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

Friends introduced me to the ideal. I also researched it on the internet.

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

Not to good. Insurance is pretty demanding on requirements even though your footing their bill faithfully evey month. Advice? Keep your cool. Try to be patient. Use your doctors resources as much as possiable.

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

Very informative. Have your questions on paper to ask him.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I visited a local support group and meeting freinds and family that have had the surgery done helped a lot.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

The talk with the doctor that helped me.

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?

Everyone has those fears. Life has no (garrontees) as they call it down here. Fortunatly, I am a christian. I put my life in Gods hands.

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?

My family is wonderful! They are 100% behind my desision. No surprise! Theyv'e watched me suffer for years.

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

I am self employed.

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

My hospital stay was pretty uneventful. I was there for four days. I forgot my house shoes and you really do need them. Get some that you can slip on easily.

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

I was dehydrated after surgery so they threw the liquids to me. I tried to take it in stride/ no big deal.

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

Excited, fearful, hopeful. Prayed a lot. Enjoyed my family and friends.

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

Weakness, fearful of making a mistake. Wonder why you did it. A little pain but always able to control it.

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

About two miles. It is great! I can be at my doctors in just a few minuets.

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.

Basically first two weeks were liquids only, After that was soft proteins like tuna and chicken salads.from there on it's simply experimental. if you cant eat beef the forth week try it the next week and so on.

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

Slow start but with a tiny improvement each day.

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

Flintstone multivitamin and calcium.

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?

Little bit of nausea occasionally but dumped quite a bit. I was a little stubborn at learning my lesson about following the rules.

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

The change of life style.

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

I read the oh update every day. It has answered many questions that I had. This is very important to me.

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

After five months, hardly any scarring at all. This is better than I expected.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have had a few plateaus in the last five months. the good thing is when I'm not losing weight. I'm losing girth.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes, most definitely. I have also noticed that people that had never meet me when I was heavy treat me differently than when meeting a BIG man.