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

At first I thought it was a cop out! Yes I could lose weight and maintain it! Yes SURE

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

Keep trying my biggest regret is not just getting financing and going for it to begin with

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

When Dr Hart entered the room I was crying I was so afraid he would not do the surgery becuswe of my past abdomingal surgeries and how complicated I already knew the surgery would be. I was not your normal bypass person!

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

No real thing except one day when mounting my horse she groaned as my fat butt landed in the saddle, that was the real clencher if i did not already have it planned would have gotten started planning it then

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

My surgeon said the RNY was my only real option because of the past surgeries

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?

If I had died then I died trying, I did not want my life to continue as it was. There was no real fear about it I was so excited it was totally unbelievable. I was cxncerned about not seeing my granddaughter again and made my hubby promise to always tell her how much she had meant to me. I wanted it so bad though that this really was not an issue as I also told him to let her know that I had done this in order to have a liveable life for her.

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 son refused to see me at the hospital, that really hurt me, but this is my life and he should have accepted that. My hubby was totally supportive and as usual loved me through it! Most people were very accepting of my decision, although some were really fearful fro me.

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

I was only out 10 days, since I worked with a bunch of nurses they really took better care of me post surgery better than I could have done myself, they were great

What was it like attending your first information seminar on weight loss surgery? Were you glad you attended? if so, why?

exciting then my insurance rejected it! I was really let down and hurt. I really should have just gotten the financing and had it done then, but I waited another several years till my insurance would pay for it.

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

I had excellent nursing care and was treaqted almost like royalty! I spent 4 days at the hospital and cannot complain about anything!

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

I have no complications at all, I have recovered and do not regret anything except not doing it sooner

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

My only anxiety was waiting but it was only a few days really

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

I refused to take the pain medicine as I wanted to totally feel all that my body was going through, realizing I could not even eat a whole scrambled egg was totally terrifying though

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

2 hr drive, I just did it

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.

Wowthat is really what changed, no bread, no sugar, no chips, no it seems anything but I learned to live with it and it has changed everything. To this day I miss soda really bad! I can eat more normally now but still have to watch size although the sizes now are more normal sizes, as compared with listed sizes on the nutritional information. Sometimes I get really scared that I will gain the weight back, then I really try to be conscious of what goes in my mouth

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

multivitamins usually chewables, calcium, iron

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?

Three years out and I still dump and am glad I do, it keeps me in control

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

The wait on the day of surgery till I was taken to the OR suite, Dr Hart had scheduled me last because my surgery was more complicated.

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

No groups in my area, I do a lot of internet studying though, ands reading, also a lot of nutrition research

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

My scars are almost totally gone

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

I am totally different so they have not choice except to respond differently