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

online...I was looking around and came upon it, I was very excited and curious.... This site was the best thing I found. This site has changed my life for ever, I will never forget, This site changed my life the second I came upon it! Thanks so much for all the great information, I want to thank everyone for being so kind and helpful! :)

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

Well before I had to submit all my paper work to the surgeons office.... My Insurence was Medica...They only requierd 12 months of supervised weight loss and a pysc eval..... But I went to my PCP and got a leter of medical neccesity and my list of all my medical problems,... And he back my WLS 100%... I also went to a dietition and got a referral... she was also behind me 100%... With all that I did...My surgeons office sent out a letter and my other letters and in 2 days I was approved for surgery! my Dr's nurse said it would be a good month before I would here from them.... But i was soooo excited that they approved me soon. My Insurence was fast and very helpful... but I could'nt have done it with out the help from this website... because I had no idea what to do at all... till I got help from here....

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

I first met my suegeons wife on 4-20-01, At the informational seminar that my surgeon requires before everything gets started. I thought Judy was very nice and understanding! She knew exactly how we fealt. 6-18-01 I just meet my dr. on 6-14-01, He was great, very kind and answered all of my questions cory and I asked. I would recammmend him to eveyone! Had lots of information for me!

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

After 12 years of failure to battle my weight, This is what I need to do, I started dieting at age 10 in the forth grade,. I have been on yo-yo diets ever since. I have been about 50-60 pounds over weight since I was 10, but when I became pregnant in 96, I gained 60+ No I'm 120 over weight with a bmi of 43.4 ...I cant seem to take off the weight. When I had my son (he is now 3 years old) I thought no problem...I'll breast feed and I'll drop the weight just like nothing..... wrong I've tried every diet,...you name it I've done it! But I've been over 100 pounds over weight now for 3+ years. I need to do this for myself and for my son so his mom wont die young!

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I want the LAPROSCOPIC roux-en-y, I don't want to have a huge scar, and it will heal faster,. I picked my surgeon because he was doing both lap and open. It will give me a choice. Plus the healing time is alot faster!

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?

Well the way I look at it is, I can have surgery to lose weight and make me feel better mentaly and pysicaly, or I can keep getting bigger and kill my self with my weight and be miserable and unhappy the rest of my life. I only can take life 1 day at a time, & I hope and pray everything will be just fine.... Also I will work with everyone, to get what I need done, I will follow everything my DR tells me to do.

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?

well some of my faimly where as excited as I was. They back me up 100% and will be there they said through everything... I just hope that the other part of my faimy will except what I have planed to do. My boyfriend was not happy at first, But after awhile of listening to me and kinda understands me, he has excepted it. He is afraid of me dieing. My mom doesn't want me to have it, But she said all she can do is pray for me. Only I can tell someone I want to do it... no one will make me back out or change my mind..

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

I'm a f-t student, So I am not going to tell anyone, hoping I'll get surgery during the summer break.

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

I stayed in the hospital for 1 night... The 1st day was good... the next day was horrible... the nurseing care sucked!!! I would have brought a fan if I didn't know that they didn't have any...

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

no--- just pain---- they gave me meds that did not work on my body... so i was in pain alittle

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 supper excited I wanted to start my new life then that day!

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

The 1st week is the hardest... You need alot of emotional support and physcial help as well... My b/f was there all the time to help me for the 1st week.... He is the only one who got me threw this..

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

I had to drive 2.5 hours to get to the hospital... and back.... There is noone close to me who does the surgery... So I had a long drive!!!

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

it took a month to feel totaly back to normal... im almost 4 months post up and if it wasent for the scars i would feel like nothing ever happened

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

At 1 week post -op I take multi-vit, and I take some protien supps.. I will start my b-12 and calcium citrate at my 3 week check up... thats what he said to do

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 Worst thing is that I could'nt sleep on my side or my back for a while... I have to sleep in my recliner... I'm sooo sick of my couch... I plan, when I can sleep in my bed again I will never sit on my couch.... I'm so sick of sleepping and sitting there...lol

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

I had a good time....Theonly thing I had a problem with was with the nursing care at the hospital I was at... The morning shift kept forgeting about me... My room mate got everything asap... and I didn't get any help on the 2nd day... My b//f had to do everything... shower me... help me with personal hygine.. ect..

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

I have 6 tiny scars on my belly and a long one on my leg.. they are fadding but noticiable.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I've been on a plateau since my 3rd month... oct.. so I've been on it for 1-1/2 months... its scary and driving me crazy... I dont know what to do...

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

no--- not really...