It all started when the 53-year-old undertaker, farmer and state legislator from Plantersville went for his physical at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. "I've had a litany of health problems that have plagued me over the years, but this time it really was not good," Holland says. "My blood pressure was extremely high, but I refused to start medication. I was already being treated for sleep apnea and my blood sugar was high. I have lots of health problems, but weight was responsible for most of it. My doctor said 'you can do something now or you will not be with us long.'"
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His Jackson physician referred Holland to Terry Pinson, M.D., a general and bariatric surgeon who serves as medical director for North Mississippi Medical Center's Bariatric Center in Tupelo. Dr. Pinson performs two types of bariatric (weight loss) procedures- laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery. The most common weight loss surgery, gastric bypass creates a very small upper stomach pouch-less than one ounce-by transecting the stomach.
Because it doesn't take much food or liquid to fill the new, small pouch, the person enjoys eating a lot less. In addition, food is not absorbed as well as it once was, contributing to rapid weight loss.
After discussing both options with Dr. Pinson, Holland opted for the laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery. In this procedure, a silicone band is placed around the upper part of the stomach and filled with saline. This creates a new, smaller stomach pouch that can hold only a small amount of food. The gastric band is the less invasive of the two procedures, as it does not require stomach cutting and stapling or gastrointestinal re-routing to bypass normal digestion.
"Before I never stopped to eat. Eating was just another requirement of the day, so I funneled it in as I went," he says. Learning a new lifestyle was no easy task for Holland, who is constantly around good food at legislative affairs as well as in the dining hall at his business, Holland-Harris Funeral Home in Tupelo.
"Now I know what to eat and I am not afraid to say 'I'm sorry, but I can't eat that. I'm changing my life and I need to stay on course,'" he says. "Or I simply say 'that looks fabulous' and then pass it up. It feels good for me to do that because I'm healthy for the first time now in 10 or 15 years."
Before he didn't feel like exercising, but now "I jump out of bed at 5:30 in the morning and go walking," Holland says. He also put a treadmill in his office at the funeral home to walk on while he conducts business by phone.
Not only has Holland lost 78 pounds, but his blood pressure is normal, his blood sugar is in check and his sleep apnea is greatly improved. He's also gained a new outlook. "Life was just going away for me. I was so stressed out that there was almost no end in sight," he says. "It was challenging my energy level just to get through a day.
"This decision has not only changed my life physically, but also helped me to reshape my priorities in life. Quite frankly, I wasn't sure I was going to have much of it left."
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