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

Everyone knows Star Jones had the surgery(don't tell her I know though) That is where I first heard about it. Then I researched it. At first the thought terrified me and there was no way! People who did that were crazy!

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

I was very lucky. My primary care doctor was very familiar with the procedures my health insurance required and lead me step by step thorugh the process. Start the process asap. It can take up to a yar for approval. Have your doctor specifically document health issues directly related to being overweight, it will help get approval faster.

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

My surgeon was awesome! It was evident he knew what he was doing. He was straight forward and brutally honest with his expectations. Go prepared to ask questions, everyone has them and the doctor may answer them, but it is good to be prepared. Have your family members give you their questions and concerns too for him to address

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I was 33 years old. On my second back surgery, borderline diabetic, had high blood pressure, tired all the time, my knees hurt. Basically my weight was killing me. My husband and I had tried for 12 years to have a child and couldn't because of my weight as well

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I was over 100lbs overweight and knew lapband would be too slow and not get enough of the weight off

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 thought I was going to die on the table or rupture my stomach. Those are possibilities, however if you do what the doctor tells you too everything will be fine. These were risks I was willing to take to try to save my life. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

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?

Some were supportive. Others thought it was a huge mistake. They were convinced I was going to die. Once they realized I was doing this in an effort to save my life and it did not matter what they thought, they were very supportive and still are. Some responded with jealousy because morbid obesity runs in my family

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

My boss was GREAT! My insurance required a very fast turn around time to have the surgery done in a very narrow time frame. My boss allowed me the time off with no problems. I was off work 4 1/2 weeks

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

The seminars were great and informative! I had soooo mnay questions that they answered for me. It helped me to realize what I could expect

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

I stayed in the hospital 4 days. I was pretty drugged up most of the time I was there and do not remember a whole lot. The nurses were awesome. They had me on a floor that was used to dealing with post-op bariatric patients and knew how to handle issues that came up. Worst part was the ng tube going down into my stomach. I also had my cpap still so those 2 things did not jive well together. They ran a test before I went home to check for leaks, which comforted me to know everything had a tight seal.

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

Immediately post op I had an infection in my drain. It was fairly painful. I had to clean and pack it 2 times a day. It healed well after that. A little over 1 year pot op, I developed an internal hernia. From the movement and rearrangement of everything a void was created and a portion of my intestines became entangled. They had to operate to correct it.

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 very nervous and scared. I spoke to family and friends daily about how I was feeling. I "got ready" for the worst by writing letters to eveyone expressing my feelings and explaining why I did this

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

The pain was controlled by meds. I was very tired and weak. I was very emotional and scared. I was afraid I was going to do something wrong and burst my stomach and kill myself. It was very difficult to get in the amount of protien they wanted me to. Even with all of this it was important to keep moving and I walked daily.

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

I had to travel 45 minutes. It has not affected my after care. I still see the same surgeon for follow ups

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.

For some reason for the first few months after surgery, your taste buds change. Things you used to love suddenly taste horrible and make you want to vomit. I had trouble tolerating pork for quite a while. I can eat it now though. I have a hard time tolerating anything real greasy still. It makes me sick to my stomach and can even cause dumping syndrome for me. I do not tolerate sugar-AT ALL! It gives me horrible dumping syndrome!!!!

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

I walked daily. I extended the distance each day.

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

I take chewable vitamins 2 time a day. Chewable calcium 2 time a day, and B-12 once a day. While I was pregnant I had to take extra folic acid because of the malabsorbtion.

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 only experience nausea a few times. They occured when 1. I did not chew enough and food got stuck. or 2. I ate something that did not agree with my taste buds I have had dumping at least 5 times usually when I have consumed hidden sugars in foods. I must carefully read all labels and look for all forms of sugar in the food. If it is in the first 4 ingredients I can not eat it. Everyone tried to warn me about the hair loss but it still shocked me! My hair literally fell out in clumps! I was lucky, I had a lot of hair to start with but it became verythin up until around a year and a half after surgery. I took biotin supplements and used biotin shampoo to help.

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

Learning new eating habits was the worst. Until I figured it all out, eating and drinking was a full time job! It takes a lot of work, tolerace, perserverance, and patience but it is totally worth it! The emotional roller coaster was hard for me as well. Estrogen is often stored in your fat cells. If you quickly shrink those fat cells there is only one place for those hormones to go-into your bloodstream! I felt crazy for about 11 months! I cried at the drop of a hat, got angry for no reason, I literally felt crazy! It has gotten betternow though.

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

I attended a support group at teh hospital where I had surgery. It is great to have people to talk to who have actually been there! It helped me feel like I was not alone, that everything would get better! That the feelings and fears I was having others were having too. I stopped going for a while and have recently started again. I had forgotten how much better I felt when I attended them. I also am a member of an online support group that often discusses issues dealing with the surgery as well. People have not been as active on it lately but when they are it is great.

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

My original scars were just 4 little holes. Since then, I have had to be opened all the way to repair the internal hernia, which caused the development of an external hernia when I became pregnant. As a result, my insurance paid for the hernia repair and a tummy tuck to remove my extra skin! I now have a scar that goes from my breast bone around my bellybutton and across to both hips(a t shape)

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I hit several plataeus along the way during my weigh loss. During the first year they only lasted less than a week usually and I didnt need to "do" anything to jump start them again. Now however, 3 years and a baby later. Weight gain is just like it is for eveyone else. I just need to increase my activity level to loose.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

TotallY! I notice people do not stare at me as much with the look of someone looking at a sideshow freak. People are more helpful in stores and actually make eye contact with me instead of looking at my girth. Men especially seem to notice me more(how shallow)