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

Saw news stories about it on tv, and then did research myself. I was impressed that it was giving people their lives back after being so fat.

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

My insurance company was horrible. They first turned me down because my BMI was to high for lap-band. They wanted me to lose 60 pounds, well if I could of lost it on my own I wouldn't be trying for a surgery. Then a year and half later I went through for gastric bypass. They wanted even more info such as my whole medical files from all my doctors for the LAST FIVE YEARS and other crap like that... then wouldn't give me a formal approval letter for the surgery until they had a surgery date... barix wouldn't give a formal surgery date till they got the formal letter... took me a month to fix that problem!

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

Well, my orginal surgeon quit because of money. So I met my new surgeon the day of my PAT. Just before he had to rush off and operate on someone...

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

My PCOS was getting worse and I really didn't want to be fat and pregnant. So, I wanted to lose the weight so I could have kids...

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

again research. I am pretty thankful that I was turned down for the lap-band since it really doesn't work or breaks all the time...

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 had never been completely out for a surgery. I was scared about waking up from that...

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?

they were all supportive

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 SAHM

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

I went in on Weds morning left Friday morning... shorter stay than my c-section... bring comfty pjs.

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

they ran into a ton of scar tissue from my c-section... got a few extra holes in me because of that...

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

freaked out because I got my date a week before my PAT and then was told I needed a $1000 the day of surgery that I didn't have...

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

I am almost 6 weeks out... and I get tired a lot still but it is getting better!

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

I live in Reading, PA... had the surgery in Langhorne, PA... it is about 2 hours 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.

2 weeks on full liquids, 1 week on pureed, 1 week on soft, and then on normal foods after that... I can't eat any blue bunny sugar free ice cream now... it gives me the runs lol... but that is about it...

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

I was only allowed to walk... so to me that isn't really active when you are used to doing water workouts 4 times a week...

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

chewable vitiamins, chewable calcium,

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?

haven't had any

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

clear liquids for a week before surgery... and your 15m old daughter trying to feed you food and not understanding why you can't eat it... she was mad at me a lot that week...

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

I have a lot of friends that are going to have this surgery... so we have formed our own little group...

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

I have 6 little sites... they are still healing... i'm 6 weeks out...

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

none so far

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

most can't see the difference yet since I'm only down 45 pounds