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

I am a Nurse Anesthetist. I work with my surgeon on a regular basis. I have watched him from the beginning of his program and watched his skills and confidence in his ability grow and improve.

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

I had to be on a supervised medical diet plan for 6 mo. prior to surgery. Otherwise no problems. We had just gotten the benefit at my workplace. The hospital and my surgeon worked closely with the insurance company when the benefit was established. We got in on the ground floor.

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

Pretty relaxed. We know each other well. He had an information packet that I filled out prior to the first visit. We both knew what the other needed. It was short and sweet. I would tell people to fill out the packet. Read the "Bariatric Bible" they hand out. Write down any questions and have them ready to ask at the first meeting with the surgeon.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Watching my surgeon develope confidence in his skills. He iw world class. Getting tired of sitting on the sidelines watching life pass me by and not being able to participate but wanting to.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Listening to my surgeon over the years and learning from his experiences and picking his brain every time he came back from Bariatric Conferences. We agreed that this proceedure had the best chance of success and produce the greatest weight loss.

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 had no fears. I personally knew everyone involved in my perioperative care. I would tell people to pick a b Bariatric Center of Excellance. Listen to your surgeon. Go to a place that does a large volume of bariatric cases. My surgeon averages 6 gastric bypasses a week. If the program is doing a high volume and has been around a few years then they know what they are doing. Although we do it best but I am prejudiced to our program.

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 anesthesia friends wanted to make sure that it was what I wanted. They have supported me 110%. My wife was glad to see me finally jump on the band wagon. She has felt cheated out of life and has been overworked because of my obesity. My kids are happy because I will be able to do things with them.

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

Anesthesiologist are never happy when a nurse anesthetist wants time off. As a whole they were supportive. They wanted the proceedure scheduled during an off peak vacation time.

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

I am glad I attended. The guest speaker kept miss pronouncing the surgeons name. It was all I could do not to laugh outloud. I still kid the surgeon about it from time to time. It was good for me to see others in my predicament and see folks who had success.

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

The rooms are small and cramped. The care was great. I was there until about 3 pm the day after surgery. Bring a robe slippers and forget about books. Take a magazine. I read the Sports Illistrated Magazine at least 3 times. I was in such a narcotic fog that I would read a little, lose my place and reread the same section. The fog lifted early in the evening. Wear easy to get into and comfortable clothing, nothing tight around the waist.

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

I had an incision hernia repaired. It was in the way of the surgery. It felt like someone hit my with a 2 X 4 board. The catheter was a pain. Toradol worked better than the narcotics for both. These never really slowed me down.

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

Now and again my meds would make me briefly nauseated but that was minor. I slept a lot the first week and was tired the second week. I am at the end of my third week and you can't stop me. My workouts are nothing to right home about, but for me they are improving. This week I had added light weights and working on upper body toning as well as my 30 min on treadmill. Best of all I can breath now and am able to do more! For me this has been a walk in the park. I had more problems when I had my gall bladder removed several years ago.

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

My first week I walked on a treadmill for thirty min. Then went home and laid on the bed and watched TV or slept. The second week I had more energy and stamina keeps improving. I still tired easily but had the energy and desire to keep doing a few little things just so I could say I was doing something. Third week, my weight limits have been lifted and you can't stop me. I am better that I was before surgery. Sometimes abdomin is a little sore like if I try to sleep on my stomach but that is getting better. Becareful the first week when riding in a car-- bumps and curves and turns feel like someone is spinning you insides. Have the driver take them very very slowly it was better after the first week and I got my driving priveledges back.

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

I live 4 miles from the hospital. It was awesome. I stopped by the OR a few times to visit and ran into my surgeon and it was nice to be able to ask him questions and see my friends. Be as close to your surgeon and hospital as you can. That way help if you need it is close by. This is extremely important. At the first indication something is not right call your surgeon right away. We get deathly ill in a heart beat, the longer you wait the worse it gets!

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.

Ther first week I was on clear liquids. Nothing tasted good so I was on protein shots and water. I had a lot of diarrhea and benefiber is helping me with that. The second week has been full liquids (pudding, cottage cheese, protein drinks). I have cravings but not hungary. I watch my family eat and think "I'd like that" but I am not hungary and if that doesn't work I eat pudding or cottage cheese. I am in the 3rd week post op and have added weight watchers string cheese just to feel full longer. Remember the outled from our pouches is the diameter of a pencil so chew, chew, and chew your food. Keep the pencil in mind.

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

My back was hurting from laying on the gurney pre-op and from being in bed post-op. For me the treatment of choice is to get up and walk. When they finally let me walk, I tore up the hallways. I walked almost 3 blocks the first time up and it wasn't slow either. It felt good to stretch my legs. I suprised the hospital staff. The next morning I walked about 7 blocks and spent the moring in my chair. At about 11 am the day after surgery they let me walk by my self and I went down to visit my budds in the OR. It just felt good to get up and move. I couldn't sleep the night of surgery so when I got home I was exhausted and went to bed and slept from 4PM to 5:30 AM when my wife and I went to the gym and I walked for 30 min and then read and waited for my wife. I have slowly increased my activity level and am waiting to run out of energy.

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

I take a liquid multivitamin twice a day. Calcium citrate liquid twice a day. An iron supplement twice a day. B-12 sublingual once a day. Also the dreaded B-100 once a day. That is the nastiest stuff there ever was. I have yet to find a way around it. It is a capsule that I take apart and mix with my medications that I crush and then bite the bullet and swallow it down. The up side is this is my energy source. I was taking these pre-op at surgeons request and almost cancelled my surgery because I was feeling so energized. I recommend multivits with iron and B-100 to all my friends. My wife says the B-100 won't let her sleep but I don't have that problem.

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?

Diarrhea is my biggest problem to date. I take the Benefiber and always know where the nearest bathroom is. I thing when I get on solid food it will get better but for now the Benefiber helps a lot.

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

You won't believe this but the catheter that I had overnight.

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

I attended the bariatric support group the day prior to my surgery. I learned a lot. I look forward to attending the future meetings.

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

I had 8 small incisions. I was expecting 5. The 3 extra were to repair an incisional hernia.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

So far I haven't had one. I am not loosing the weight as fast as I thought I should. After talking with my surgeon who told me to shoot for 7 lbs a month, I feel much better. I am over twice that for this month so far! We have to be realistic.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not so far but I have pretty much stayed around the house. I haven't returned to work yet. I have a whole week more to go.