Melissa Costello, 32, of Morristown, had spent many years trying unsuccessful diets and weight loss medications, and eventually began experiencing weight-related health problems. Her excess weight elevated her blood sugar to the point where she almost classified as diabetic. She also suffered from persistent gastric reflux.

Concerned for her health, Costello searched for an alternative to help reduce her weight. After consulting with her physician and undergoing a series of health tests, she underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, a form of weight loss surgery, at Somerset Medical Center.

In the first three months since undergoing the procedure, she dropped from 313 to 259 pounds. After losing the weight, her gastric reflux disappeared and her blood sugar normalized.

“This surgery has made such a tremendous difference in my life,” says Costello, who works as a dental assistant in Bridgewater. “I feel so much healthier and more confident about myself.”

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Christine Herceg tried numerous diets over the past ten years. She’d lose a few pounds, then gain it all back and more. She started exercising, too, but that didn’t help.

“No matter what kind of diet I followed, even with exercising, it wasn’t enough,” says Herceg, 38, of Hamilton.

Weighing 330 pounds – double her ideal weight – led to serious health problems. She developed diabetes and her blood sugar levels were so high that she needed to take insulin and three pills a day. Her cholesterol level also was dangerously high. She met with the medical center's gastric bypass team, who determined she was a candidate for the surgery.

In the first five months after her surgery, Herceg lost more than 60 pounds and expects to lose up to 100 more over the course of the next year before she reaches her ideal weight. Her cholesterol level has dropped more than 70 points. She’s also cut back on the medications she needs to stabilize her blood sugar.

“I have more motivation and energy now,” says Herceg, who works as a packaging supervisor for a pharmaceutical company. “I’m very happy that I had this procedure done and would recommend it to others like me who need to lose a significant amount of weight for health reasons but can’t do it on their own. I am hopeful that I now can add another 20 years to my life.”