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

I heard about it a couple years ago and didn't think it was for me.

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

Everything went very smooth for me. It took about 3 months once I got serious. I know that this isn't the case for most people and figured it must be ordained.

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

I met with the surgeon in March 2007. I had my 8 and 12 year old with me. I wouldn't advise taking them, my 8 year old freaked out. Read a lot and have your questions ready.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I was approved by insurance and diagnosed with Diabetes. My reading said that wls would "get rid of" my diabetes.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Only one that was covered by insurance.

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?

The week before surgery I was awake most nights thinking about what could go wrong. I did my will and and made my wishes regarding medical decisions to my mother. Just be prepared.

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 but mom took awhile to get supportive. Since it didn't take too long I think she thought I didn't know what I was getting myself into. She went to this website, read info, and asked me questions. After I answered the questions and told her a couple of mine she was more supportive. She came to pick me up (hospital was 4 hours away) and bought my groceries before I came home.

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

They expressed an interest in learning more about it and were OK with my time off. I hope to go back to work Feb. 19 since I only work part-time and it is not stressful. We'll have to see how the pain is because pain sucks.

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

Surgery was on Wed. Feb 6 and I went home today (Sat. Feb. 9). I wasn't allowed anything to drink until Thursday, that was horrible. Nurses were great the first 12 hours and service went downhill after that. Also, I didn't take my depression medicine (Effexor XR) which made me cry a lot. It took the nurses too long to answer calls (45 min for water), (30 mins for pain medicine), turning off a light they left on (at 2am).

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

NO

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

PAIN, PAIN, PAIN!!!

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

PAIN, PAIN, PAIN!!!!

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

4 hours. It was very painful. Oh my gosh, Illinois needs to redo their highways and Chicago fix their potholes. I go back to Dr. on Feb. 15.

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.

Everything on liquids was fine. I was nervous about trying the No Sugar Added Carnation Instant Breakfast because I've heard that so many people are milk intolerant. I made 4 oz. the first time and drank 2 oz. of that. It seemed to go well. The first day of my blended/pureeed diet I tried scrambled "better than eggs" with cottage cheese and felt like I was going to die. Everything hurt so bad for a couple hours. I think it was the eggs because I had cottage cheese the next day (by itself) and it was OK. Then day 3 of blended I had some banana and OJ. This was the first time I forgot not to drink and eat (during liquids it's all drinking so you don't really have to time yourself for that). I don't know if it was the combination or that I drank and ate at the same time but it will be awhile before I try either of them again. On a good note: when in Chicago to see my dr. for post-op I went to a diner and had chicken vegetable soup with crackers. Oh my gosh, it was great to go out and eat plus eat what I was supposed to. They looked at me weird when I asked them to put it in the blender but they did and it was good. It really looked like baby food but tasted so much better. I ladled out 6 soup spoons of soup and put in 3 crackers. It was great. Then I ordered hot decaf tea to take back with me. Also, day 10 I went to Chili's and got their chili. They were hesitant to blend the chili but did. It looked like bean dip but was good. Again I brought the leftovers home (probably 4 more meals out of it) and will eat them later. Eating out isn't impossible you just have to plan where to go and what you're going to eat when you get there. (Originally I wanted to go to Baker's Square, I called and they had Tomato soup, but decided the chili would be better as it would have more protein in it.) At 7 weeks out things are going OK. I've had 4-5 episodes of throwing up. I'm not usre if it was the butter or what but potatoes with butter don't agree. However, mashed potatoes are fine. Pasta seems to be iffy. Sometimes it's ok. My tastes have changed a lot. Rice used to be a staple in my diet and now I don't like the texture. Sonic Grilled Chicken Wraps (chicken only) are great and I get two meals out of the chicken.

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

Not much at first. Everything is soooooooooo painful. I tried the treadmill and no way that was going to work. It would be going .6 mph and then when I got on it would go to 1.3. That about killed me so off I went. Going shopping is good exercise (if someone will drive you) as you have to walk up and down all those aisles. I went to 3 stores 1 week post-op but was really tired by store 3 which was the one I really needed to go to. The children had been complaining that there wasn't much to eat so I went to the grocery store. Of course that had to be the last stop so the cold stuff wouldn't go bad. 6 1/2 weeks out I went back to Chicago and did a ton of walking. I was worried about how my muscles would feel and other than being a little sore the next morning, it was fine.

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

2 Equate multivitamin complete with Iron 2 OsCal chewable calcium with vit. D B-12 sublingual 7 weeks I started Viactiv Caramel chews. Much better than the pills.

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?

Due to pain meds, back hurting, and stomach hurting nothing is that great. When I woke up in recovery my back hurt so much. That was my first comment. It is a little better at 11 days out but I'm still taking pain meds for it. Also, the morphine didn't do much in the hospital because my stomach muscles around the incision were what hurt and were constantly knotted up. One of my nurses suggestes tortal? and when the dr. came in I asked him for it. That helped so much. Make sure to ask for it if your muscles hurt after surgery. I can't sit, sleep, or walk correctly most of the time and that puts strain on my back muscles which makes it hurt even more. At 7 weeks, I am pretty much back to normal. I can sleep on my stomach (sometimes) and it doesn't really bother me. I still am using my leg muscles more to get up from sitting than my stomach muscles. I think it's just that I've been doing it that way for so long now, not that I need to.

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

PAIN, PAIN, PAIN. No one talks about it and it is excruciating. I know that everyone handles pain differently but this hurt so much more than I expected and I expected A LOT. Also, the no eating and drinking within 30 minutes of each other and during is really hard for me. I am always thirsty so sometimes I have to take a nap or set a timer so that I don't drink and can eat. At day 11 I'm still not that hungry so sometimes I forget to eat and that is bad.

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

I belong to a webiste that my doctor's office has. It doesn't seem to help much but it's nice to read about other people's problems and to know you're not alone. Also, obesity help.com is a great help. I put everything on there and can read about other people's journey.

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

My scar is much higher up than I expected. I have seen other scars (in person and on the computer) and theirs looked to be more off to the side. Mine starts right under my ribs and it's impossible to wear a bra (for the first 3-4 weeks).

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I've noticed people in restaurants look at me when I tell my server that I had Gastric Bypass and can I order off the kids menu. Bob Evans has really good grilled chicken strips off the kids menu.