debbieoard

Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

I started gaining weight when I was about 6th grade. The doctor put me on a diet then and thats the way life has been for me every since. I tried to pretend that I wasn't overweight. I would tryout for cheerleading, the track team, etc in junior high, just to be with the popular kids. But I was always about 50 pounds over the idea weight. Still most of my friends accepted me regardless of the fat. I had boys call me names and I even got into some cat fights with some skinny girls. However, I didn't become excessively overweight until I got out of high school. When I met my husband to be I was still overweight(230#), but love just does something to the appetite and that was the first time in a long time that I saw 180 pounds. But after I got married, that was it I maintained about 220 for a couple years. but after the loss of our first child I begain ballooning up. I have been on every diet known to man and to no avail. I would loose some and gave it back plus bonus pounds. I feel for my children, because they have to watch me get mad at people staring at me(just irritates me). And I cry alot, but only in the shower so no one hears me. I hate being FAT!

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

Seeing my children watch me struggle when I try to do something, and then having them have to help me. Humiliating! The second worst thing about being fat is the prejudice. I get looks all the time and it is a look like "You shouldn't be doing that" and it just burns me.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!! HAVING A LIFE IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!

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

I had a friend that had stomach stapling done years ago, and she had nothing but complications. She ate out her staples and ballooned back up to 400 pounds again. So I said that no way was I ever going to do that. Well now years later, I was reintroduced to gastric bypass. My family and I where at the beach and we had just started to pack things up when a woman came up to me and said (and I quote),"I use to be as big as you", well of course I was in shock. How could someone be so cruel? Well she told me a little of her story and then I said well....my insurance won't cover it, and proceeded to try and have a coronary climbing up the steep steps to our car. But I have to thank her now because she lit a fire under me and I have been researching it every since. Now it is time.

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

well so far they say that they haven't recieved my paperwork and it has been two weeks. So I will keep you informed. Update: Once we got my paperwork into Aetna it took only a week to get approval.

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

Well there where 4 of us in the room for the inital consultation. We all talked about our problems with the weight and what led us to the decision to have the surgery. Then the surgeon came in and started to explain the proceedure with us. Then he started going through each of our medical records and would bring up certain things that are a cause of our weight and and we would talk about that as a group. Then he would tell us which problem would be taken care of after the weight was gone. He was very informitive and answered all our questions. Ask as many questions as you have on your mind. If you don't understand something ask him/her. It is better to ask then to walk out of the office not knowing what you are going to get yourself into.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

The heat was the final straw. Also the constant back, hip, knee and ankle pain. I can't stand it anymore.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I researched each proceedure and decided to have the open RNY. I do not know if the surgeon is going to do a proximal or distal yet. The reason for an open opposed to a Lap is that I want them to be able to see what the heck they are doing. I feel that an Open is much more safer than a Lap. My opinion though. Update: Dr.Owens did the distal open RNY.

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?

My fears at first where very high. I have 3 young children and the thought of them not having me is there everyday. But they won't have me anyway if I keep this weight up. I sat them down and told them what I was going to do and also told them that I could die from it. They of course told me that they love me the way I am, but they also understand that I want to be healthy and be able to do more things with them, so they have agreed that the surgery is the best way to help me do that. I have written a letter to each of them. The letter says something special about them and how much I love them and some advice for them as they grow. I told the kids where the letters are if something happens. Told them to pray that everything will go fine. In fact I have come to peace with it all. I have total confidence in the surgeon. God will bring me out of this fine, if not it was my time anyway. My children will be fine. They have a wonderful father and Grandparents and Uncles & Aunts that love them very much. They will get through.

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 have had no problems with family members. They are as excited about it as I am.

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

I had a very goot stay in the hospital. I did however find out that I am allergic to morphine. Once that was out of my system I was able to get up and around. I was in the hospital for 4 days. Bring a book or some music to listen to. It will help pass the time and the music should motivate you so that it will keep you up and walking around.

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

I had no complications during the surgery. I developed a incisional hernia about 3 months after. I am awaiting insurance appoval for a hernia repair and abdominalplasty.

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 got my approval in September, but did not have the surgery until December, so I had alot of time to get use to the idea. My anxiety came on Christmas Day, the day before surgery, the family was telling be good luck and stuff like that all day long. That was a very emotional day for me. Yes, I kept thinking that this could be my last Christmas with my kids. The morning of surgery I kissed the kids goodbye and told them to say a prayer for me, then I got to the car and lost it. When I got to the hospital I did ok until the anestethiaologist came in, and then I lost it again, but he was very thoughtful and understanding and we talked and that helped me alot. I had to use the restroom whileI was waiting to go in so the nurse helped me go down to the restroom. When I was coming back to the gurney, the doctor and the anesthiologist where standing there looking at the gurney. They thought that I had ran away. We all had a good laugh and that made the situation very light and relaxed.

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

The first weeks home I did pretty well. I made a point of walking everyday. My advice would be to keep yourself going, but not to the extent that you get too tired out. I had my husband, mom, dad and kids to help me with any needs that I may have had. The hardest part for me was drinking the protein shakes for the first 6 weeks. But I would say that was the hardest part for me.

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

I had to travel 3 miles. And my support group meetings are about 5 miles away. My doctors appointments are about 20 miles away. So everything is pretty close.

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 have difficulty eating chicken of all things. Makes a return call. I have a very hard time with anything with more than 18 grams of surgar in it. I can not eat fried foods, drink milk or eat any dairy products, as now I am lactose intolerant. At thirteen months out I can eat pretty much anything except for the above mentioned foods. Yes I still have a had time with chicken. I don't miss the dairy products at all. In fact I don't miss alot of things that I use to eat before the surgery. Don't even want it.

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

the first two days where the hardest cause the morphine made me so sick to my stomach that I didn't dare move, for fear I would throw up and open my pouch or the incision. After the morphine was out of my system I felt so much better and was ablr to get up and around. I slept in my own bed the 4th night after surgery. Just had to use a few extra pillows and I was fine. Everyday got easier, as I made myself get up and move around.

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

I am on Trinsicon, Multi-vitamin, calcium and extra B12. I will be on these the rest of my life.

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?

I would have to say that dumping is the worst. I just can't stand feeling sick. I still get dumping if I eat sugar.

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

The six weeks of no solid food.

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

My support group is through Coastal Center for Obesity. It is alway very helpful and informative, and I find that I lose more weight when I go to the meetings.

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

My scar looks great. It was about 8 inches long, but is now about 5 inches long. My surgeon uses super glue to seal the incision so I don't have the railroad tracks. It looked better than I expected.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

My first plateau hit about my 9th month out. I drank more water and exercised more and it broke in about 4 weeks. I am still having weeks where I won't lose anything, but that is just my body regulating itself, so I don't beat myself up over it. After all I have lost 174 pounds so far :-)

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes. Mostly telling how good I look, but people don't look(stare) at me like they did when I was obese.
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Before & After
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