Read inspiring success stories about how NewStart weight loss surgery patients reclaim their independence after they transform their bodies and their lives.

  • NewStart success stories, the Patranellas, share a moment with their children.

    Gastric Sleeve Surgery Helps Couple Lose Weight and Stay on Track

    For over 15 years, Alecia and Jason Patranella tried everything to lose weight, including fad diet after fad diet, without success. It was an embarrassing moment at a Major League Baseball game that ultimately motivated the Huntsville, Texas, couple to take definitive action.

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  • Katie Payne, NewStart success story, rings the bell following her marathon finish.

    From Duty to Dedication: Katie Payne's Journey to Health and Happiness

    At 227 pounds, Katie felt her energy depleted at the end of the day. Then, a turning point came when several of Katie's coworkers shared their success stories after undergoing weight loss surgery. Inspired by their transformations, Katie made a firm decision. "That's it," she resolved. "If they c...

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  • NewStart patient, Cherie Evans, poses with her family.

    Cherie's Story: Weight Loss Surgery Helps Grateful Mom Overcome Infertility

    Cherie Evans’ road to motherhood took some bumps and twists and turns. But the 32-year-old resident of Angleton, Texas, looks back on her journey with gratitude. For in her quest to give birth to a new life, she enriched—and potentially saved—her own.

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  • NewStart patient, Corelle Chester

    Corelle Chester: Weight Loss Surgery Saved My Life

    Corelle Chester says he felt fine—until he suffered a massive heart attack at age 39. “My heart doctor told me, ‘If you don’t get this weight off, you won’t live to see 50.’”

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  • Bryan Durham with Dr. Jyothula

    Multidisciplinary Approach Gives Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Patient a New Chance

    Houston Deputy Sheriff Bryan Durham recalls the day he first felt something was wrong. “I was arresting a suspect who had become combative. I wrestled him for about 30 seconds to get him into handcuffs, and it felt like I had fought for an hour. After I subdued him, I couldn’t catch m...

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  • Dyane and Garrett

    A Couple’s Determination - Dyane and Garrett's Story

    As participants in the Memorial Hermann's NewStart program, Dynae and Garrett each lost 120lbs with NewStart. That's a combined 240 pounds. "Doing it as a team made it so much easier. You're going to get just a better quality of life and certainly a longer and happier life as a result of it. Why ...

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  • Brenda Longoria holding jeans

    New Year, New Body: A Life-Changing Weight Loss Story

    In 2012, Brenda received her first wake-up call that she had to make a change when she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Doctors prescribed her with medication to help with her diagnosis. However, her weight, a risk factor of high blood pressure, continued to be an issue.

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  • Read about Game Changing Weight Loss Surgery

    Nick Bone: Game-Changing Weight Loss Surgery

    After tipping the scale at more than 400 pounds -- from years of fast food, sweets and a sedentary lifestyle -- Bone said he knew it was time to make some drastic changes with his weight. A family member had success with the gastric sleeve procedure, so Bone decided to give it a try. Before the s...

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  • Becky Anton

    Becky Anton's Weight Loss Surgery Story

    Kindergarten Teacher Becky Anton and her bariatric surgeon decided to pursue gastric bypass after discovering pre-cancerous cells in her esophagus. The procedure has not only relieved the discomfort in her esophagus, but her weight loss journey has renewed her spirit and her health.

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  • Read about Making Better Decisions After Surgery

    Making Better Decisions After Surgery

    Katia was having trouble doing exercise, going on bike rides with her kids and having problems with her back. She is young, has three beautiful children and a wonderful husband, and she wanted to get healthy. For her situation, gastric bypass would yield the best results. Bypass is a two componen...

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  • Ralph

    Ralph's Story: New Opportunities

    Ralph was tired of not having energy and buying larger and larger clothes. When you tailor the procedure to the patient the results are better. The duodenal switch was a great tool for him. In this operation you, number one, reduce the size of the stomach, and number two, you re-route the small i...

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  • Read about Diabetes-Free After Weight Loss Surgery

    Diabetes-Free After Weight Loss Surgery

    Gwen began having problems with her weight after the birth of her first child. Before her pregnancy she weighed 125 pounds but by the time she delivered, she had jumped to 299, a weight she maintained during her second pregnancy and delivery. She developed type 2 diabetes, urinary incontinence an...

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  • Read about Lap Band Surgery Lowered Cholesterol

    Lap Band Surgery Lowered Cholesterol, Solved Bladder & Knee Problems

    Susan had struggled to maintain a healthy weight since childhood. "I was always teased about being overweight, which took its toll on my self-esteem," she said. "By the time I was in the eighth grade, I weighed 185." During her junior year in high school, Susan played basketball and ran cross-cou...

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  • Read about Right Weight Loss Surgery

    The Right Weight Loss Surgery and Losing 220 Pounds

    When Steve began considering weight loss surgery at the age of 56, he was a Type II diabetic with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and unbearable pain in his knee joints. In addition to medications for these conditions, he was taking a diuretic to reduce the swelling in his legs. During his ...

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  • Read about Weight Loss Surgery Cured Heartburn

    Weight Loss Surgery Cured Heartburn and Hiatal Hernia Complications

    By May 2010, seven months after the surgery, she achieved a major victory and her weight had dropped from a preoperative high of 251 to between 180 and 185; and she's still losing. Asthma, which she's had all her life, no longer plagues her. Her knees are improving, she no longer sleeps with the ...

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  • Read about Belindas Lap Band Success Story

    Belinda's Story: Lap Band Success

    Before her gastric band surgery, Belinda's weight fluctuated between 203 and 205 and her health had begun to deteriorate. In addition to the general aches and pains that accompany excess pounds, she developed heart palpitations and sleep apnea. At the time of her surgery, she was 36-years-old. "I...

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