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Bariatric Surgery got Nichole Swisher back to feeling confident and enjoying the outdoors.
After struggling to maintain a healthy weight for much of her life, Nichole Swisher is rediscovering the joy of being active since undergoing minimally-invasive bariatric surgery at Chester County Hospital.
Nichole Swisher had been thinking about bariatric surgery long before she began reading up on it in early 2021. At that point, things progressed relatively quickly. Swisher homed in on the Penn Medicine Bariatric and Weight-Loss Surgery Program because it's well-regarded and accredited. It also happened to be the most accessible to her.
"I liked that I could have it done at Chester County Hospital, because I live in the area," she says. "It made this whole process much easier than if I would have had to go into the city for it."
Swisher, 35, says her weight has always been an issue. She became keenly aware of it as a self-conscious preteen. Her difficulty maintaining a healthy weight was complicated and perhaps exacerbated by a health scare ten years ago. She was rushed into emergency surgery because of a brain aneurysm. She spent the next month recovering in a hospital. And because she spent much of that time resting in bed and on high doses of steroids that increased her appetite, she says she quickly put on weight.
Swisher has suffered two more aneurysms since then -- minor compared to the first. Nonetheless, each entailed hospitalization and surgery. While specialists continue to seek a cause, Swisher struggles with chronic pain, daily headaches, and persistent weight gain.
"At my heaviest, I felt crappy, like I couldn't move," she says.
Swisher has dieted frequently, losing "extreme amounts of weight" but quickly regaining "extreme amounts of weight." She says she didn’t realize its toll on her body until she met with Chester County Hospital bariatric surgeon Kristoffel Dumon, MD, in May 2021.
"Nor did I understand that it was going to be harder to lose the weight naturally because of the yo-yo dieting," Swisher says.
Dr. Dumon operated on Swisher on February 28. Six months later, she had lost 85 pounds.
"Before, I felt like I was going to die walking up a hill or stairs," she says. "Now I'm running."
The Path to a Life-Changing Surgery
Enjoying a Walk on a Local Trail
After discussing her options, Swisher agreed with Dr. Dumon that vertical sleeve gastrectomy was the best fit for her. The minimally-invasive procedure reduces the size of the stomach to three or four ounces, which limits the amount of food you can eat. After the surgery, ghrelin levels, a hunger hormone, also drop, which initially decreases the appetite.
Patients who undergo a vertical sleeve gastrectomy can lose up to 60 percent of their excess body weight.
Before the surgery, Swisher says her health insurance provider required her to meet, on three occasions, with a dietician and registered nurse on the hospital’s bariatric surgery team to discuss weight management.
She also underwent extensive lab work, received clearance from a cardiologist, psychiatrist, and neurosurgeon, and participated in a sleep study, during which she was diagnosed with sleep apnea. To qualify for the surgery, she needed to use a CPAP machine nightly while she slept.
Swisher says Dr. Dumon's office coordinated all her appointments and tests.
Less than 36 hours after Swisher was admitted for her surgery, she was cleared to return home. In contrast to her recovery from the aneurysm surgeries, Dr. Dumon encouraged her to get up and move around as much as she could.
During the first week after her surgery, Swisher says her small incisions only seemed to bother her at night. But that was easily remedied with the pain medication Dr. Dumon prescribed. A couple of months later, she developed acid reflux and had trouble keeping anything down.
"I was comforted knowing I could reach out to Dr. Dumon and his team at any point, and my question or concern would be addressed quickly," she says.
Ultimately, he advised her to try to be patient; the reflux would resolve itself. And it did.
Swisher says her eating habits changed dramatically after her surgery. She was given detailed instructions on how to eat during the initial phase of her recovery, which she says she "followed to a T". Today, her portions are smaller than they ever were before the surgery. Even then, she may feel full before finishing the meal.
"I never really have much of an appetite," she says. "I eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner because it's what I should be doing around those times, not necessarily because I’m all that hungry."
An admitted pizza lover, Swisher still indulges. Although, she limits herself to pizza once a week and tries to find a healthier option, like a cauliflower crust.
"I believe in balance," she says. "If you try to tell me I can't have something, I'm not going to be successful."
About a month-and-a-half after her surgery, Swisher returned to the gym. She now goes four to five times a week and notices her stamina improving each month. She also enjoys going on three- to four-mile hikes with her partner.
"I've always enjoyed doing a lot of this stuff, like being outdoors and hiking. And I never minded working out," Swisher says. "But I'd just gotten into such a rut; it was hard to do them. Now I'm making them a priority and truly leading an active life."
She still uses a CPAP machine but says her sleep apnea has improved significantly. When she is retested in February, she no longer expects to need the CPAP machine.
Swisher is also reveling in an act that often left her feeling discouraged before her surgery: clothes shopping.
"It's been so fun buying new clothes. I've probably spent too much," she says. "I've been getting things I've always wanted to wear but knew I couldn't before, like overalls. This will probably sound a little dumb, but one of my goals after the surgery was to wear overalls. Now when I wear them, my friends know I’ve made it."
"And then there's the confidence that comes from feeling better in my own skin," she adds.
When asked to describe how the bariatric surgery changed her life, Swisher says, "I feel like I got my life back."
"I feel like I got my life back!"