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

A friend had the surgery and told me about it.

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

Insurance approval was not a problem. I weighted 364 lbs at the time of surgery with enough co-morbidities that approval was easy. As far as advice...prepare a packet including family medical history, diet history, medical information on co-morbidities, and a letter stating what medical/emotional problems the weight is causing. Include everything from hangnails to severe medical problems. Include it with your surgeons letter. This way the insurance company will be sure to read it. If you send it in on your own, they may just stick it back and never read it. This has happened to me with a request for reconstructive surgery.

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

Very scary. I should have researched more and written down my questions. If you do not write your questions, you will forget to ask for vital information.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I was quickly getting to the point of becoming house bound and losing my job. I had to come to a decision to save my life and my family. It was either make a decision to live or die.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I did extensive research and talked to alot of people. I took into consideration how and what I ate along with how much I would need to lose.

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 went into surgery with my eyes wide open. I knew that dying was a real possibility. But, when I looked at the percentages (less than 1% mortality rate for death at time of surgery compared to 45% and above if I stayed MO) I knew that I had to take this chance. I knew that I wanted a life with quality, not just an existance. I would tell anyone that this surgery saved my life, but this is a life changing decision that only YOU can make. There is a real chance of complications and death. I took that chance to live a fuller more productive life and came out the winner. Some are not so lucky. These are the facts and need to be taken into consideration. No one else can make this decision for you.

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 was totally behind me. Of course they were afraid for my life, but realized that I had to do something before the weight killed me. There were members of my family that didn't want me to do this, but I did not let them influence my decision. I would tell them the same thing I told them before. I was in a life or death situation. I had to do this. My family and friends were very supportive. I have been very lucky to have such a loving and supportive family and group of friends.

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

My work is seasonal. My supervisor was an ass. He pushed my time limit to have this surgery done to the point that I went ahead with an open RNY procedure when I could have had it done Lap. I explained in detail what I was having and why. I wrote him a memo explaining why it was taking so long to get approval and a surgery date. But, I was going to have this surgery with or without his approval. I had the time on the books and he could not stop me. I was out of work for 4 full weeks and part time for 2 weeks. I could have gone back full time at the 4 weeks, but was glad that I took the extra part time for 2 weeks.

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

My hospital stay was uncomfortable. The hospital was short staffed and I would not have received the proper care without my husband's presence. I was in for 4 days. The most important thing I brought was my huband! He was with me 24/7 and I couldn't have done it without him. I went prepared to read and do other time occupying things that I didn't need.

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

I had no major complications. I did have an abcess in my incision line. It was not infected, just a liquid drain. This scared me, but was not a problem. After it drained (alot) it began to heal and has given me no problems.

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

My approval got to me on Jan 3rd, I had my surgery appointment with my doc on the 5th and had my surgery on the 10th. There was no time to be to scared. I was busy getting ready to go. I could have had the surgery on the 7th, but wanted the weekend to prepare. I knew that I had made the right decision and had no doubts. I was ready.

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

These were the most diffucult weeks. It is an adjustment period and a healing time. You are unsure how and what to eat. Your new tummy is still healing and you cannot be sure what full feels like. My pain was not bad and I delt with that very easy. It is the adjustment to the new feelings that I had problems with. Head hunger, food grieving, and trying to understand the new feelings in my tummy were the most difficult. Expect many ups and downs. You will fear that this just won't work for you. You will get tired of the sick tummy feelings, but these will go away (in most cases). Once you learned what, how, and when to eat you will adjust to your new plumbing.

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

I live 2.5 hrs from my surgeon and hospital. Since I had open RNY, I was certainly glad to have 2 pillows to bring home with me. I placed these over my incision for support during the ride home. It helped alot!

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.

I have been able to eat anything I want with the following exceptions: SUGAR; High Carbs; MSG These items make me dump. At 2 yrs out, I can take sugar and high carbs in small amounts. I stay away from MSG. I made the choice to totally cut any kind of soda from my diet. No diet and certainly no regular carbonated drinks. Has this helped my weight loss? I don't know, but I am still loosing at 2 yr post op!

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

Very low. I never seemed to have the energy that other post ops had. It has only been recently that my energy levels have begun to increase and then it has only been over time. I attribute this to starting iron supplements.

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

I take alot! I take my chewable vitamin (seems to work better for me than regular tablets), vit e, biotin, zinc, selenium, iron, b-12, calcium citrate, folic acid, and potassium. I drink at least 2 scoops of protien supplements per day and no less than 80 oz of water.

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 went through 3 episodes of hair loss. Once I started taking protien and extra supplements of zinc, biotin, folic acid, and selenium the first episode stopped. I decided that everything was OK and stopped taking these sups. WRONG! In about 3 months it began again. Started the sups again and the hair loss stopped. Then about 4 months later it began again at a lesser rate. I increased my protein and have had no more problems. The hair is coming back and looking good.

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

Getting through the first year with all it's ups and downs. I felt like I was never sure exactly what to do next. There was so much information that conflicted each other that you never were sure which way to turn. I finally made my decisions and have stuck to them. They seem to have worked for me.

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

I have been very fortunate to have found a wonderful live support group. I have been a part of this group since 3 months out. I feel that our support groups (live and online) are the best tool we have to live with the changes our surgery has provided. I don't believe that I would have been able to go as far as I have had I tried to do this only on my own. Thank you to those wonderful people who have been there for me this past 2 years!

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

My scar is wide and dark. It is about 8" from my breast bone to my naval. I had hoped that it would not be this bad, but expected it due to previous scars.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I have encountered several plateaus. None have been more than 3 to 4 weeks in length. During each of these I noticed a tendency to lose inches, but not pounds.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Yes! My employers listen now...people on the street smile...men flirt...some women look at me with green in their eyes...it's a whole new world!