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

I first found out about WLS from a young lady from work and from a few that had already had it done. It was this one young lady who I was really impressed with. She answered any questions that I had and no matter how many times I came back she was eager to help me. Thanks MQ

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

Thank the good Lord I did'nt have to wait a long time. I was really blessed that I only had to wait about 2 weeks. Thank you Lord

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

Dr Chua was wonderful. He was very concerned with any questions that I had. He did not make me feel rushed and that he had to move me along for the next person. You know, NEXT. We talked about whiched procedure would be best for me and why. Thanks again Dr Thomas Y Chua.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

What made me decide was, I talk for a living on the phone and I started to hear myself breath so I knew my customers could hear me too. Not a good sound but at least we knew I was alive :) and then some.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I did alot of research and then after talking with Dr Chua we decided from that meeting.

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?

The biggest fear was leaving my children for someone else to care for. But I prayed alot and that lifted alot of fear that I had. I had to do something or drop dead right in front in them from a heart attack. Just pray and ask God for guidance

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 sister at first thought I was taking the easy way out. But after allowing her into my secret world, my journal, she really became interested and became my best support. She didn't know that I was struggling with my weight the way I was. She just wanted the best for me and wanted me to be happy. I love you Cynthia aka Chick :). She along with my twins Daniel and David are my Rah Rah Club

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

My Suppervisor had it done too, so she was excellent and she still is. Thanks LM for your support and encouragement. I was out for about 8 weeks. I had the open RNY Gastric Bypass

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

It is very important to have support after WLS. My sister Cynthia and my brother took care of me and the boys. We stayed with them at their house for a few weeks. My nephew "J" would come and pick the boys up for the boys and girls club each day and that helped out alot. My sister would enforce the eating and drinking because I was not in the mood to eat or drink anything. My friend KE brought things over to me so I didn't have to go to the store for things. also one of my nieces, Anita, got a few things for me too. There were other people too so I better stop naming names because I'm bound to forget somebody. I love all of you who came out to see me, called and the e-mails. Huggs and Kisses to all of you. I felt like the queen that I am :)

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

I'm not unhappy about it at all. I'm not going to wear a belly top anyway. I think it looks ok. I call it my beauty mark.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I just had one and it was driving me nuts. I was holding this one weight for about a month and a half and I was getting really angry. But I just kicked up my excercise and my water intake. That seemed to help out.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes I have noticed that people are really treating me different. In a good way and not so good. When I was fluffy, they felt conformtable with me. Now that I have lost over 100lbs they are like wow, wow.