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

i saw stories on tv then my sistern law had it i still thought it was to much of a drastic step

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

was approved the first time i tried much easier than i thought however i think it may be harder now than a year ago to get approved

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

take a friend with you are your spouse if you dont remember something maybe they will because they tell you so much in a very short time its hard to remember everything

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

was not able to do everything i wanted to and also i was looking at total knee replacment my knee dr. told me if i could get some of this weight off my joints it could delay the replacment by several years probably

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

i thought it was best for me i wanted what works best and gets the best results

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?

that those fears can be really scary i had a blood clot that moved from my leg to my lungs and almost died so it can happen but i would do the surgery all over again

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?

most were supportive most thought it was a exstrme measure but those were people that were not over weight

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

i was there for 4 days you will need a lot of will power & determination to get out of that bed the first time the first time i did i fainted then they discovered i needed 4 units of blood so iguess i was really trying just a little light headed things to bring well ibrought pretty gowns but did not even wear them so that was a waste of time & money now they are way to big for me Ha Ha

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

after i came home i keep having a charlie horse in the calf of my leg i thought it was from being inactive i was having a lot of trouble breathing went to our local er complained to them they thought it was swelling from the surgery and they gave me a breathing treatment thought all would be ok that was on monday a week after i came home then on thurs. i started fainting and really week thought it was from not eating enough then i finally had the sence to call dr freemans office again they had me to come to the er in anniston where i had the surgery finally found the problem i had a blood clot in my leg that had moved to my lungs was admitted to hospital for5 more days dr patel my pulminary dr. told me i was a lucky lady to be alive most people dont survive a blood clot in the lungs so i have been on blood thinner since dec. 18 dr freeman feelt so bad about about my problem i was his first patient to have a blood clot then i keep having heart burn so bad my food would not go down regardless of what i tried to eat or drink this was about the middle of feb. when i went back for my check up first of march dr freeman decided to go back in and stretch the opening ing at the bottom of my pouch a miracle happened i need no more gas x i dont gag when i brush my teeth i can eat more now i was only suppose to loose 97 pounds in a year but i weighed today it will be 5 months on may 4 since my surgery i have lost 102 pounds so i am really feelig good about it now even though i have had a few problems

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

could not wait for the date to get here was so aafraid i would still be hungry after the surgery i guess the worse part was the week before the surgery when i started the light eating pattern before the surgery date thanksgiving was the day i started it

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

my family has been really good my brothers wife had the surgery about a year before i did so i learned a lot of the things to do & not to do have been to some support group meetings in gadsden because it is closer than anniston from where i live i think the group meetings are great and the emails i get from other patients is wonderful

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

my scaring is less than i thought however i still have some blueish tint on my stomach in a few places it may be from the coumidin (blood thinner) as well as from the surgery but not bad at all

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

just the complications i had but have lost much faster than i thiught possible so i know i will hit a plateau soon but who cares i have lost more than i thought possible especially since i am less than 5 months out from surgery (102) pounds

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

not really just they cant belive i have lost so much so fast