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

My PCP reccommended it Back in 2001 and I was not ready to listen, thinking it was for people far worse then me and that I could do it on my own.

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

Surprising...I had heard that my insurance carrier had denied someone else at the my surgeon's office and I freaked out. I wrote a letter to the pre-certification board that was submitted with my paperwork and I wrote a letter to the CEO of the insurance carrier stating that this surgery was has life saving to me as someone having a open-bypass heart surgery. I was approved in 1 day upon receipt of my paperwork. I highly reccommend right a letter if you are being totally honest. This is not a miracle surgery...I said I was mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for this life-altering/life saving surgery and openly admitted why I failed without the sugery. Maybe my letter helped, maybe it didn't, but I was not going to sit around and wait and do nothing to accomplish one of many goals.

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

I knew my surgeon before (she did my gallbladder surgery a year prior) and asked everything. I made a list of questions before seeing her, asking everything and anything. I kept calling with more questions. I think the more information I had, the easier it was to make the right decision.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I spent the summer prior swimming everyday and still gained weight. My mother has serious health problems and I did not want to follow in her footsteps. I realized I could not do it on my own and wanted to start living my life instead of hiding from it in my current body. That fall I started the process to have the surgery.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I talked to 2 surgeons...one did R-N-Y and one did Gastric band. I also talked to a nutrionist and did my own research via internet and newspapers. The R-N-Y seemed best suited for me and I also understood that some insurance companies will not pay for a second surgery if you need a revision or the gastric band does not work. I was going to make it work the first time!

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?

Fears were more that the surgery wouldn't work and I would be obese the rest of my life. Hair loss was and is still a big fear. I had lost hair before and I did not grow back. I decided I would rather be healthy and bald then morbidly obese with nice hair. Some family members had the fear of death with the surgery and my respone was if I do nothing I may die from a heart attack, sleep affixiation from sleep apnea or worse.

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?

Family members were nervous and some felt that it would be another fad that I would not succeed at. I said I was doing this with or without their support. Some researched worse case scenario instead of the positives, others stayed neutral. After the surgery and after I had noticeable results, the support came, but also the jealousy. I was always the heaviest family member and the "fattest" friend. I think some people felt threatened and also made them deal with their own weight issues. Overall everyone has been real positive since the surgery, especially with my gung-ho attitude with exercise.

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

I work out of the house and my employer was very understanding. I had the luxury of taking 2 months off to focus on my health.

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

The Staff at the hospital was great. The hospital bed was not. I do not sleep on my back and had to after the surgery. I had severe back pain, worse than my incision pain. I had my mom bring pillows from home and that helped. I also could not sleep at night...even with the pain meds and a sleeping pill. I was there 5 days. I definitely recommend bringing your own pillows, slippers, and toiletries. If you have long hair, I recommend you have it in non-metal pony tails to the side or braids on the side like I did...

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

Just having an open instead of a Lap R-N-Y. I was a little disappointed but got over it quickly deciding that I would rather have a big scar and the surgery be successful than have leaks or other complications.

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 was more anxious about having the surgery approved by my insurance and that caused some anxiety. I also had a night or too of food obsession that I would never be able to do old bad habits again or would I missing out. Instead, I focused on the things I would be able to do like scuba, sky diving and buy a hockey jersey that is not XXXL.

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

Adjustment...I had a hard time smelling foods I could not eat (pizza was the worst smell to bear and not eat). I also wanted real food and not liquids. I did not stray and drank my sugar-free instant breakfast and other liquids until I go the okay for soft solids. TV can be a danger because of all the food commercials of things you can't have right now and may never have. Variety was another...I got tired of having only chocolate flavored CIB's because in my area that was all that came sugarfree. The other big adjustment was what to do when I was bored...before I ate, now I needed a healthier outlet. I read some, watched some TV, went on the internet.

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

One Mile...the hospital was very close to my house.

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.

It's still a roller coaster at times. I had Sugarfee CIB several times a day and Sugarfee chocolate pudding for the first week or two. I switched to soft foods like cheese, egg salad, ground turkey salad and other allowed soft foods after my 2 week check-up. I had no vomitting or dumping at this point. I drank water, crystal light and gatorade and occassionally some herbal tea. No food has really been off limits except that I still like my chips and salty snacks. Just now they are in portion controlled sizes. If I ate to fast, I got nauseaus and sometimes vommitted (waiting to long like more than 4 hours caused me to eat too fast). If I ate too late, it did not sit well. If I drank too much water too soon after eating, I had a similar reaction. Overall, I have had no intolerances. Some foods don't taste as good as they used to, others are disappointing after craving them for awhile. I have not had any soda (diet or regular) since the surgery. I have a piece of chocolate here and there, some other "bad" foods, but my focus is protein and nutrition and the once in awhile alotments of something bad in a tiny portion.

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

Initally, I was not very active at home. I was walking in the hospital 24 hours after my surgery. After 2 1/2 weeks post-op, I started riding my stationery bike 5 minutes a day until I worked my way up to riding 3 times a day for 10 minutes and doing some free weights. Six weeks post-op I re-activated my gym membership and now I go 5 days a week doing cardio and weight training.

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

I take 3 Tums a day, 2 Flinstones a day and one sublingual B-12 a day. My 3 month bloodwork tests were all normal.

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?

The Gas...it was painful for about 1 week at home and I had a lot of burping. The hair loss is discouraging...if my hair was not so dark, I would not see it all over the place. The nausea and vomiting are intermittent and I try to think what happened to cause it...eating too late, too fast or something just did not sit right and try to remember not to do it again.

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

The I.V. I had two of them in my arms and they were more painful than the surgery incisions. One came out of my vein and caused all the fluid and drugs to bloat my arm to the point I could not bend anything. I do not mind needles, but the I.V.'s were not for me. The only other thing that has caused some havic is comparing results. I felt I was losing too slow, but I was losing. I could not understand why I was not full or why I did not feel like what my research said I would. It was very frustrating to not be like everyone else or have someone to share the same frustrations with.

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

I have a nutritionist who I work with as needed. There are no support groups through my surgeon's office. I went on obesityhelp.com to look for help and at first it backfired. I started comparing results and it made me frustrated and sad. I pulled myself together and stayed on track. I have comeback to the website since to look for some similar people in my situation.

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

I have a 12+ inch long vertical scar with the staple scars running down the side of it. It has keloid already. I also have 6 mini scars from the Lap attempt. I apply vitamin e cream and scar gel every day to minimize it. Let's just say it looks like railroad tracks down my stomach.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

None noticeably yet...trying to avoid weighing myself too often. I noticed a weight loss slow after the one month mark...some weeks it seems like a 1 1/2 pound loss others maybe 2 lbs down a week.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People compliment more on how good I look or how good I am doing. They are very curious to see how much I can eat or what I eat. I think I hid some of my weight well before the surgery, but my face is thinner and I can't hide that.