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

I am a nurse so i have been aware of this forever. my first impressions were very scary as they surgeon who first did them at the hospital where i worked had 2 of his first 10 patients die after the gastric bypass and they shut him down. Very very scary.

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

My advise is to give up on the insurance. My insurance would have paid $4000 toward my surgery and to get the surgery in my area it was $20,000 so i would have paid $16,000. Instead, I paid $10,400 cash and saw the surgeon of my choice. Dr. Thomas Umbach in Henderson, Nevada. I flew and stayed in Las Vegas and took a taxi. His staff made everything so easy for me and provided me with fmla papers for my work - prior to my surgery and never asked me for a dime up front. even gave me a return to work note prior to my surgery and scheduled my surgery. I paid at my preop visit the day before my surgery and was able to speak with him by phone, all with no money down. I was treated with extreme dignity and respect. The surgery was basically painless as he implanted a numbing pump that kept my pain under control. I stayed in town for my follow up visit. My pcp where I live is following me now and will send yearly labs to Dr. Umbach.I am very pleased. I would not jump through the insurance hoops for $4000 and a chance that the might not pay. I made the right decision for me and i would recommend him to anyone who wants to talk about this.

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

Read everything that you can in advance and if you dont understand something, write down your question. However, you can phone in your questions or email your questions in advance. You will get a timely response from your surgeon or maybe you should talk with your pcp also. Be prepared.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I think that this is my best chance to fix my knee pain forever. I am looking for a miracle for my knee that will be life changing.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I knew that I did not want the band as I do not believe that this is truely a forever procedure. I think it could slip or cause problems and not work. I did not want to continually have to followup for fillings. I knew I did not want the gastric bypass and all of the dumping syndrome and side effects that comes with it. I wanted portion control and i believe that vsg gives that to you with very few side effects and very foods poorly tolerated. for me, this choice was simple.

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 only fears is that anesthesia would not pay attention to me during surgery. I know that if the alarms are on, that there are plenty of other nurses in the OR who will look if a red alarm goes off. I think that anesthesia was my greatest concern, I think they talk on their cell phones, surf the web, and read books as much as they watch the patient's and still complications from anesthesia are rare.

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?

Everyone has been wonderful. My daughter missed her 21st birthday to go with me to have my surgery. She did not get a drink and did not play a slot machine and we were in Las Vegas. I don't know if I can ever repay her. She is a beautiful person. She made certain that everyone in my family new how i was doing and what it would be like when we got home. I am so thankful. My husband of 27 years has been amazing. My mother and other daughter have been amazing although my 16 year old daughter has not given up eating chips and snacks in front of me. with this wls, i have not missed them.

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

my supervisor had just moved from Las Vegas area (also a nurse) and had heard of his clinic and of the surgery center. She had never heard anything bad and nurses talk. Everyone at work is so supportive. I was out three weeks. I recommend 3 weeks even though Dr. Umbach said 2 weeks. I could have went back but I got a head cold (i think from all the cigarette smoke in Las Vegas) and so i recommend 3 weeks just in case there is any difficulties.

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

I attended the first one locally, gave $150 non refundable down payment for a local physician. changed jobs and insurance changed and I was unable to complete the process. I never went back and i am very glad. It was the best $150 i ever wasted as I would have spent way too much. That was before the vsg was offered. I would have had the gastric bypass and i am so glad that I did not do this.

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

I was there from 8 am to 2 pm. I think, if anything, they gave me to much pain medication. I think they thought I was in more pain than I was and my daughter tells me that I said "no" when they asked me if i needed more but then bugged me until I took more. Most important to bring "nothing". I did not need a thing. I arrived, had my surgery, they called me a taxi, and we went back to the hotel. I did not need a thing.

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

I had absolutely no complications. The only thing that happened is around week 2-3 I had stomach spasms while eating. About 10 spasms with each meal I ate which was about 10 bites. so basically with each bite. This lasted 4 days. I googled this and found other people who went to the doctor for this and the doctor said that possibly a stricture could be forming but that probably this would resolve on it's own. mine did and after 4 days it was gone. That is one reason i say weight 3 weeks. by then you are understanding the eating without drinking and drinking at all other times. and how important it is to drink and stay hydrated. I am using the website and iphone app myfitnesspal to keep up with my intake and exercise and i really like it once I learned how to use it. I am not computer savvy and my daughter set it up and got me started and then once i learned how to use the look up food feature, this app has been very easy to use.

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 felt great after the 12 day head cold. The anxiety I feel is a kind of guilt that when i get full I might have over eaten. I use the myfitnesspal to reassure myself that i havent. I never had the full feeling before and now i feel full all the time. the myfitnesspal helps me reassure myself.

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

Uncertainty of what to eat and try. I used the Cornell VSG diet that I found with a google search. I have followed it adding foods slowly and still trying to keep a variety. A variety in my diet is very important to me as it keeps me happy with my diet and not shopping in the cabinet for food I do not need to be eating. Variety is the spice of live and keep variety in your diet and i believe this will help you succeed.

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

I traveled from NW Arkansas to Las Vegas/Henderson, Nevada. The travel was an added expense but still cheaper than staying at home for the surgery at a place I really did not want to go. I made my choice on my surgeon and the surgery I wanted. I did not let the insurance company decide what surgery i had to have. Had I stayed at home and used my insurance, the insurance company, not my doctor and me, would have made me have the gastric bypass. I know I made the correct decision. Having my surgery in Nevada I received as good of care as I would have at home. I am so pleased. Once I was home, I even received a get well card from my surgeon. I have seen my pcp and everything is better than I expected. Have a plan with your pcp for follow up before you go. Mine has been wonderful. I did have to change my blood pressure medicine because it was a combination losaartan/hydrochlorathiazide and the hctz is a diuretic and after surgery I needed to be keeping all my water so as not to get dehydrated and so i went to see my pcp and got that changed without a problem.

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.

The diet has recommended to not eat nuts or seeds and not to have peanut butter so I have not tried these. Other than that, what ever i have wanted i have reintroduced and tolerated absolutely without a problem. I did start the Lactaid Skim milk and it tastes like regular skim milk and i had not tried it prior to surgery. Im glad that it is good. That is it. Everything else i have eaten with calorie and portion control. If i want something, i eat my protein first and then if I still want it, i have a teaspoon to tablespoon of it and i am satisfied. this has been no problem. Variety variety variety and don't deny a teaspoon of something.

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

I had surgery on friday and by sunday I was back to normal. But I did get the head cold because i went out and got in the smoke of the casino's just walking through to ride the monarail. you have to walk all the way about 1/2 hour through smoke to find the monarail. i guess so you will play the slots. but i just walked through twice and that was all it took and i was sick. i stayed off the strip at a non smoking hotel Wyndham Desert and it was very nice.

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

Gummies Gummies Gummies. Citracal has gummy calcium/vitamin d3, one a day has gummy multi vitamin and a gummy probiotic. sublingual b-12 2500mcg. Lots of stool softener. I have never been constipated a day in my life but i am trying to drink at least 40 ounces of liquid but it is difficult. I stayed on liquid shakes for 4 days then went to solid food. Chew everything well.

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 have NOT had any nausea, vomiting, sleep disturbance, dumping, hair loss, diarrhea or any other symptoms. I have ulcers, gerd, and knee pain all pre op and still have those same problems post op. I have increased my ppi (prevacid to 2 a day and still take zantac 150 twice a day also).

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

NOTHING. absolutely nothing. If it were free it would be wonderful but the price was fair and all inclusive. They absolutely did not ask for any money up front and did not ask me for one dime more than the $10,400 that I was quoted over the phone. This covered EVERYthing. even the post op visit and every pre op email and phone call I made. He wrote me my work letters for my fmla also prior to me paying so that I could request and obtain the time off. my employer accepted his letters that he had emailed to me. I printed them out and turned it in with my fmla paperwork and it was approved. ABsolutely nothing was bad about my experience.

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

I have this web site and the wonderful people on the forums. I have great family and friends. and again, I cant say enough about talking to your pcp prior to having the surgery to make certain he/she is onboard and ready to be your follow up after you return home.

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

Scar. What Scar. My surgery was laparoscopic and i had some stab incisions that were less than 1 inch. how he got 85% of my stomach out of a 1 inch hole i will never know. I guess he could have pulled it out of my mouth. lol

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I do not weigh every day. I am weighing myself twice a month. I am using the myfitnesspal as my guide that i am staying on track and my reassurance so I don't feel the need to weigh myself for reassurance. It will happen if you are staying within the caloric intake parameters that your surgeon set up for you. so keep the food diary and go over it for the reassurance that you need. don't worry over the scales. i have lost 20 pounds ( i think) in 4 weeks and that is good enough for me. I did not weigh on my scales before i went. i weighed at the surgeon's office and the came home and weighed. so who knows. I don't really know or care. this is going to happen for me. I can look at the myfitnesspal app and know that it will.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

No. Other than my mother and she worries about everything. But then, what are mother's for. I would expect no less. I am the only fat person in my family. I think I have my support system intact. Make certain that you do the same also. My husband is super supportive but that is his way. My 16 year old is a teenager and she is still eating candy and chips and wears a size 2. I hope her hip bones always stick out like they do now and I hope she stays an athlete. I did have 4 baked lays chips yesterday!!!