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

I originally went to a class about baratric surgery to get points on my radio card. and then i decided to do it if i got appoved through my insurance company.

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

I didn't have any trouble, at all The Clarian baratric Center did everything for me.

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

It was great she discussed and explained the different types of the wls and the benefits and risks of all of them and then left it up to me from there.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

i was tired of being the bigger person and I was approved and my daughter was 18 months old and I wanted to be able to enjoy her and chase her around without being so tired all the time.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I went with the rny because of the effictiveness of it.

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 was scared i had never had anytype of surgery. i was scared but I figured if i didn't do anything about my weight it would eventully kill me too.

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 whole family was totally against it so much my parents didn't want to keep my daughter while I was in the hospital, and my sister finally said that I had made up my mind and that nothing they said or did would change my mind, and now they have came around and support me now.

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

My employer wasn't surprised half of my office has had the surgery done. I judt had to call the fmla office, and I was out for 7 weeks of paid leave.

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

My stay from what i remeber was great i had great nurses and aides and my best friend had the surgery the same day as me and we were in it together, I was ther for 5 days, I had some clotting issues. i really didn't use anything I had in my bag except my slippers, a hair tie and my pillow everything else was in vain I didn't feel like doing anything to myself. i had taken movies and books and magazines and didn't touch any of them.

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

The only complication i had from the surgery were my incisions would not clot while I was in the hospital so i lost alot of blood, and had to have an infusion. i was knocked out of it on the pain meds.

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 in denial and couldn't decide once it was a reality. i didn't tell anyone for sure I was having it until like the week before for sure. because I was scared.

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

Well expect ALOT of pain the first week or so especially by the big incison and then it goes away, and i didn't even think about food, i would forget to feed my child if she didn't ask me. i only ate when I had to.

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

I only had to travel a hour to the hospital. So my aftercare was awesome. The nurse called me back if I had any concerns or questions.

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

i would walk like week one around the park once and by the time I went back to work i was walking around the park I was walking around 3 time and now i am up to 10 times when i have time between my daughter and work.

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

I take my multi-vitamin, a hair skin and nails vitamin, a vitamin e , a b-complex, and twice a week i take my b-12 sublingual pills. and every night I chew 2 viativs before bed. I take the vitamin e because the girl at GNC told me it helps your skin bounce back as you lose weight. and I have taken it since I was 8 weeks out and my skin looks better than some that were my same size. I just buy it at cvs or walmart instead of gnc because of the price.

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 had major hair loss at 5 months out, and then I started taking the hair skin and nails vitamin and that cut down alot. i also started dumping if I ate a baked potatoe a few months out and I stopped that and now I am fine.

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

The worst part of this was buying new clothes and i know that sounds funny to say but i had some favorite clotes that i had for years, ya know big girls don't throw clothes way and I was plateaued for years so my whole walk in closet was full and now it is empty. and that was the worst was getting back into some things i had grown out of for just a short period of time and then it was too big, or buying clothes and only being able to wear them for a short period, i was the "droop queen" at work for a long while because I refused to buy any new clothes until i lost more weight. i didn't want to waste money like that.

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

i haven't really taken advantage of the support groups at the center, i usually just go and see the dietetion when i am supposed to. Half of my office has had the surgery so we act like our own support group.

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

I am really impressed with my scar it isn't too big and ugly and the smaller one look like misquito bites. and i expected them to be much worse.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

i am just now starting to plateau and i have lost 110 pounds and I am almost at my goal but i am just losing slower that i was before. But Now I sneak a sweet or two here and there. even though i know I am not supposed to.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

yeah i get tired of being called skinny( I never thought i would ever say that!!) and it still hasn't hit me that i am, the other day i was describing someone to someone else and the girl i was describing was my pre op size and i said she was a big girl like me, the person i was talking to looked at me and said Honey you are not a big girl anymore. So I forget sometimes that i have lost this much weight.