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

I had heard about it many many years ago, probably when some celebrity people were starting to have it done. I had a friend who had it done before it was available laproscopicly and she had many complications from the open surgery. Then about 3 years ago my cousin had it done and I watched her progress and decided that despite the few complications sh had, that it was for me.

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 trouble at all because my BMI was above the percentage required by my insurance company to have the surgery completely covered.

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

Very informative, but take notes because it can be overwhelming for someone who has deep emotional pain due to thier obesity.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Years and years of losing weight and not being able to keep it off. I read that the success rate for someone who has the surgery in keeping it off it more than doubled compared to someone who decides to go it alone.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I know that my weight problem has been a life long issue and struggle and that the lap band would have only been temporary and that a permanent procedure would be more fitting for my issues.

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 didn't really have any irrational fears. I knew that I was in good hands because my doctor had performed over 2000 surgeries at the time of my own surgery. The only advise I could give is to make sure you know your doctor very well. Check references and talk to prior patients and go to support group meetings as much as possible.

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?

Total support all around.

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

I was self employed at the time of my surgery and I have the freedom to do whatever I need to do for my health.

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

My stay was great with the acception of a couple of times having to call the nurses and them taking quite a long time to respond to my needs. I was there for only 3 days because I recovered quickly. I believe that I recovered as quickly as I did, because I did my best to follow all of the doctors recommendations prior to surgery. I would say to bring the most comfortable night gown you have to wear after surgery because pajama pants will irritate the incision area.

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

Post surgically I had a couple of stiches pop out and because of that I had some very small infections in the two incision areas that they popped from. I made sure they were properly dressed and cleaned daily and they healed just fine. The only problem now from that is that the two scar have keiloids.

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 took off a month prior to surgery because of the anxiety that I was feeling. Hind sight, I would have continued to work because having been through it, I know that there really was nothing to be that anxious about.

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

I had a really great experience. I didn't have a whole lot of pain, but I did take what the doctor prescribed to me for the pain to stay ahead of it. Don't lift anything heavy.

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

I only had to travel about 45 minutes to get the hospital that I had the surgery at.

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.

In the beginning once I was allowed to go on solid foods my oproblems were mostly with proteins (chicken, beef, turkey, pork) I needed to make sure I cut it into small pieces as I was so used to wolfing down my food and not chewing it entirely before swallowing. I also had trouble with anything that had skins (apples, tomatos, peppers, onions) and anything with seeds (sesame, strawberries, raspberries) I couldn't eat any sugar what-so-ever because I would have severe dumping syndrone. As time went on I would try these things in small amounts to test my tolerance and now almost a year and a half out, I can pretty much eat anything I want to eat including small amounts of sugar.

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

I had to limit my activity after surgery because I became pregnant 4 months post op and needed to maintain as many calories as possible. I was able to walk, but was ordered to limit anything beyond that for the duration of the pregnancy.

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

In the beginning I had to take acid blockers and chewable calcium and vitamines. Now I take a daily multi with minerals, calcium with vit D, Biotin(for hair, skin and nails), b12, vitron C...

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?

Occasional nausea due to my own lack of causion (eating things that I wasn't supposed to, eating too fast, drinking too much fluid too close to a meal) I only experience dumping when I drink too much fluid too close to a meal and when I eat too much sugar. I still have these effects if I am not careful. I started losing hair apx 2 months post op and decided that because I had very thick, very long hair that I would cut it off and donate it before it got too thin and hopefully the less weight in my hair the less it would fall out.

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

The excess skin that I am left with, but I would take this over the weight any day of the week.

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

I have limited transportation and child care for the time of evening that my hospital offers support groups so I have been doing most of my support through online groups such as this. I feel that I have definitely not done enough of this sort of thing because sometimes in my head I am still that 356lb woman that I started with, but I have to actually look into a mirror to remind myself that I have nothing to be afraid of anymore such as going into crowded places and airplanes etc...

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

I have 6 small scar two that have keiloids. Not exactly. I have never been one to be susceptible to keloids so I never thought that my scars would be this sesitive or raised.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I am actually in a plateau right now. I became pregnant 4 months post op and maintained a steady weight loss throughout the pregnancy and lost the baby part of the weight as well after I had my daughter. Now since january I have only lost a few pounds and I believe it is mostly my own fault for not eating thr right kinds of food and not excercising enough. I started about three weeks ago back on my regular food plan and got on a more rigorous excercise regimin and have started to slowly take it off again.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes, very much so. I don't hear comments from people that I don't know anymore about "how fat I was" and for the most part people are friendlier to me in general.