Jonathan Barber, gastric bypass patient

Jonathan Barber, a 43-year-old certified public accountant from Tustin, Calif., struggled with being overweight most of his life. He even called himself a “chubby” kid.

In high school Jonathan was able to manage his weight for a short period of time by playing baseball. After graduating high school, Jonathan went to college, got married, started a family, obtained his certified public accounting license and launched his own business. Despite all his accomplishments, he began gaining weight again.

Jonathan was an anxiety eater, a person who would cope with stressful situations by eating. As a result, his weight ballooned to 345 lbs. Jonathan began to experience emotional and physical repercussions from the weight gain. In addition to being diagnosed with hypertension, he was suffering from being clinically depressed and constantly fatigued.

Jonathan’s physicians warned him of the dangers of his weight gain and placed him on a diet regimen. After trying numerous diets without success, Jonathan felt he needed medical intervention. A few of his clients who struggled with the same condition had positive results after undergoing the Roux-en-Y procedure—also known as gastric bypass surgery. One of his friends recommended that he consult with Dr. Ninh Nguyen, chief of the UCI Health bariatric surgery services.

“I heard a lot of good things about Dr. Nguyen and UC Irvine’s bariatric surgery program and decided to schedule an appointment,” said Jonathan. ”Dr. Nguyen was very thorough in explaining my options and prepared me for every step before and after the surgery.”

After Dr. Nguyen determined he was a good candidate for surgery, Jonathan underwent the Roux-en-Y procedure on Sept. 18, 2006.

Ninety days after the procedure, Jonathan had lost 90 pounds. More than a year later, Jonathan has maintained a weight of 205 and no longer has hypertension or depression.

“Life after the surgery required initial adjustments with food and eating, but the returns have been tremendous!” marvels Jonathan. “I have enough energy to become physically active again—playing men’s tennis and basketball.”