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

internet about 7 years ago 2000

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

I have medicare and mediciade and it was hard to find a Dr that would accept them. I think I found 2 in the state of GA

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

My first meeting was great. We watched a video and he explained all types of surgeries and then we met individually and he explained it all to me again and asked if I had any question. Be informed a little before you go so you know what sort of questions you need to ask.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I had given up on losing and I was becoming home bound slowly. I didn't want to die at 42

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

After discussing the procedure with my Dr I came home read more on the internet and made my decision the next day

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?

Have complete faith in GOD. I was scared to death I was going to die during surgery and he's all that kept me going

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 supports have been unbelieveably great!!

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

disable and do not work

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

I was there 2 days and it was fine as it could be in a hospital. Nursing staff was awesom

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

I have one incision that hasn't closed and I clean that take care of that several times each day. I was told I my lungs filled with Carbon Dixiode. The CO2 wasn't helping. They put my cpap mask on and I started to improve.

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 tried to put it out of my mind and not think about how far off it was. Closer to time I tried to start coming off diet sodas and drinking more water

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

high and low days. Weakness some days.

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

it was 2 hours away and it hasn't affected my aftercare at all

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.

liquids first two weeks, then soft foods for another 6 weeks. I found that eggs are hard to go down, but haven't had any trouble with any other foods. I stayed strictly by what the Dr had told me

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

on 1 - 10. I was probably at a 5. It's increased weekly though

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

Flintstones childrens

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've had none of these problems

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

being in the hospital

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

my mom lives with me and she's helped me when I needed it. I've mostly done for myself though. It's very important to have that someone there though to help

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

I have 6 small scars. Not even half inch long

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

after a week and a half I hit a stand still for about 3 days. Since then it's been much slower to come off

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

not yet