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

I was seeing an orthopaedic doctor to see if anything could be done to help with the severe pain in my knee. After looking at the xrays the Dr came into the room looked at me and said there was nothing he could do for me. He stated I would most likely die within the next 10 years due to a complication of morbid obesity, he added the only solution for me was seeing a bariatric specialist. I left that office furious, I felt this was extremly harsh, drastic, and totally unnessary. I promised myself that I would prove him wrong, the following day I registered at Weight Watchers and weighed in at 290lbs. I did really well, I lost approx 50 lbs in about 2 to 3 months. Then I started missing the meetings and before I knew it any progress I had made was gone and I felt like a complete failure. I still felt like surgery was not the answer. I tried numerous Doctors for weightloss pills, but nobody would give them to me because my b/p was sky high. The last Doctor I tried for the pills was an Endocrinologist, who again refused me and stated Bariatric Surgery was exactly what I needed, not the crazy idea I was thinking it was. He took alot of time explaining everything to me. He said it was no small undertaking, but people in desperate places sometimes have to take more dramatic steps. At this point I was 304lbs at 5 feet and 3 inches.

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

Gastric Bypass for me was not an easy adventure, I had alot of problems post op with bleeding. I received 6 units of blood in the three to four days following surgery, I needed to have a central line put in my neck, and one night for whatever the reason I became very confused and tried to leave the hospital after pulling out my n/g tube and catheter. The staff in the hospital were very kind and compassionate, I was in the hospital for 5 days, all of them were on a surgical floor not an icu- which would have scared me to death.

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

Post-op bleeding from the bottom connection of the stomach to the intestine. I received 6 units of blood in the first 3 to 4 days post op. I have very bad veins and because I kept getting shocky from the blood loss, they had to put in a central line. Bleeding did stop on its own without going back to the or. Once the bleeding stopped I was able to start the sips of water and then begin to advance the diet and I did very well then. I think I did very poorly with the complications, not because I was not informed that they were a possibility, but because I did not expect to have any myself. I am a nurse who has had 2 prior c/s's and other surgeries and never had the slightest complication, in fact in all cases I basically took complete care of myself from the moment the anesthetic wore off. This time I was very dependent on people to take care of me and this freaked me out.

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

There was about 6 weeks of waiting time from getting the date to the actual surgery. The day I received the date I was very nervous, I was shaking and I couldn't concentrate on anything. I knew I couldn't continue for 6 weeks like this otherwise my family would suffer. I decided to work harder on the exercise for 2 reasons, one is that I thought it might help with the anxiety and the second was that I thought if I was in the best possible shape for me, it would be easier post op. This thinking could not have been furthur from the truth, I was so worn out post op that had I not been somewhat prepared exercise wise ahead of time I would not have been able to do the post-op activity expected of me. I also spent alot of time doing extra school work with my children and getting my house organised. I had my surgery on December 17th, so there was alot of Christmas stuff to keep me busy

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

My Doctors office runs a monthly support group for all patients pre and post op, every month there is a different speaker and you can network with other patients. I find this group very helpful, sometimes I get frustrated and feel like I am in this alone and it reminds me that I am not alone, but that I do have to do my own work. Post-op pts were seen at 3 weeks or sooner if needed, 3 mos, 6 mos, 1 year, and yearly after that. Bloodwork is ordered at all of those visits.

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

My surgery was done laproscopically, so there are only 6 very small incisions ranging from no more than 1/2 inch to about 1/8th of an inch. The incisions healed without any problem and they are fading in color. Incisions are much better than what I expected. Sometimes they are slightly itchy, which I think is part of the healing process.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I lost weight very rapidly for the first 6 mos without any plateaus. I went from304 lbs to 187 lbs. After 6 mos there has been several plateaus. Plateaus varied in length and usually when I really looked at things I had started doing something different, like not taking in enough fluids or cutting back on exercise. In order to end plateaus I try to keep food records if I am in one, I make sure I am getting the protein and fluids that I need and I increase or change the type of exercise I am doing. I am now almost 13 mos post-op and have lost 157lbs. I am 147lbs, I would like to get to 130lbs, but I am not sure my body will allow me to get there and thats ok as long as I can maintain.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes, people who hardly ever spoke to me before are much nicer. This annoys me because I am still the same person I was before. I know these people are not true friends, but I gladly accept whatever ease this adds to my life. My family and true friends treat me no differently.