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

I had a freind that had it done and was impressed with her sucess

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

I used the rescourses on this web sight. I contacted my insurance company and found out all the "pre" things that had to be done. Once I completed all of them I submitted my papers to them

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

I had a freind who had this and read this web sight a lot so I was well versed in most of it so we just reviewed things.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

That fact that I knew that I could not live very long in the condition I was in. I was 47 years old, taking 3 blood pressure pills a day and my blood pressure was still out of control. I had asthma, 3 chins and a family history of diabetes. One should not huff up the stairs at their house at this age!

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I was lucky with a BMI of 40 I was "small" enough that I could have my procedure done laproscopically

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 have to say the thought did cross my mind but I knew that at 5' 10", BMI of 40, 280# with uncontroled high blood pressure, asthma and a brother who is allreay on an insulin pump my chances of seeing my mid 50's without having some serious health issues or even die by then were a strong possiblity. This was my chance to change my life for the best.

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 wife and daughters were very concerned but realized that on the current course of life my health was going to detorate over the years. I told them all I wanted to dance at my grandchildrens weddings and I needed to do this to insure that i regained my health so I could keep that promise. They were all great and took very good care of me

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

I called my staff into my office the day before I took off and told them the truth. I went to my boss and his boss and advised them what i was going to do and why. They were both very supportave and impressed that I was going to such lengths to improve my quality of life

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

I remember saying "good night" to everyone in the OR at 7AM and dont remember anything until 8PM that night. I have no memory of those 13 hours which is just fine to me. I honestly can say that I woke to discomfort but not what I would say was pain. I actually asked my wife if they did the procedure becasue I fully expected to be in a lot of pain. I had the procedure on Tuesday and was home on Thursday night.

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

None

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 most everone goes through some second thinking before you do this. Lets face the fact we are considering giving up to of our best freinds who are food and our tummys. Did I really want to make this "permanente" decision? I came to the conclusion that I most likely could have a bite or two of anything after the procedure and would be satisfied with those bites VS the need to eat a massive amounts of what ever it was. A little was going to be better than none. So far I have found this to be true.

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

I came home on Thursday and woke up sleeping on my tummy on Saturday AM. I never took any pain medication after I left the hospital. I took two weeks off from work since I work at a desk. The biggest adjustment is getting use to all the "time frames" you have to track between meals and all the fluids you have to drink inbetween the meals. I have to give a lot of credit to my wife (Julie) she took good care of me and made sure I stayed on schedule. Once you get they timing down it becomes second nature and just part of your life. Like with anything you get better at if after some pratice and you get to the point where you don't watch the clock so much.

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

I went 90 miles one way. I dont feel that it effected my aftercare. I had to go back at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 6 months and now once a year.

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.

I needed to eath things taht were very moist. help you get it down. I can not emphaize enough how much you have to CHEW! once you think you have chewed it enough, chew it 30 more times! Trust me you are going to puke! Be care full of things that swell after you eat them such as rices and pasta. The bigest thing I could not eat over the first 12 months was steak. I loved steak before the procedure. Afterwards I could not tollorate it. Each time I tried a little of it I felt like a truck hit me in the stomach. Now at 15 months I seem to be able to tollorate it again.

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

I walked a lot. As the weight comes off you gain energy. At the first year check up my doctor told me that fishing was not an exercise. Guess he never saw the size of fish I catch :') Right after the 1 year check up I purchased a bike. I thought if I could ride it a mile the first time out that would be good. I rode it 6 miles without any troubles. 3 months later I have rode over 500 miles. I now love riding I get a good workout, keeping off the weight, improving my muscle tone and my cardiac condition improves daily and my blood pressure contiunes to go down

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

I drink 54 grams of protein for breakfast. All my daily vitamins and supplements come from Bariatric Advantage. I take thier multi vitiam, calcium, b-12, b-comlex,

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?

I vomited a lot for the first 4 months. 99% of the time it was my own fault. I either ate to fast or did not chew enough. proper chewing and taking my time eating is someting that I was not good at before the procedure and I still have to remember to slow down and chew.

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

Nothing really, i was well versed on what was going to happen. The most uncomfortable part (and that was trivial) was the one drain tube was quite long and was unpleasant coming out. I really dont have any issues

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

since the support group is 90 miles one way I do not attend them. I have used this web sight and I have a freind who had it done about a year before i did so she is a great help

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

I have 5 puncture holes and I can not see any of them helps to be a fuzzy guy!

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

none

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

You will just freak out the first few times people just walk by you becasue they dont reconize you. You will loose so much so fast that until you talk to the person they will not know who you are. I actually saw a photo of myself a while back and I did not reconize myself. You also will be asked (either to your face or to a freind or spouse) if you are very sick?