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Carrie and Maddison McFarland went tubing on the Guadalupe River earlier this month. They had done the float a couple years ago, but the experience this time was much different.
“We went two years ago, and I struggled a lot to tube that seven-hour adventure,” Carrie said.
During their most recent tubing adventure, the mother and daughter were delighted to discover “we were able to keep up with everyone that was there,” said Maddison.
Carrie, 46, and her daughter Maddison, 19, are approaching the six-month anniversary of the day they both underwent weight loss surgery. Since then, they have lost more than 160 pounds combined.
The pair from Lumberton, Texas, had been struggling with their weight and related health issues for several years.
Maddison used to have extreme reactions to heat, including loss of hearing and vision that often preceded a loss of conscious.
“When I would overheat, I would pass out. I would just collapse,” Maddison said her body couldn’t handle her weight combined with the Texas heat.
When Maddison was 18, she was diagnosed with sciatica.
“It was so painful,” she said. “I couldn’t bend over to grab something. It was just pinched nerves in my back, and it was because of my weight, and I didn’t know that.”
Carrie suffered from sciatica as well. She was also on blood pressure medication, thyroid medication and had an A1C level of 6.4 percent, indicating she was prediabetic.
The mother and daughter made attempt after attempt to lose weight over the years — prescription weight-loss pills, the gym, and a variety of diets.
“It’s one of those things where you would lose like 20 pounds and then you just stop. I don’t know Why,” Carrie said. “Three or four times I think I’ve lost 20 or 25 pounds and then I just gain it all back.”
Dr. Ata Ahmad, general and bariatric surgeon at HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball, said this is a common experience for people who are trying to lose weight. It’s known as the yo-yo effect, he explained.
“Once you exceed a certain (weight), it’s very hard to lose that to get back to where you were. …Some people will get on diets and then they lose weight; when they get off the diet, they gain more weight back,” Ahmad said.
Determined to find a solution, Maddison approached her mother with an idea in September of last year. Some of her friends had bariatric surgery and Maddison felt it may be a viable option for her as well.
Carrie didn’t know much about the procedure, she said. She decided to explore the option for her daughter who not only had health concerns, but also struggled with low self-esteem due to her weight.
Even shopping for clothes in a store was emotionally stressful for Maddison. Finding clothes that she wanted in her size was a challenge. She would often opt to clothes shop online to avoid the experience.
“As her mom, it used to just bring me to tears year after year around school clothes shopping,” Carrie said. “It was a struggle all the time. She would just cry, and it was heartbreaking.”
Carrie spoke to their primary care physician about the weight loss surgery and whether it was an option for Maddison. During the conversation with her doctor, they began talking about the procedure as a possibility for Carrie as well.
“She explained a lot about it — a safe procedure and a lot of people are seeing great benefits,” Carrie said. “So, we decided when Maddison would have it done, we would just do it together so we could support each other.”
The chose the same surgeon, the same date, and began the process of preparing for their sleeve gastrectomy surgery.
The sleeve gastrectomy is currently the most common type of bariatric surgery, said their surgeon, Dr. Ahmad.
The minimally invasive procedure is performed through four small incisions to remove part of the stomach. According to the HCA Houston Healthcare website, the surgery “helps limit food intake and absorption, and it allows for the maintenance of long-term, healthy weight loss goals.”
Leading up to surgery, Ahmad said patients are put on a protein diet during which time people tend to lose approximately 15 to 20 pounds.
“We had to do two weeks of a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, and then dinner was a six-ounce piece of meat and a vegetable. Then, three days before, we could only have liquid — like soup broth, protein shakes, and we could have popsicles, but nothing solid for three days,” Maddison said, including on her birthday which was just a day before the surgery.
Carrie and Maddison arrived at HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball on Dec. 29, 2021, to undergo the procedures they had worked so hard to prepare for.
That same night, the mother and daughter were already up and walking the halls of the hospital together with their IV poles in tow.
Within two days, they were making trips to the store again. Carrie, who works from home, was able to return to work in less than a week. Maddison, a veterinary technician, was back on the job within two weeks.
They weigh a combined 163 pounds less than they had just sixth months before.
Carrie’s starting weight was 270 pounds. She’s now at 182.
Maddison, who weighed 220 pounds before surgery, is down to 145 and wears a size medium. She’s returned to shopping for clothes in-store.
“I never used to wear dresses or shorts or tank tops because my arms, and now I wear all those things,” Maddison said. “I never thought that I could be like this — actually go to the store and find something I like, and they have my size.”
Since the surgery, Maddison hasn’t had problems from overheating. In fact, she and her mother find themselves experiencing the opposite.
“I think one thing I would put in the cons list is we do get cold easy now. It’s like our insulation is gone,” Carrie laughed.
Neither Maddison nor Carrie has sciatica pain anymore. Carrie is off her blood pressure medication and with an A1C of 5 percent, she is no longer prediabetic.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 32 percent of adults in the United States and 36 percent in Texas had obesity as of 2020. Obesity is linked to several serious medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.
“Obesity’s an epidemic now and it’s increasing every year,” Ahmad said.
“Uterine cancer, breast cancer — those all increase with obese patients,” he said. “Diabetes is a huge thing with obese patients because of insulin resistance. And severe osteoarthritis; people have knee problems because of the weight. All these can be taken care of once you lose the weight.”
For people struggling to lose weight, Ahmad said the initial step is to analyze their own eating habits.
“Are you a snacker? Do you eat lots of carbs? Do you drink lots of sodas? You need to know yourself first,” he said. “Then you need to do some nutritional evaluation. You need to know how to read nutritional labels, you need to know how much protein you need to take in, how many carbs you should take in, but a lot of people have tried that and they still just can’t lose the amount of weight that they need.”
According to Ahmad, a person with a body mass index above 35, or over 33 with a comorbid condition such as diabetes, may be a candidate for surgery. Weight loss surgery may be covered by some insurances if the patient is approved as a candidate for the procedure, he said, though it varies by insurer.
Unlike some other methods of weight loss, Ahmad said the surgery helps prevent patients from gaining back the weight they lost. The procedure can be a long-term solution, though patients must continue avoiding excess caloric intake.
Carrie and Maddison encourage others considering surgery to do the research and to commit to the healthy dietary decisions that accompany the weight loss process.
“One of the biggest things we learned through the nutritionist is you can eat what you want in moderation, but you should always choose the something that’s a little better. Instead of the chicken fingers, just get the grilled chicken because it’s one step to being better for the rest of your life,” Carrie said.
“I don’t want to say that it hasn’t been work, but it’s not been hard,” she said. “It helps you stay so regimented. It’s work…but we love it.”
She noticed the difference recently during a visit to a flea market with her husband. Despite the Houston heat, she was able to walk around the market for hours — a feat she would not have been capable of just a few months ago.
The other day, she nearly cried tears of joy hearing Maddison express confidence in her body and health. From wellness to a new wardrobe, the mother and daughter feel their weight loss has opened a realm of possibilities for them. Their recent trip to the Guadalupe may be just the tip of the iceberg as they experience the world in a new way.
“It was amazing — what a difference,” Carrie said. “It’s changed our lives and we’re just so excited.”
mfeuk@hcnonline.com
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