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

The Owner of the company I worked for had it.

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

My company was so kind as to make it go through.

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

My first visit with my surgeon was wierd, it was alot of talk about the risks involved. Felt like I was in a scared straight meeting. I was able to loose the 30lbs before my surgery because I thought I would die on the table if I did't

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I was still healthy so the risks were much lower and it was available ro me.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

The Surgeon redcomended By-pass

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 kept thinking of the 30 extra years of life expectancy it would add if I had it.

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?

Alot of support.

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

Employer offered to pay for me until she had the Insurance set up for it. I waited until the Insurance was set.

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

The drugs were good. I was in for 4 days. Most of the time I slept. The toll it takes on your body is amazing. The most important thing I brought was my wife. It was very important to have someone their. It is very scary when they are getting ready to put you under knowing how serious the surgery is.

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?

Didn't have much anxiety.

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

I tried to go back to work after 1 week home. I made it about three hours and it wore me out so bad that I went home and slept for over 24 hrs. I took the next two weeks off. Starting to eat again was diffcult. Many foods made me sick for several months.

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

30 miles. No.

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.

At first mostly sugar free Jello and soup. Slowly moved forward from there. Anything with sugar made me sick for months. After the first month about every week I would be able to add another kind of food. The worst thing was finding out what you could't eat yet. It would take 5 minutes for what I was eating to make me sick so by that time I would have quite a bit down and get sick for about 20 minutes. I would through the fodd up and then dry heave for about 20 min.

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

Started walking the fisrt day in the hospital. I would walk up and down the halls. When I got home I started out with about 5 min walks and was up to 2 30 min walks per day by the end of the three weeks. Then as the lbs come off it gets much easier.

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

2 Vitamin D /2 Fred Flinstone chewable multi-vitamins with Iron / Once a month I get a Vitamin B shot. The shots seemed to work better than the under the tounge pills.

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?

Vomiting was the worst. It is different than Pre-surgery vomiting. There is very little acid so it dosent burn. It hurts your stomach every time you do it. Somtimes I would be sore for a couple of days from bad episodes. The bad episodes would last a couple of hours. Most would last about 20 min. That lasted about 4 months and then went away completly. Now I feel sick if I eat a large amount of sugar but I don't vommit.

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

It take a long time to recover.

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

I did not go to one. I think I should have. Have to carefull with drinking after it affects you much more quickly.

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

Just small inscions. Can hardly see them now.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have hit several plateau's each one last longer. The last one was 7 weeks before I started to loose again.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes I think so.