An adopted child, Heim believes her biological mother was obese but concedes that despite healthy offerings from her parents, she ate whatever she wanted and constantly craved sugar. In her adult life, Heim suffered from severe weight-induced diabetes for nearly 10 years. She constantly felt sick with physical aches and pains and had difficulty carrying her nearly 418 pounds around every day.
"My doctor said, 'I have nothing vested in you, you have nothing vested in me, but you should know that you are going to die.' He was cut and dry. He said, 'You need to take hold of your weight,'" Heim admits.
It was this honesty that Heim needed to begin looking into the options to save her life. Dr. Manfred Chiang at the Bariatric Institute of Wisconsin required Heim to complete months of clinically monitored exercise and diet before undergoing the surgery.
"Most people come in with a laundry list of diets they have tried," says Chiang. "We have them do a medically supervised diet for a certain period of time. If they can show us they can follow a diet and lose a little bit of weight, they will be at slightly less risk when they come for the surgery."
Bariatric surgery reduces, down to a few ounces, the amount of food the stomach can hold. Once complete, a patient feels full after only a few bites.
"We do an extensive exam prior to surgery including a psychological exam, physical therapy and a dietetic assessment. We do an extensive pre-operation evaluation to make sure the patient is optimized before surgery so that they have the best possible outcome," Chiang explains.
Obesity affects nearly 59 percent of Wisconsin residents and is the number two cause of preventable death in the nation. Like Heim, individuals living with obesity experience an array of medical conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, stroke and heart disease. It was her severe diabetes that concerned doctors most and ultimately threatened her life.
"The people who have benefited the greatest are people who have diabetes," says Chiang. "About 97 percent of people with diabetes get off all medications and their blood sugars are in normal range."
Diabetes is commonly related to obesity and can further induce an assortment of medical complications. Chiang hopes that taking hold of an individual's diabetes will diminish the prevalence of future medical issues. In Heim's case, her blood sugar lowered immediately after the surgery and within months, the weight began coming off.
"Going into the surgery, I didn't really think that it would get rid of my diabetes, but I have been free of diabetes for four years now. Not once has my blood sugar been over 100. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing," Heim says.
Heim dropped nearly 100 pounds in the first eight months after her surgery. Over the next three years, she continued to steadily lose weight, until she shed about 225 pounds in total.
"I am leveled out a little bit right now but I lose and gain about 7 pounds on and off. I want to lose 20 more pounds but it has been very difficult to lose," she says.
Heim underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, which because it uses smaller incisions than traditional methods, decreases scarring, post-operation pain and recovery time. After the surgery, Heim's diet consisted of liquids for nearly two weeks and then graduated to bland, solid food. Today, she can eat very small portions several times a day.
"I am constantly monitoring what I put into my mouth and how much I exercise because it's my life now. I crave healthy food and I want to exercise because my body is finally healthy," she says.
Nearly four years since her surgery, Heim's life is drastically different. For the first time, she can go to the park and play with her two children. She works full days as a hairdresser whereas before she cut her days short due to pain in her legs and feet.
"It is a complete lifestyle change. It's something that you have to work on all the time and something that you really, really have to want to do. I just turned 40 in March and I thanked my doctor because I'm still here."
