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

it was mentioned to me 3 years before i actually had it i aslo have 3 friends that have had it...at first i was like no way i can't do that it's the easy way out...there's no way i'm going to let someone chop up my guts..but after 3 years of loosing and gaining weight it was my only option.

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

my insurance approval was not that bad i picked a surgeon and he ended up not operating at a center of expertise which was required by my insurance that ended up putting my surgery on hold for almost 4 months i ended up going with a business partner of his and couldn't be happier...if i had to do it all over again i would have called my insurance company and got a list of it's surgeons from the get go and saved time and money instead of trying to research it myself...

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

my stay in the hospital was hard because i was there 6 days and i couldn't drink or chew ice i had severe swelling and it caused me to vomit everything up even water...after the 6th day and 30 x-rays later the swelling went down and i came home and i've been fine ever since

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

just the swelling and at first it was very very scary because i didn't know what was wrong with me i wasn't in any pain but i kept vomiting and that was horrible also i was so terrified they'd have to go back in and fix something not to mention the first 3 days they didn't know what was wrong with me.

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

in the weeks after i got my date i kinda went crazy eating all the things i knew i shouldnt' have again or my favorites that i couldn't have for months..i aslo was very worried about the relationship i have with my boyfriend but things have fallen into place/.

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

well i'm only a week home and the hardest thing was passing all the fast food places and watching my family enjoy their meals..i had surgery but they are all still overeating and i wanted to join in the fun...this will get much better once i'm able to eat healthy solids i know the first 3 weeks of liquid are the hardest.

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

the hospital was about 30 min from my house because i live in l.a. that could mean an hour with traffic

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

i have OH until i can find a support group in my area and i'm really looking.

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

i have 5 very tiny barly noticable scars however 2 of them are slightly raised and you can feel them when you run your hands over them

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

not far enough out for a plateau

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

my family treats me well but they are worried all the time and my boyfriend is worried about our relationship and exactly how small i'll get