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

A couple of people at work had the surgery.

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

Make sure you have all the requested paperwork. The process was pretty simple for me. I was approved in 2 weeks

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

Dr. Olsen is a great doctor and is willing to answer any questions that you might not understand about the surgery. The more knowledge you have about the surgery the better off you will be.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Keep gaining weight. Blood Pressure kept going out.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

After talking with friends that previously had the surgery, and talking it over with my husband as well as the doctor.

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?

Pray about it.. Thats the best advice that I can give

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?

Very supportive!

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

Very supportive. I needed to get the weight off to get my blood pressure under control

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

I was in the hospital for 4 days. My iron was low which caused me to stay an extra day.

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

no 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 very thankful to God for making this possible.

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

The first 2 weeks were some what hard for me. The liquid thing I didn't care for, but it got better

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

20 mins away

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.

No carbs, sugars or sodas. Only lean meats and water some veggies like green beans, but the dr wanted me to get all my protein in first.

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

I was up walking a couple hr after surgery and have contiuned to walk. I didn't want to battle with blood clots.

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

Flintstone Complete Chewable, Calcium Citrate, Vitamin B 12,Vitamin D

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?

Nausea was a issue at first, but it went away. I try to get my protein in so I want have to experience any hair loss issues.

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

The recovery was the wrost for me. I went under fine, but woke up in a lot of pain.

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

Support groups are very helpful, along with friends who have had the surgery.

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

My scars are very little and have healed up completely. What a scar's compared to stretch marks?

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

none yet

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

For the most part of it people still treat me the same, but you can tell who's jealous.