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

I first found about this surgery years ago when Carney Wilson publicly had her surgery. I thought if it worked for her that maybe it could work for me. After all what did I have to lose. I would have been willing to try just about anyhing.

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

Fortunately for me medicare covered my surgery because they thought it would cost less to pay for our surgeries than to pay for all the problems we would have from being over weight.

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

My Doctor told me that after my surgery I would have to stay in the hospital for 1 week. The beginning was a little rough. It was painful moving around. Anytime I had to use my stomach muscles it caused me pain but it was managed fairly well with pain medication. I slept a lot to allow my body to heal. Unfortunatly my surgery was done with large inscisions because they did not do the lapriscopic surgery yet. I was doing good and feeling well enough to go home a day early. We had to drive home to another city. It was a long drive and I felt every bump in the road. I wouldnt want to scare anyone, there was some pain and soarness involved but nothing unbearable or unmanageable.

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

I did not have any complications after the surgery. I was just extremely exhausted. Even taking a walk to the bathroom and back seemed to take all the energy I had.

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 have to admit that when I found out when I was getting my surgery I was a little nervous but mostly I was excited. Infact I wished I could have it done that very day. The day of the surgery was a little scarry because I didnt know for sure what to expect. My doctor sent me a sedative to take under my tounge before the surgery to calm his patients and after I took that I was feeling very calm and relaxed.

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

The first few weeks home were very strange. For the first time in my life I was'nt hungry. I absolutely did not feel like eating at all. It was like they turned off a switch in my brain that made me not want to eat. When my mom or someone would try to get me to eat something I would eat about 1 teaspoon ful and feel full. It was very weird to me. That feeling did not last forever. I did eventualy start to feel hungry but it only took a tiny amount of food to feel full. I did not have any pain or problems eating. Except for the amount I was eating It felt normal.

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

I live in Calgary Alberta and I had my surgery in Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was a long drive after having surgery but I slept most of the way. Every bump in the road was a little painful. I had to hold a pillow tight to my tummy to stop any bouncy movements.

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.

After surgery I could not eat anything with sugar in it. I would get violently Ill. I would go through the motions of vomiting without actualy bringing anything up. I physicaly could not vomit but my body tried. This is what my doctor calls dumping. Your body cant digest it so it tries to get rid of it. It is an aweful experince and you soon learn not to eat anything with sugar. Some times even natural sugars in fruits and vegetables made me sick. It was a kind of trial and error. You find out what you can and cant eat. That lasted for the first 2 years. Ican eat sugar in small amounts now but I still have to be careful that I dont make myself sick. Sometimes greasy foods would have the same affect on me.

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

My activities after the surgery were basicaly going to the washroom and back or having a shower. I was completely exhausted and it took all the strength I had just to do simple chores like walk from one room to another.

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

I did not take any vitamins after my surgery and I found that my energy level was terrible. I soon found out that I was very anemic and had to start taking lots of Iron, B12 and multi vitamins. I am doing good now but some people who have the surgery need to take vitamin injections for the rest of their life because our bodies do not absorb the vitamins.

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?

Im not sure which side affect was worse but none of them were any fun. I had problems sleeping and still do, I had many moments of dumping and I lost so much hair that I had to get a short haircut (for the first time in my life) so that I did'nt look like I was going bald. It sounds terrible but the truth is that I would do it all again to get where I am now. It was worth it.

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

The worst part of the whole process I guess would have been the recovery. It took a lot out of me and I was an emotional wreck. Was it worth it? Absolutely!

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

I was aware of aftercare support groups where I could meet and talk to people who had been through the same thing as me. I realy wanted to go to the meetings but they were not held in my city so I was unable to go. I believe the information that I would have received would have been greatly important . especialy to my adjustment into my new life. I would recomend that patients get as much information as possible about what to expect after your surgery. There is always more to learn.

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

I have a very large scar but over time it has lightened quite a bit. Its realy not something that Im at all concerned about. I actualy expected it to be about 100 times worse.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

Since my surgery some people thought that I had lost too much weight. They thought that I looked way too thin. At first I thought that was the best compliment i ever heard but then I realized that maybe it would'nt hurt to gain a little weight so I tried to eat a little more. At this point at my life I am at a comfortable weight. I feel good about myself and thats all that matters. Over the past few years I have fluxuated between 15 lbs but have realy not changed too much besides when I was pregnant. I was realy scared that I would gain alot of weight being pregnant because I had to eat all the time for the baby but surprisingly I did not realy gain much weight that was'nt the baby.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

People treat me so differently now that Im not overweight. I actualy feel like they respect me now. It's not fair because I am the same person now as I was then. Men notice me now which is so weird because I realy never experienced that before. No one ever looked twice at me before except to maybe give me a dirty look. It can be a very cruel world being an overweight person. I feel like Im actualy accepted now but I refuse to give anyone who did not accept me then the time of day. Frankly their not worth it.