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

LOOKING ON LINE AND I KNEW 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?

I HAVE AETNA AND THROUGH MY SURGEONS OFFICE I WAS THE FASTEST APPROVAL THEY HAD EVER GO THROUGH. PRIOR TO HAVING AETNA I HAD KAISER AND WAS DENIED WITH THEM 3 TIMES AND ITS VERY DEPRESSING AND DISCOURAGEING BUT HOLD TIGHT YOUR DAY IS NEAR

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

IT WAS OVER 2 HOURS LONG AND THEY ANSWERED ALL OF MY QUESTIONS BUT THE ONE THING I WOULD DEFFINITLY DO IS HAVE OF COURSE DONE MY SHARE OF RESEARCH AND THEN PREPAIR YOUR QUESTIONS AND HAVE THEM WROTE DOWN SO YOU DONT MISS ANYTHING

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

WHEN I WENT AS FAR AS PRESCRIPTION WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS AND THEY DID NOT WORK. AND PAYING FOR SOMEONE TO TELL ME HOW TO LOSS WEIGHT AND IT DID NOT WORK EITHER I STAYED THE SAME WEIGHT FOR OVER 15 YEARS.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

REASEARCH ON LINE AND THE BEST CHOICE FOR ME

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 REALLY DID NOT FEAR ANY COMPLICATIONS BUT NOW I COULD RIGHT A BOOK ON THAT ALONE. I ACTUALLY ENDED UP WITH 3 SURGERIES BY THE TIME I LEFT THE HOSPITAL. THE WAY I LOOK AT IT IS YOU ARE DYING RIGHT NOW ANY WAY SO WHY NOT TRY TO MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE

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?

MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS ROCK. I WOULD NOT CHANGE A THING AND YOU ARE NOT DOING IT FOR THEM TO BEGIN WITH SO IF THEY ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE THEN MAYBE SHOW THEM THE INFO YOU HAVE RESEARCHED SO THEY WILL BE MORE INCLUDED. AND GREAT AFTER SURGERY MY KIDS ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT THE CHANGES THAT I HAVE ALREADY MADE IN JUST LESS THAN A MONTH.

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

MY JOB IS AWESOME THEY ARE VERY GREAT AND IT OFFERED THROUGH THEM AND THEY ARE VERY SUPPORTI VE TO THERE EMPLOYEES . 6 WEEKS

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

i was in the hospital 9 days. the most important thing for me was tweezers

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

yes lots of complications i ended up with 3 surgeries. while i was in the hospital i just dealt cause i was terrified i was going to die and came very close to it. once i got home it was all about feeling better so i could go back to a some what normal life.

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 so excited to have an actual date it made it real to me. i had no anxiety

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

well with having the complications that i had they did two laprascopic surgeries and one open so i was very sore and tired but i think if i would not have had so many problems i would have felt great alot sooner.

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

about 20 miles.

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 i tried to eat i did well with no problems at all. now that i am over 2 months i am having more issues with the food getting stuck in my throat.

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

very low even now im still very easily tired

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

i take my effexor xr and my protein i am not so good with the vitamins since they taste like crap

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 really bad nausea but as soon as they took my g tube out it was gone so it went on for about a month.

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

going in for a less invasive surgery with no issues other than being over weight. the first day of surgery they just finished the first one and had to go right back in and start all over since my bowel flipped. then i went through blood transfusions and being very sick and throwing up that was the worst then went in for emergency surgery 3 days later and they had to open me up take out all of the work that they had just done the few days before and redid the entire surgery they had to remove 15 inches off my bowel over the 2nd and 3rd surgery.

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

i have my family take care of me i dont belong to a support group

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

no its huge it goes from the bottom of my bra to my belly button and very sore still

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

none so far

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

no not really