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

had known about it for quite some time before I really started to look into it seriously,

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

I was approved right away

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

it was get, all the questions I had were answered and they made you feel like no question was a stupid question

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

when my 650lb brother went into respitory failure and almost died

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

not sure I just decided right away on ryn

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?

I wasn't really that scared about having surgery I figured I was taking a bigger risk by not having the surgery and if I ever wanted to live a somewhat normal life it was the only choice I had

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 mom was not thrilled about it at all!! but was suportive as was pretty much every one else close to me

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

I was off work 2 weeks I did have to delay my surgery as I couldn't take off when originally scheduled as it was "peak" but if I wouldn't of been able to reschedule they were willing to work with me

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

my stay was ok I was there I believe 3 days. Bring your own pillows so that you are more comfortable

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

no

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 felt great, didn't really have any anxiety

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

I felt great, A little more tired then normal but no major complaints

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

about 1 1/2 hours

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.

I was on soft foods to begin with as is everyone, was able to tolerate most every thing I tried altho still stick to pretty bland stuff, advanced as was allowed and now eat a lot of salads

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

did mostly just day to day household chores etc at first then at about 2 months out I stared walking as tolerated an just kept adding on to the distance as I could tolerate

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

multi vitamin, calcium, potasium, Iron and b12, took the iron and b12 before surgery tho as was b12 deficiant

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?

hair loss has by far been my biggest side effect!!! started at about 3 months out and is just now at one year starting to thicken up again

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

the hair loss, but would do it again in a heart beat!!!

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

I vistit obisity help numerous times a day and then my post op visits and that is it, yes obisty help has been very helpful

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

had laproscopic procedure and had already had 2 other lap procedures so just added to my connect the dots

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

have not experienced any as of yet

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

definetely yes