorb fewer nutrients. They need foods and other products like the ones her store sells.

The patients became the store's top customers. They also got Fernandez thinking about weight-loss surgery.

Their stories intrigued her. A couple of women told her surgery could reverse her ovarian syndrome. She researched it online.

The possible benefits sold her on the procedure, and the cost wasn't an issue. Her insurance company said it would pay 100 percent if the surgery was medically necessary.

For Fernandez, 26, it was. Last month, at 6 feet tall and 305 pounds, she underwent bariatric surgery at Inova Fairfax Hospital. There are many forms of bariatric, or weight-loss, surgery.

Fernandez underwent a Biliopancreatic Diversion with duodenal switch. The procedure, which varies from typical gastric bypass surgery, involves completely removing the lower stomach and connecting the remainder to the small intestine.

She chose BPD-DS because she's read that gastric bypass patients don't always keep off the weight.

"If you like sweets, you can still pop a million skittles through that pouch," she said of the stomach pouch created in some procedures. "That was the dangerous part for me."

Fernandez says within a year or two, her goal is to weigh 180 pounds. She's recovering well so far. She said the pain has been minimal.

"I've had no complications and I didn't have to take pain medications three days after the operation," she said. "That's unheard of."

Fernandez has closed her store while she recovers, but she plans to reopen it Feb. 1.

She won't know for a while if the procedure will cure her ailments, but she's optimistic.

"Everything feels back to normal," Fernandez said.

To reach BECKY PIEDEL:540/374-5000, ext. 5765
Email: bpiedel@fredericksburg.com

Date published: 1/22/2006