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

Nephew had it done. It worked fine on him except for 2 yrs, later he started gaining weight back, then I found out he went back to his old habits of sodas and junk food and he started having complications. But I do understasnd you have to be committed to this for the rest of your life.

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

be patient and keep checking with your physicians office and your ins. provider.

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

Very imformative and do not be afraid to ask questions. You might want to wright down your questions so you do not forget anything.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

TIRED OF BEING FAT AND NOT HAVING ANY ENERGY WHATSOEVER

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Did some research on my own

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 worried if this operations would last and if I am going to be able to change my own life to makle the surgery work for me.

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?

Some are for some are not. Some do not believe I am going to be able to change my eating habits because I am a big meat eater, but they do not relize I have got to change for the sake of myself because I sure am not happy with the way I look or feel, IT IS TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE IN MY LIFE AND I AM READY TO DO IT.

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

Just have let my director know about it. All the people in the office are very supportive about it. There biggest worry was who was going to do the friday lunch cooking that I do every friday.

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

I was at New Hanover Medical center in Wilmington Nc They were very caring and took care of me very well. I did not need anything except my housecoat and slippers

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

none at all

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

All i could think of was getting this done and start to lose weight.

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

Soreness, and they need to realise that your body is going to change fast and in order to make it work you need to follow the drs orders and listen too what he tells you to do

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

50 miles

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.

it has been 6mths since surgery and i can eat anything i want, just do not eat a lot of it

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

i have lots of energy and love to excercise now

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 bad for me until i taught my self to eat slower

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

wls support group meets once a month and it is very helpful to talk to people that are going through the smae thing

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

is fading away, not bad at all

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have went through 3 plateaus and they each lasted about 2 weeks each time, Just kept on doing what i was supposed to do and it worked to break it each time

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

They give more compliments