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

My Bariatric physician and I have talked about it many times in the past 4 years. After Phen/Fen was no longer available anywhere, and I gained back my weight, she suggested that I start thinking about the surgery and when it was evident that Phen/Fen would never be back on the market I had to finally decide to have surgery. However, I decided I would wait until the Adjustable Lap Band was available in the states to do it.

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

I don't have any advice since my surgery was approved with no problem. However, this may have been the result of some other problems I had earlier this year getting approval for some other medication. My husband planted himself in their office here and would not take no for an answer. I think that maybe they didn't want to deal with him again.

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

My surgeon was very informative, explaned exactly what would be done, and how it would be done. He explaned to me where he had his training and what I could expect after the surgery.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

What finally pushed me over the edge was that I just don't feel well anymore. My knees hurt all the time, the my job sometimes requires me to travel overseas and the trips in the planes are not only horribly uncomfortable, they are embarrassing when your seat belt doesn't fit, or you can't lower the tray because your stomach is in the way.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I talked to my physician and because of some of the complications some of her other patients had, I decided to have the Adjustable Lap Band because nothing is permanently done to the stomach and is completely reversible if it needs to be removed.

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?

Having the other types of surgery really scared me a lot. Seeing the statistics on this type of surgery kind of takes the fear of dying away. Also, I got on a plane a month after 9-11 and flew to Germany and survived that. I figure if it's my time to go, then I would go if I was sitting at my desk at work instead, so I'd might as well be doing something to improve my life.

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?

If I had known how my mom was going to react, I would not have told her until it was over. Everyone else, including my husband, my physician, my co-workers and my bosses are very, very supportive of me having this surgery. Haven't had the surgery yet so I don't know their reaction after surgery.

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

I told my employer/supervisor when I made the decision to have the surgery. As I stated before, my bosses and my co-workers have been very supportive. I haven't had the surgery yet so I don't know how long I'll be out of work.

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

My stay at the hospital was very pleasant considering the circumstances. The hospital staff were organized, very caring, and knew what they were doing. The most inportant thing for me, and this may sound silly, was a fan. After the surgery, as they were rolling me out of recovery, I got so hot, it immediately triggered the nausea. After they put a fan on me, the nausea went away for long periods of time. The next most important thing to bring is a loving relative that really cares about you. My husband was with me through it all and it made a difference, just knowing he has sitting there in the room with me, even though I was sleeping a lot.

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

The only complication I had was nausea from the anethesia. My doctor did 3 procedures that day. The first one he did, did extremely well, no problems at all. The second one had considerable nausea and was still in the hospital when I left the hospital. I was his third procedure that day and I had a small amount of nausea from the anesthesia for about 24 hours. This was my doctors first 3 procedures and I was extremely impressed with his thoroughness and response to my small amount of nausea.

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 think I did pretty well with the anxiety. Mostly we had a lot of personnel problems at work during the two to three weeks before the surgery which increased my work load which helped tremedously in keeping my mind off the surgery. In the evenings I enrolled in an intense computer security class which my employer is paying for, so that helped me keep my mind on something else in the evening.

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

The first week home from the hospital, I was very confused about what I could eat and how much I could eat. Found a site on the web for the Ohio State University Hospital that gave great instructions on exacly what I could and could not eat and what amounts. Since that time, I've kept a log of what I eat every day, have had no problems at all with any food I have eaten. Just take it slow, chew lots, and exercise.

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

I have a two hour drive from Sedalia, MO to Lansing, KS.

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.

Right after surgery and for about 4 weeks, I pureed everything I ate. Then when I started eating solid food, I ate the same things, only did not puree them. I have not eaten anything that contains surgar, caffein, or anything that has carbonation. Also eat only low fat, no fat foods. Low-fat, no-fat pudding, no fat milk, chicken, turkey, homemade vegetable soup, etc.

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

So far, 4 days after surgery, I'm up and walking around. Sticking close to home. Not allowed to drive yet.

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

I am taking Flintstone's Complete Chewable Vitamins.

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?

Nausea lasted only about 12 hours after surgery.

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

The first 24 hours after surgery were the worst for me. Although the hospital staff and Dr. Hornbostel made me as comfortable as they could.

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

None so far. Have a wealth of support with co-workers. May attend a group at a later date.

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

My lap scar is about 2 inches long. No problems.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I was going along really well and then about 4 months along, all weight loss stopped. Since that time, the weight loss has started again, but it is a lot slower than it was at first.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not really!