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

I've known about it since the mid eighties. I knew of someone in my town who got the intestinal bypass back then and heard he suffered from frequent vomitting and other horrible side effects. I thought, "I wouldn't want to rearrange my anatomy for anything."

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

My experience was a smooth approval though my particular company seemed to be changing policy so often, no customer service people there could give me a straight answer - they weren't sure what the policy of the minute was. I was prepared to fight though and got names of all insurance employees I talked to and wrote all their vastly different responses they gave me down as documentation.

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

By the time I got to meet my prospective surgeon, I had checked his credentials, years of experience, and whether any formal complaints had been filed against him. I had been researching in depth the various different surgeries being performed today, so I asked 20 detailed questions such as "How many reversals have you performed?" and "Why don't you do the RNY laproscopically?" (already knowing he had years of experience in laproscopic surgery, and that he is considered an RNY expert in this part of the country.) He was friendly, professional and to the point.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I knew that extra weight in the form of fat was at the root of my joint pain and that I had started a vicious cycle of gaining more because of the pain to move, which lead to gaining more with even more pain. I also knew that nothing else I ever tried worked to help me remove the bulk of the excess which could affect my health for the better. Surgery seemed the next logical step for me. I prayed and found that God gave me an answer in the form of an assuring feeling of freedom in this area to decide for myself and a promise to guide and heal me every step of the way. I had not even one day of perceivable "nerves" at any point leading up to the day of surgery once the decision was made.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Researching medical journals, discussing the research with my PCP, and emailing a few AMOS members, asking them why they chose their particular surgery type and how healthy they feel and whether they still had a struggle with actual physical hunger they had to fight against.

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?

Once my mind was made up to go through with surgery, I had no fear or "nerves".

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?

I told everyone I even remotely know (including old friends from high school that I hadn't seen in years). They all knew I wouldn't jump into anything without checking it out, so they were confident (at least on the outside)of my decision. All are either very supportive, or kind of neutral which is fine for me. I'm glad I didn't try to keep this a secret! If I worked in an office, I might hold back some info., who knows?

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

N/A

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

My hosp. stay was hectic. I changed rooms 3 times in 3 days. I stayed for 3 nights. Its important to bring lip balm, lotion, shampoo, toothbrush/toothpaste, and slide-on slippers for walking the halls. I wish I had brought make-up and a wide toothed comb too.

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

No.

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 felt so happy and started preparing and purchasing things for post-op.

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

Directly home from the hospital I felt great. I didn't sleep much at night because I was so excited and wanted to keep moving to prevent bloodclots. After 3 or 4 weeks I started feeling tired often and napped every chance I got. I learned that drinking water is more important than naps during this phase. When I stopped the excess naps, I could sleep through the night better.

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

20 minute drive

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 ate a variety of foods from the beginning, but all were thoroughly pureed. The majority of what I ate was organic and unprocessed. I ate more for nutritional value than for the cool & soothing feeling of many naturally soft foods. I believe that the choices I made had a great impact on my swift healing as well as the ability to eat most any food without problems. I ate no seeds,nuts,popcorn or raw veggies for 8 weeks/ no solid food period for 8 weeks. Each day I introduced a new food and had great success with one exception - the skin of a beef frank at week 2 (not ground finely enough I guess). The only true intolerance thus far has been wild rice at 8 months out.

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

I walked after every meal to help it go down for a few weeks. Walked some here and there just to prevent bloodclots until month 8 when I began weight training and daily walks on the treamill.

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

2 chewable multivitamins, liquid Cal Mag 2T/day, chewable elemental iron 27 mg/day, 1000 mg B-12 sublingual (EOD), 1000 mg biotin sublingual daily.

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?

None yet. Update (nine months out)- I've vomited 4 or 5 times from eating too fast, eating in an environment with too much audio/visual stimulation and wild rice. I've had nausea a couple times because I didn't get in enough water.

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

Waiting for approval was hard, because I could not afford to pay for this surgery on my own.

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

I went to a great support group for 6 months before surgery to 3 months after (then I moved out of state). It was wonderful to meet people who were in various stages of the whole weight loss surgery process. I learned a great deal by attending the group way before I went under the knife. I think its important to learn all you can and meet people who may become an important part of your support system.

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

Its about 3 1/2 in. long and fairly faint. It is what I expected.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have lost every month since surgery, so I've not seen any plateaus. I might have seen something like unto a plateau if I weighed more than once a month.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

No, not that I can detect