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

My mother had it done. She had wonderful results.

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

Document Document Document. Every skin infection, every ache, every pain, every weight loss attempt...get it documented at your physicians office... My insurance would only pay 50 % up to 10,000 dollars. I paid 17,000 out of pocket.

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

Informative. It was nice to finally have a Physician understand what I had been going through and not just tell me to quit eating so much.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

My fourth miscarriage

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I knew that I needed an immediate weight loss. And I also need to drink lots of fluids throughout the day and especially when I eat which would defeat the purpose of the lap band so I had the bypass.

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 fears I had of complications wer far out weighed by the benefits that I would get from having the surgery... My only real fear was of having a central line put in... I am not sure why that scared me the most but it did. The Surgeon did a regular IV instead to ease my fear.

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?

Encouraging and supportive before during and since.

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

They were very supportive. I was out for about 6 weeks.

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

Bring your own pillows!!! The hospital stay was nice... I was there for about 3 days.

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

No complications

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 did not have anxiety after surgery. I was increasingly excited to see changes as I lost weight though... TAKE PICTURES... it is easier to see the changes in a photo than in the mirror...

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

I did not do much at first. I did start walking after about a week. At first I would try to make it to the end of the driveway, then I would try for the next driveway, then the nexxt and the next and the next. Untill i was walking to the end of the street, the the next street, and the next untill I was walking all the way to the front of the subdivision and back... It is about a mile round trip. It took about 3 months to be able to make it that far. But every step fruther was an accomplishment.

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

I did not travel... I went to the hospital right down the street..

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.

At first I could not eat anything... even the medicine cup of protein shake they give you in the hospital made me sick just thinking about putting it in my mouth... I was constantly thirsty though. Even when I did drink, the little sips that I was able to take just did not seem to help. It was very frustrating. Drinking thru a straw helped even though we were told not to use a straw because you would take in air that would fill your pouch. I would suck the fluid up to the top, hold it with my tongue to let the air out and then drink... it was easier on my stomach than without it. After about two months I found that seafood like crab and fish was very easy to digest, but things like chicken and beef were more difficult. I have continued to stay away from sugar. I use alot of Splenda

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

the first two weeks it took alot out of me just to go down the hall to the bathroom... but after that it continued to get better every day.

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

I continue to take liquid B12, Iron, and Multi vitamin

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 had a great deal of hair loss. I had really long thick straight hair before surgery and about a month post op it began to fall out in handfulls. It got very thin and it continued for about 8 months post op...which was when I got pregnant and started on pre natal vitamins. Then the hair loss finally stopped and new hair started to grow.

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

The only bad part really was the first few minutes after I woke up in the recovery room. I was in a great deal of pain, but the recovery room nurses were monitoring me very closely and finally did get my pain managed.

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

My Surgeons office has a support group although I do not really go.

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

I had laproscopic surgery. I have 5 very small lines on my abdomen that are barely visible now...( 18 months out)

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I did not have any plateau untill I got pregnant

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People dont stare at me when I go to a buffet anymore... and I was single when I had my surgery... ( I am married now)!!! LOL I got LOTS of attention after the first 80 pounds...