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

My friend Gary was having surgery and need a ride home from the hospital. I offered, when I got there he had his doctor talk to me about his surgery. I was very scared of the surgery at first but then I thought about it more and more. I thought of all the dieting and exercise that I am doing without much success and deceided that maybe this would be a good choice for me. Not because I want to be skinny, because I want to be healthy.

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

Well my journey for approval started about a year ago. I only had my husbands insurance and they hung up on me when I tried to discuss the possibility of having surgery. I was heartbroken. I almost gave up hope and then I got a letter in the mail from my work. I found out that I qualified for insurance through my job as well. I studied before I took the insurance and found out they had approved people in the past. I decided to go to the doctor to see about how to be approved. My primary doctor said that the surgon had to reccomend you for the surgery, then they could send support letters. I went to see Dr. Lewis and we started the process. I found out the would approve me if requirements were met. I had to do several tests at the hospital, and then armed with medical history, Dr. Lewis wrote a letter of medical necessity, I was approved 3 weeks later. I found that letting the professionals take care of talking with insurance helped because they know more of what the insurance is expectin than I did.

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

My first visit with the surgon was great. I felt he was very knowledgable in what he was talking about and he made me feel more at ease. When I had the meeting with him, I also met his secretary. She has gone through the surgery also. I felt this especially helpful because she could describe how she felt before the surgery, and the doctor could explain about the procedures. I liked that they explained how this surgery differs, but is quite a bit the same as other surgeries. My advice to people is to ask all the questions that you have. It may see like you are being bothersome, but I know my surgon was glad that I asked the questions because I was more informed and more at ease about making the choice about having the surgery.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

Over the past year I have really seen a decline in my health. I find myself very tired all of the time, and not able to do things that my child would like to do with me. I struggle to get out of bed and I am grateful when the day is over. When my son asked me if I was going to be alive to see him graduate from high school, it struck home. I got to think about that question and decided that I truely can't answer that as far as a health stand point. I decided that I needed to take my life back and have surgery. I want to be able to tell my 8 year old that my health is good enough to see him graduate from high school, college, get married and to play with grand children. I think that conversation is what finally made me decide.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

Well, I have really bad acid reflux, I went back and fourth for a long time and have read many articles about lap band surgery and bypass surgery, I decided to have bypass surgery, because I have read a lot that the lap band can cause the reflux to worsen. I also beleive that the bypass surgery is right for me because I am not sure I could do the adjustments of the band, I hate needles.

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?

My greatest fear is dying and leaving my child behind withouth a mom. I guess what I would tell other people is they have to look at their situation, do they feel they are at risk of premature death. If you don't have surgery you could die young anyway. I want to risk that to have the chance to spend a long life with my family.

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?

I think for the most part everyone was happy, shocked but happy. If I had to go back I would have informed my parents and my husbands parents sooner, so they felt more a part of the decision making process. Everyone has been very supportive since I have had my surgery. I have had a lot of help from family and friends.

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

I didn't tell my employer that I was having WLS I just told him I was having surgery. I am not quite 2 weeks post op and still off work but I expect to be released in 1 more week. This was a good time for me to have my surgery. I work for a school and we had a 2 week break so I am only really missing about a week of work.

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

I had done a lot of research before my information seminar. I believe that the weight loss surgery team did a very good job with the seminar. I think they did a very good job of presenting the information. I was overloaded a little however.

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

I was in the hospital for 4 days including surgery day. I was sick most of day one. On day two I did a swallow test then started my liquid diet. I was supose to be walking at least 4 times a day but was very out of balance this day so I only walked one time. On day 3 I walked 4 times and drank more protein fluid. Nurses checked on me often and I started feeling better. On day 4 I was released before noon to come home.

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

I was very sick from the anstesia. It was very hard to deal with. I took several medications to try to get it undercontrol, when one finally worked. I also was getting heprin shots in my stomach to prevent blood clots but it caused seepage from my wounds. I had to have 2 pints of blood transfused to get my red blood cell count back where it was supose to be. I know that it would have been easier if I didn't have a transfusion but I had way more energy afterward. I did fairly well dealing with the adversities because I had family to help me. To hear my son's voice everyday on the telephone got me through it.

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 excited when I found out about my surgery, I only had two weeks to wait because of end of year hurry up. I was very excited until about 4 days prior. I got very nervous. I talked to friends and I walked a lot to get over the anxiety. I think the excitement out weighed the anxiety.

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

The first few weeks is the hardest part of recovery. I felt like I made a big mistake. I had regrets of doing the surgery because the diet was very hard to get use to. Once I was able to start eating some soft solid food the whole experience got better. My insisions got better after about week 3 to 4 and I was able to start sleeping on my stomach again.

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

I have to drive 250 miles to the surgens office. In my case it is a long way, over a mountian range and on icy roads. I have just started my after care and I don't think it will be a real problem. My surgon has told me not to risk my life to come to him, that we can reschedule if weather is bad which is a good thing.

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.

for the first two weeks I was on liquid diet. Then I could add soft puree food like smoothies. About a month out I was able to eat soft veggies and meat like tuna. At 8 weeks I was able to add fish and chicken. At about 4 months I was able to try beef and pork. I did okay except on liquid stage because I was allgeric to the protein the doctors put me on initally. I finally found one that agrees with me. I haven't really had problems introducing foods into my diet. I take it slow and eat very small bites and try it first at home so if I do get sick it is at home not out somewhere. I am at 4 1/2 months and I have only gotten sick one time. I don't eat anything over 8 grams of sugar now and bread doesn't sit well with me.

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

for the first month or so I was very tired. Since the first month however I have been getting more and more energy. I exercise everyday, which includes a combination of swimming, walking on elipitical, weights and just walking outside when its nice. I have 2 times as much energy as I did pre surgery.

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

Multi vitmin with iron, calcium, potassium, vitiman b complex, and protein drinks daily.

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?

Nausea was the worst. It lasted most of the 4 months since my surgery. I found out later I needed my gall bladder removed and when I had that done nausea went away. I am now experiencing some hair loss but not as much as some have said they had.

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

The unknown. No matter how much you research, things unexpected always come up. I am one that needs an exact schedule. I have learned with this surgery that it isn't the way it goes all of the time. I think the hardest part was the first 3 to 4 weeks of recovery.

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

I have a support group that meets at the hospital one time a month. This group is nice because you can ask questions of others that may have gone through what you are. This is especially nice when you think you are the only one that something has happened to. I also belong to a regular (non surgery) weight loss group. I attend one time a week. This is important to me because even with surgery food is still a weekness and they keep me on the right path.

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

I have six small incisions on my stomach in a circle that starts just below my breat bone and as low as my belly button. Each insision is about 3/4 of an inch long, one being about 1/4 inch long. The insisions are smaller than I thought they would be.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

About three weeks after surgery I hit a plateau that lasted for 4 weeks. I only lost one pound in that time. All of a sudden I lost 10 pounds. I do about 3 weeks of loss one of not since that first plateau. I do measurments because I have found that even without a loss on the scale I still lose inches.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Even though I am still 50 pounds from my goal weight I have people telling me that I look good where I am and that I don't need to lose any more. I also have little kids that knew me pre surgery that say I don't look as round. I have lots of people that think they need to be my dietition, and tell me what to eat.