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

I first heard of surgery when Carnie Wilson had it done. Started to do some research online. I knew from the start this surgery was for me. I never had 2nd thoughts even when I would hear about people having complications and dying.

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

My hospital stay was Wonderful. My surgery was June 13, 2002. I checked into the hospital at 6:30 in the morning and was out of surgery by noon. I had a very caring nursing staff that had lots of experiance with RNY patients. I never had to ask for anything. They were there with medications on time all the time. The most important thing to bring is a robe and chap stick. The hosptial is cold and the gowns don't really cover much from the rear. Since you are not allowed any liquids until the last day, chap stick is very important to keep your lips from sticking together and getting to dry.

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

I had zero 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 was scared to death. Being a single parent this was especially scary. I even went as far to be sure to designate my parents and gardians of my children and made out a will. This acutally eased some of my fears for my children are the ones I worried about the most. I also contacted others in my area that were post-op and pre-op to share what I was going through. Talking to others that are in the same place or have been there was the biggest help I could have had. Support from other pre-op's and post op's is a must!

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

I belong to WOWSALSA. It is a local support group for people who are pre-op and post-op in my area. This is something my surgeon has strongly supported. Most of the members are patients of my surgeon but others are welcome as long as they reside in the Sacramento Metropolitian area. There is online support which is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and a monthly in person meeting which is held at the hospital. There is a guest speaker every month. It is always related to WLS and is ususally a medical professional. This is very important for both pre-op and post ops. Pre-op you can network with others in your same situation and you can also choose to have a mentor who is some that is post-op to help you though the steps and to just be there for support. Post Op this is very important. Early post-op is scary and having people there to help you through it is a must. There is also the emotional stuff that comes up after surgery.

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

I have 5 very small scars. Now at 8 weeks post-op they look like scratches. The one in my belly button is not even noticeable. So that really only leaves me with 4. 3 are from the ports they put in to do it lap and 1 is from the JP Drain they put in after surgery. I acutally expected more in terms of scars. I am very pleased with the outcome.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have hit 2 plateaus since surgery 8 weeks ago. The longest lasted two weeks. In that two weeks I never changed anything. Kept up on the exercise and did all the right things. It gets you down but you have to remember that this will pass and the scale will start moving again.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I am still early post-op so my experiances are limited in this dept. I do notice personal relationships changing. People are not sure how to act when you are post-op. Most think you can no longer eat and they think you are fragile. I do notice strangers are more polite then they used to be. Doors are help open more often then before.