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

WHEN THEY SAID IT COULD BE DONE WITHOUT CUTTING ME IN HALF, I COULD NOT WAIT TO HAVE IT. I HAVE HAD MY GALLBLADDER REMOVED BY WAY OF MY NAVAL AND THAT WAS NOT SO BAD.

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

TRICARE SAID THAT IF SS MEDICARE WOULD PAY THEN THEY WOULD PAY THE REST SO ONCE SS SAID YES EVERY THING FELL INTO PLACE. NO PROBLEMS WITH THEM DUE TO OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS.

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

I SAW HIM FOR 15 MINS AND HE LOOKED ASLEEP DURING IT. HE WANTED ME TO LOSE 30 LBS BUT I HAD ALREADY LOST IT WAITING TO SEE HIM. SO HE SAID I WAS GOING TO HAVE THE OPERATION IN A MONTH.. SO FAST I WAS IN SHOCK.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

THERE IS ALWAYS THE DEATH SCARE BECAUSE DURING ALL PREVIOUS SURGERIES THEY TELL YOU, YOU ARE TOO FAT. BUT THIS TIME THE DR ALWAYS CUTS ON FAT PEOPLE AND SINCE HE WAS STILL IN BUSINESS, SOME MUST HAVE MADE IT. ALSO I KNEW I WAS GOING TO DIE ANYWAY SOMEDAY AND SOONER IF I DID NOT TRY THIS. MY HOPE WAS I WOULD GET BETTER AND THIS WAS THE WAY.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

TRICARE ONLY PAYS FOR THE BY-PAST BUT IT IS THE ONE I WANTED ANYWAY. I KNOW BEING FAT WAS MY LIFETIME PROBLEM SO I NEEDED A SOLUTION TO LAST ME THE REST OF MY LIFE.

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?

HAVING TO GO HOME SO SOON WAS SCARY. FROM PAST SURGERIES I WAS IN LOTS OF PAIN AFTER THEM BUT THIS ONE WAS NOT SO BAD. I DID NOT USE THE LIQ LORTAB THAT OFTEN AND WHEN I DID, IT WAS FOR MY HEADACHES SINCE I COULD NOT TAKE MY REG MEDS.

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 WANTED ME TO DECIDE FOR MYSELF BUT ARE ALL GLAD I DID IT. MY HUSBAND MAKES MY MEALS INSURING 4 OZ AND TRYS TO MAKE THEM HAVE VARIETY SO I WON'T GET BORED. MY KIDS NOTICE I HAVE LOST WEIGHT AND ENCOURAGE ME OFTEN. IT IS GREAT TO HAVE THEM BEHIND ME BUT I AM THE ONE WHO IS THE MOST EXCITED ABOUT IT. WATCHING MYSELF ALMOST DAILY CHANGE IS SO GREAT. AND I FEEL BETTER TOO, BOTH IN MIND AND BODY WITHOUT TAKING ANTIDEPRESS PILLS FOR THIS FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN 10 YEARS.

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

DISABLED SO NOT WORKING NOW.

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

BRING YOUR OWN WATER, I COULD NOT GET ANY EVEN AFTER DR SAID I COULD HAVE IT. EVERYONE WAS NICE BUT VERY BUSY SO IT WAS HARD TO GET AROUND SINCE YOU ARE TIED TO BED. THEY KEPT WANTING YOU TO WALK BUT TIED TO BED. I KNOW YOU MUST HAVE THE LEG THINGS BUT BEING SO BIG I COULD NOT UNTIE THEM BY MYSELF SO I WAS ALWAYS TIED TO BED. IF YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING TO KEEP ICE CUBES IN, GREAT FOR AFTER SURGERY.

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

SORE, LEFT ARM WAS VERY SORE, AND TIRED BUT IT IS SURGERY. BEST I FELT AFTER ANY OTHER SURGERY. THEY GAVE US LIG LORTAB TO USE IF NEEDED. BUT I STILL HAVE HALF THE BOTTLE. USE MOSTLY FOR MY HEADACHES WHICH IS WHY I AM DISABLED. THEY DID HAVE A BAG ATTACHED TO YOU WHICH HAD PAIN MEDS IN IT SO MAYBE WHY IT WAS NOT SO BAD. REMOVING IT WAS SCARY BUT IT WAS NOT THAT PAINFUL EITHER.

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

FIRST I WAS ON ANTIDEPRESS PILLS FOR YEARS AND YEARS. SINCE THEY ARE CAPSULES, I COULD NOT CUT THEM UP SO I STOPPED TAKING THEM WHICH IS BAD. I FELT VERY DEPRESSED AFTER THE SURGERY... THE SAME FEELINGS OF TOTAL HOPELESSNESS. IT WAS VERY HARD BUT I KEPT TELLING MYSELF THAT EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO BE BETTER NOW. I STILL HAVE HIGHS AND LOWS AND SOMETIME I CRY FOR NO REASON BUT I KNOW I WILL BE BETTER.

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

I KEPT MOVING, NOT WANTING TO HAVE A BLOOD CLOT. USE THE VOLDYNE FOR YOUR BREATH. I WAS HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING IT TO GO TO 1750 AND STARTED RUNNING A 101 TEMP. THEN I PUSHED AND PUSHED IT WHICH CAUSED SLIME TO COME UP AND MY TEMP WHEN BACK TO NORMAL. THEY GIVE YOU STUFF YOU NEED TO STAY ALIVE.

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

I WENT IN THE SAME TOWN I LIVE PLUS THE HOSPITAL IS JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM ME. JUST LUCK.

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.

SOMETIMES I HAVE SLIME IN MY STOMACH BUT I DON'T FEEL IT THERE, THAT IS, UNTIL AFTER I EAT. THE PA SAID I SHOULD HAVE A CRACKER OR HOT TEA BEFORE I EAT TO STOP THIS. I SO FAR CAN EAT ANYTHING EVEN PIZZA BUT SO LITTLE SOMETIMES ONLY 2 OR 3 BITES. I AM ONLY 7 WEEKS FROM OPERATION SO STILL TRYING FOOD OUT. I FINALLY WENT OUT TO EAT ON SAT BUT ONLY ATE SOME CHIPS AND DIP THEN 1 BITE OF THE DINNER. COURSE, I HAD THE NEXT TWO DAYS TO FINISH IT.

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

I FEEL GREAT. I STARTED USING A TREADMILL, UP TO 8 MINS FROM 2. I WENT SHOPPING SOMETIME I NEVER DID VERY OFTEN BEFORE. I WAS AT 452 LBS SO MY DAY WAS SIT, SAT, AND SLEEPING AT HOME MOSTLY. EVEN GOING OUT WAS BINGO SITTING AGAIN. MY HOBBY IS SEWING SITTING MORE. SO EVEN GOING OUT IS BETTER THAN BEFORE. AT SIX WEEKS CHECK-UP I HAVE LOST 15 LBS, ADD THE 52 BEFORE SURGERY, I AM NOW AT 385.

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

FLINTSTONES CHEWABLE, THAT'S IT.

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?

VOMITTING BUT SOUNDS STRANGE NOT BAD. DOES NOT HURT LIKE BEFORE IN FACT YOU JUST GET RID OF WHATEVER IS THE PROBLEM. I NEVER WANTED TO VOMIT IN THE PAST BUT NOW IF I WANT TO, I DO IT. YOU FEEL BETTER AFTER. I LIVE WITH NAUSEA BECAUSE OF MY HEADACHES SO UNSURE IF HEADACHE OR FOOD MADE ME FEEL SICK . I HAVE SEASICK PILLS IF I NEED THEM.

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

FOR ME THE "OFFICE". FIRST THEY ALWAYS TOLD ME WHENEVER I CALLED THEY NEVER HEARD OF ME. SO IT WAS LIKE STARTIMG OVER EVERYTIME. THEN THEY WERE ALWAYS GOING TO CALL ME BACK.. NEVER DID UNTIL I CALLED THEM. THEY WERE GOIMG TO CHECK MY FIRST BLOOD TEST AND TELL ME WHAT ELSE I NEEDED. NEVER DID THAT. WHEN I FINALLY GOT A DRS APPT, I HAD TO TELL THEM I WAS GOING TO SIT AT THE OFFICE ALL DAY UNTIL I SAW SOMEONE. THAT'S WHEN THEY START TELLING ME ALL THE THINGS I HAVEN'T DONE. THE THING THAT REALLY PISSED ME OFF WAS THAT I NEEDED THINGS I DID NOT NEED SO THEY WOULD HAVE LONGER TO SCREW WITH ME. AND FINALLY THE DESK WORKER YELLED AT ME ABOUT MY APPT TIME WHEN THEY TOLD ME TO COME AT THAT TIME PLUS SOMEONE LEFT A MESSAGE FOR ME TO BE THERE THEN. I DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE EVER AGAIN EXCEPT I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT BLOOD TEST THAT NEED TO BE RUN ON ME TO ENSURE I STAY ALIVE. THEN MY REAL DR WILL RUN ALL THESE TEST ON ME.

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

MY FAMILY

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

NO REAL SCARS BUT HAVE THEM FROM OTHER SURGERIES.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I FEEL BETTER ABOUT MYSELF WHICH IS A LONG TIME 33 YEARS COMING.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

NO NOT YET.