How did you first find out about bariatric surgery and what were your initial impressions of it?

I met a woman in about 2000 who had had the surgery and raved about it. I was impressed that she lost so much weight in so little time.

Describe your experience with getting insurance approval for surgery. What advice, if any, do you have for other people in this stage?

I had no problem at all, the sugreons office took care of all the paper work and I never had to talk to anyone in the ins. dept.

What was your first visit with your surgeon like? How can people get the most out of this meeting?

I had a actual list of queations for my surgeon of about 30 questions, any doubt I had I asked.And he was great no question was to small.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Many years of just thinking about it and in those many years I had gained another 60 lbs. I was tired and sick all the time and I was only 27 years old.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I work and have ins. at the hospital I work at and at this time are only doing R-N-Y.

What fears did you have about having complications or even dying from from the surgery, and what would you tell other people having the same fears now?

I was very scared about just not ever waking up, but I think that just goes with having any surgery in general. I was affraid that I would be in and out of the hospital after sugery. I think that just following your surgeons instuctions to the T is the best thing you could ever do. Take it slow afterwards, take care of yourself for a change.

How did your family and friends react to your decision? Would you have communicated anything differently if you could now? How supportive were they after your surgery?

All of my family was very supportive and happy about my decision except my dad. He was very concern about the the complications afterwards, but is now very wowed about my weight loss.

How did your employer/supervisor react to your decision? What did you tell him/her? How long were you out of work?

My supervisor was very good about filling out all paper work need for Family medical leave and short term diablity, all of my co-workers are all very supportive. I was out for 6 weeks.

What was your stay in the hospital like? How long where you there? What things are most important to bring?

I had very poor nurse care, unfortunatly. I was very disappointed being an employee I expected better. I was in the hospital for 6 days, I was discharged on the 6th day. I think the most important think needed is a voice for yourself, having been on pain medication you tend to not get your point across, so someone friend or family to be with you at all times to get yor needs met.

Did you have any complications from the surgery? If so, how did you deal with them?

I had no complications so far.

In the weeks after you got your surgery date, how did you feel? How did you cope with any anxiety you might have felt?

I was very excited and happy, then when the date got closer I was very scared. I asked that people prey for me and it put me at ease.

Describe your first few weeks home from the hospital. What should people expect from this period?

The first two weeks my mom took my childeren to stay with her, I was relived because it was very hard especially the first week to walk around. But also have friends for family to call or come visit you, I found i was very emotional and cried constantly when i didn't have anyone around. I felt like what had I done to myself, but after I got my kids back it felt more "normal" and I have not had those feeling again.

How far did you travel to have your surgery? (If far, how did this affect your aftercare?)

15 min from my home.

Please describe in detail what things you could and couldn't eat in the weeks and months following surgery. What foods have been off limits? Please explain how your dietary tolerance changed week-by-week, and then month-by-month since surgery.

I was discharged from the hospital on a pureed/soft sugarfree diet. I ate mostly creamed soups, and was that for 4 weeks. Now I am on solid foods. Since starting to eat solid foods it's preety much imposible to eat bread, tortillas any things dense. Also pork or red meat is too tough. I mostly eat chicken or fish and grilled veggies. Artificially sweetend foods like jello or pudding are too sweet for me.

What was your actvity level in the days and weeks after surgery?

The first two weeks I could only walk for short amount of time before I begain to feel pain. At about 4-5 weeks I could walk futher and faster that ever before. Now 9 weeks post-op I walk 45 min a day no longer am so tired during the day.

What vitamins and/or dietary supplements have you taken since your surgery?

I take two chewable childerens multi vitamins with iron a day and also 3 chewable viactive calcium supplements a day.

What side effects (nausea, vomiting, sleep disturbace, dumping, hair loss etc.) were worse for you? For how long after surgery did they persist? How did you cope with them?

Not being able to sleep on my side for about 6 weeks the the worst, I had very bad back pain because I was not used to sleeping on my back. I can now sleep on my side and stomach and the back pain is gone. Also a few times I did not chew well enough and food got stuck, it was not painfull but very unconfortable, I either had to throw-up or walk around for about 10 min the help it get down. You just have to remember to chew your food very good.

What was the worst part about the entire bariatric surgery process?

I would have to say the hospital stay.

What aftercare support group/program do you have? How helpful/important is this?

We have a support group that meets once a month and are required to attend before you are considered a candidate for surgery, but I continue to go post-op and look forward to meeting. I helps with any questions you may help and also helps moral. We have people who go who are just looking into the surgery to people who ahve been post-op for many years and they say it's what helps them stay at their goal.

What is your scar like? Is this what you expected?

I have a scar that goes from the bottom of my breat bone to the top of my belly button, it's about 12 inches long. i had 22 staples and you can still see the dots form them on the sides. It doesn't bother me at all.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I had my first plateau at about 7 weeks and lasted 2 weeks. It is very dicouraging and you think you have failed. I starting to exercise extra hard turned up the intensinty of my walking and finally broke through it loosing 5 lb.s the following week.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

YES, I get people saying hello to me, holding the doors open. Smiles from strangers.