She's "Dancing the Night Away" Now After Weight Loss Surgery

For Suhail Andarcio, a mother of two from Port Charlotte, being overweight has been an issue virtually her entire life.

“My weight has always fluctuated. There were times when I was down to 115 pounds and then up to 130, 140,” Ms. Andarcio says. “After I got married and had children, life got complicated and the weight just started coming back. Unfortunately, it never came back down – it just went up higher and higher.”

The added weight was slowing her down, too, Ms. Andarcio says. “I wasn’t very energetic. I didn’t like to do outdoor activities, hiking and things like that. I just got too winded. I love dancing but it got to the point where I wasn’t able to dance as much as I used to. I would get tired and short of breath and would have to wait a little bit before I could resume.”

(Watch now: Weight has always been a big issue for Suhail Andarcio, who was unable to find long-term success with dieting. But when she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and fatty liver disease, she knew she had to do something. See how Suhail was finally able to lose weight – and keep it off – after gastric sleeve surgery at Baptist Health. Video by Eduardo Morales.)

Ms. Andarcio tried multiple dieting platforms but found it difficult to achieve lasting results. “They weren’t long-term solutions. I was just dieting to starve myself, I guess. But I wasn’t learning how to eat.”

Time to make a change

Although she wasn’t concerned about her health at first, Ms. Andarcio says “things started to change” the past couple of years. She was diagnosed with fatty liver disease and her “bad” numbers kept increasing with every blood test.

It wasn’t long before her blood pressure became elevated, too. She knew she had to do something and decided it was time to make a change. “I picked up the phone, I called Baptist Health and that was it,” she says. “That was the start of my new journey.”

On February 2, 2023, after decades of struggling with her weight, Ms. Andarcio had gastric sleeve surgery performed by Anthony Gonzalez, M.D., chief of surgery at Baptist Health Baptist Hospital and medical director of bariatric surgery at Baptist Health South Miami Hospital.

Anthony Gonzalez, M.D., chief of surgery at Baptist Health Baptist Hospital and medical director of bariatric surgery at Baptist Health South Miami Hospital

Ms. Andarcio was extremely pleased with her surgery and especially her results. “I was in the hospital for a little over 24 hours total,” she recalls. “There was minor discomfort but the nurses were constantly taking care of me, making sure everything was going well. Thankfully I was able to go home the next day with no problem.”

An immediate improvement

Six days after her surgery, Ms. Andarcio went back for her first follow-up appointment and couldn’t believe what she saw when the nurse took her blood pressure. “I told her, ‘You need to take that again – that number has to be incorrect.’”

In less than a week, Ms. Andarcio’s blood pressure had dropped 20 to 30 points. “I was back down to my regular blood pressure, 120 over 60. In six days. That right there was a huge shocker for me,” she says.

It wasn’t long before Ms. Andarcio and her family and friends started noticing changes in her physical appearance, too. “My husband thinks I’m a little too thin now but I don’t agree with him.”

She also says shopping for clothes has become a pleasure instead of a chore. “There were certain things I couldn’t wear anymore because they were just too big. It was an amazing feeling to be able to walk into the store and notice that you’re no longer that size.”

Weight loss is a process

Ms. Andarcio says her weight loss journey began well before her surgery. “There is a process involved, and first I needed to change my eating habits,” she says. “I met with a Baptist Health nutritionist for several months who gave me a better understanding of food – how I should be eating and what I should be eating. By the time I had my surgery, I was already comfortable with a new approach to eating. It made a huge difference in my success.”

As a national accredited Bariatric Surgery Center for Excellence by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, South Miami Hospital offers comprehensive services and proven approaches to help patients reach their weight-loss goals.

To ensure patients achieve lasting results, follow-up services are provided for at least five years following their surgery. In addition, South Miami Hospital sponsors the region’s largest weight-loss surgery support group every month, giving patients access to guest speakers and a community who shares their struggles and successes.

Staying active and eating right

Since her surgery, Ms. Andarcio says, exercise has become “extremely vital” in her life and she wakes up every morning for a daily workout. “I’ll be honest, there are some mornings I don’t want to wake up but I know I’m going to feel better afterwards, so I do.” And dancing the night away no longer tires her out. “Now I feel like a teenager again. When I hit the dance floor, I can dance all night long.”

Ms. Andarcio adds that staying active and having a new approach to eating are top priorities for her, and now that she’s at a healthy weight, she wants to make sure she stays that way. “Making good choices is something that I think about every day,” she says. “I’ve learned there is no such thing as bad food. It’s just there are better options we can fuel our bodies with.”

Ms. Andarcio says she has always been “very comfortable” with Baptist Health. “I’ve seen a few of their physicians for many years and my family members also have trusted their health to Baptist Health,” she says. “I knew I was in good hands there and that I would be well taken care of. The staff is absolutely incredible and they make you feel so at ease. If anyone’s looking for a lasting weight loss solution, I’d encourage them to consider Baptist Health.”

Take the first step towards a healthier you by attending an informational seminar, available virtually in English and Spanish, led by a team of Baptist Health experts. Register today for an upcoming session. To learn more about Baptist Health’s weight-loss surgery program, please visit BaptistHealth.net/WeightLoss.