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

news programs and friends of my parents had the surgery years ago.

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

I did not have to go through my insurance which is a good thing as I could not afford my portion of it. I am a disabled veteran and the VA performed my surgery.

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

Only met my surgeon once prior to surgery, she answered my questions and was very friendly. I went prepared with a list of questions. I wish I had joined a forum prior to surgery so I could have asked a couple more informed questions.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

My 82 yr old father told me I would die before him from my obesity and he was right.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

The surgical coordinator went over each procedure with me and the lap sleeve appreared to be the least instrusive and the quickest recovery.

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 was very surpportive. I do not have a spouse or significant other. One of my sisters came to take care of me during my stay at the hospital and afterwards for a few days. It was a good thing as I had a bad reaction to the morphine drip.

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 encouraging and helped me to apply for the disability time off from work. I was out of work for a month.

What was it like attending your first information seminar on weight loss surgery? Were you glad you attended? if so, why?

The program the VA has is called MOVE and I had to attend 6 nutritional seminars, lose 4-5% body weight, then attend a pyshcological exam, a seminar on different types of surgery, meet the surgical coordinator and surgeon before proceeding. I also had to have all medical exams to show I was otherwise healthy and no major concerns like cancer. At first I did not realize that the MOVE program lead to bariatric surgery, but once I did, I was very excited to learn I had a chance at a new life.

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

4 days, it was also the day of the big snow storm in February here for us. So I might have stayed a day longer because of that. They were short of personnel, so my sister being there really helped me.

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

None, just the morphine drip caused me to have projectile vomitting of black bile.

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 it easy for the first two weeks. I had bought all the food/drinks I would need prior to my going to the hospital. I walked around the house and rested when I got tired.

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

The VA hospital that performs this surgery in my area is about 50-60 miles from where I live. My sister was here to take care of me for several days, but she lives out of state and had to return home before she was ready to let me be on my own.

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.

had trouble drinking the protein drinks prescribed by my surgeon, but I got them down, but not much water. Most fried foods bother me and I cannot eat them or only a bite or two. White chicken meat bothered me at first but now I am more able to eat it, although the dark meat doesn't bother me at all. I get small pork loin steaks and small beef steaks to grill and eat about half of one for each meal.

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

I went to the gym for awhile, using the treadmill and taking a few classes. But the heartburn hurts too much to continue.

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

multi vitamins, calcium and vitamin D

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?

still have nausea, vomitting when I eat too much. the heart burn and acid reflux are still bothering me. Am recently going through the hair loss. I am eating less and less to avoid the vomitting, trying to eat more often but smaller meals. Not sure what to do about the hair loss.

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

the waiting.

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

tried to join a couple of forums after the surgery but couldn't afford their fees. I like having someone to talk to about how things are going beside my co-workers and family which have not gone through any gastric procedures.

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

I had more incisions than the surgeon told me at our meeting prior to the surgery, she said 5 or 6 and I had 8. The one they pulled the stomach through is bigger than I thought but not enormous.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I tend to weigh every day to check my progress, and there were a couple of weeks where I lost nothing or even gained a pound or two. But in 4 months I have lost 69 pounds.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

YES. More friendly, more open.