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

I first found out from family members who had co-workers who had had the surgery. I thought ... 1. I should be able to take charge of my eating and lose weight the natural way. 2. The surgery was an awful extreme measure 3. The surgery was an escape. 4. I would not be successful, even with the surgery, because of my emotional eating habits.

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

My surgeons specialize in WLS and were very clear about what to expect from the insurance. They are aware of the minimum requirements for each of the common insurers in the area and will not submit the paperwork to the insurance until the patient has everything the insurer regularly requires for the decision. Once I had me paperwork, psych eval, and dietician meeting in, they sent it right in to the insurance, and we had a yes response 2 weeks later.

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

It was about an hour long. The surgeon spends a good portion of the time explaining the options for all the surgeries and the risks and potential complications, as well as the benefits. The surgeon then makes a suggestions for what surgery option(s) she believes will be most successful for you based on your weight, your body type, your history, and your goals. She allows you some time to consider that and make your decision for, or against, or discuss it or other options further.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Not being able to lose on my own, not being able to be the kind of Mom I want to be, and not being able to afford the only other option that I felt I could be successful with, a very low calorie medically supervised liquid diet, and realizing that even though I had been successful with that option before, my circumstances had changed and I might not be successful with it now.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Balancing my future goals, my desired weight, and side effects, and health risks. I determined that Gastric Bypass with the deterrent effects of dumping and vomiting would better help me deal with the emotions that lead to emotional eating and bingeing, while allowing me to stay healthy and keep the possibility of mission work and long-term travel abroad in my future.

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 was concerned, because if I had severe complications or died, I would leave my 3 young boys without a mother. However, I felt that the Lord had allowed this opportunity, and would protect me. I also felt that with my health currently generally good, and me being fairly young, I would have less likelihood of complications than I would in the future when I would likely have multiple co-morbidities and additional weight.

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 friends were very supportive and encouraging. My family was scared and very concerned. My family is coming around and generally letting me do my thing now that surgery is a done thing. Yes they are concerned, but they also have mellowed and are wishing for the best to come of it, now that the chance of death is minimal.

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

NA. I am unemployed, and have been for a year.

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

I was very happy with my stay in the hospital. I was stayed until 5pm the day after surgery, though I could have left at 1 or 2pm if my Dr. had made it back to the hospital sooner to sign my discharge papers. The nurses and nurse assistants were very attentive. They made me feel like a million bucks. Told me I was a super star and was doing great. I loved the attention. The afternoon of surgery I was a little out of it, but by evening I was doing pretty well. I would have liked to have a disc player and my CD's. Other than that I would just be sure you had your own toothpaste and a toothbrush. Maybe a sipper cup. Maybe some LIGHT reading. Other than that things are pretty simple, so I did not need much.

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

I did not have any 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 so busy preparing myself and my kids to move, and then the move and unpacking, that I really did not have time to get nervouse or anxious the first time around, but then I got strep and surgery was postponed for 3 weeks. About a week before the new date I did get a bit nervous. Mostly I jumped on the web and spent alot of time on OH.com and OSSGMN, reading and responding to postings. I also felt compelled to read about some of the people that have died after surgery. A bit morbid, yes, but after a few hours, of that I actually felt better, because in the large majority of the cases, the people had serious health issues and knew they were high risk, but still felt surgery was their best option. I do feel sad that they did not make it, but I can also rejoice, because they are with the Lord now, and their suffering is over.

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

It is a bit of a roller coaster. Even if you feel pretty good, it takes a while to understand what your body is telling you. Full feels different. A little bit is now too-oo-oo much. Even more odd is to get your mind to understand the new reality. You can't eat much!!!! My mind kept telling me, no you NEED to eat more. Not true! It takes a while to adjust, but it does happen. I did also get a bit of "buyers remorse" in week 5, but it seems to have passed, for now at least.

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

About a half hour. There are several very good surgical practices specializing in WLS in my Metro area.

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 3 months post-op I have found that I do not tolerate spicy foods, foods that are higher in fats, or sugar. I "dump" with all but spicy. Spicy I can handle small amounts, but if I push things at all, and fill up my pouch, it hurts like the dickens. I go through periods of not wanting to eat anything at all, then periods of craving carbs. I also cannot drink more than half a glass of milk at a time, or eat much at all for breads. That's OK, but I wish I could eat a sandwich. I have been able to eat rice though. I am thinking that has to do with how it's made. My ex's family is from Ecuador and the way they make rice, it's not sticky. It also has a decent helping of oil, so I have to be a little cautious, but it doesn't stick and clump!

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

I was a slug for about 4 weeks out. Since then I have not felt like I've had any more energy, but looking back I realized that my activity level has been steadily increasing. I am not "exercising" like I should but I am doing alot more in the house and with the kids!

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

Chewable Multivitamins - 2 day B-12 injection, once a month starting after 3 weeks. Chewable Calcium - 1000mg twice a day (yes - 2000mg total), starting after 3 week check up NO IRON - since I am on an IUD with minor hormonal effects and am NOT menstruating! Yeah!!! No Constipation.

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 very worst was when I ate some spicy food too fast and overfilled my pouch. Boy did that hurt, and it did not feel very good coming back up either. That was a miserable 10-15 minutes until I got enough out to relieve the pressure. It stinks when I eat to much and then feel very uncomfortable until I throw some up. That usually happens when I eat to quickly. It is happening less and less. The other unpleasant side effect for me is dumping, which for me basically means nausea for about 20 minutes after eating too much sugar or fat. The good news it passes pretty quickly. The other good news...it's a pretty good deterent for me!

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

The naysayers. All those people who did not think the benefits were worth the risk.

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

I have 6 small scars of varying sizes around my abdomen. The longest one, just above my belly button is a tad over an inch long. Above and to the right of that one is the next longest scar which is about a 3/4 of an inch. In the middle of my abdomen, at the bottom of my rib cage is the scar from where they removed my gall bladder, that one isn't even as big as a pencil eraser. The other four are about a 1/4 inch long. I guess I really wasn't concerned about the scarring, too much. But compared to my c-sections I am very, very pleased.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I'm on my 2nd plateau now. The first the scale did not move for 2 weeks, but as soon as I started getting my fluids in I dropped 5 pounds. This time it has been 3 weeks, but the first two weeks my body was still changing, so although I was impatient to see the scale change, I wasn't panicking too much, but now I'm getting a little nervous. As close after the first plateau that it is, I'm worried that I my body is in starvation mode and my metabolism has gone out of wack. I want to join a gym, and do some muscle building work, but I cannot afford it yet.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I think people who don't know me are a little more likely to take me seriously and give me half a chance. It's really not a huge difference, very subtle, but I feel an underlying difference. I think people are now seeing me as simply overweight, where before they saw me as out of control or disgusting.