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

A friend of mine had had bariatric surgery. She had lost a great deal of weight in a fairly short time. She seemed to think it would help me and recommended it. I was ambivalent and worried that it might aggravate some of my health problems. My physicians could not allay my fears as they had no information to offer about the effects of the surgery on my health issues.

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

I have no insurance. My family cannot afford the insurance that is offered for me through my wife's work and the private companies are no better because I have diabetes. The premiums are outrageous. The best option that I can think of for people like me who have no insurance, is to get the surgery done out of country. I had my Sleeve Gastrectomy done in Matamoros, Mexico for $12,000.00 US. My wife paid part in cash and took a loan out for part. The surgeon was paid in cash.

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

The first visit with the surgeon was great. My wife did most of the talking to the surgeon because she can speak Spanish fairly well and the doctor felt more comfortable speaking in Spanish. When they came to a decision point, they would switch to English and my wife would help him with the words he did not know. This really wasn't needed because the Doctor's wife works at the hospital and speaks fluent English, but my wife told her that she spoke Spanish and did not need her help in translating to speak to the doctor. The Doctor was quite friendly and seemed to care a great deal about my condition. He assured me that the surgery should help my conditions instead of agravating them and spoke to us at great length about the various types of surgeries he could do and what was involved in each. He asked which surgery we though we would be interested in, asked for a down payment of half, when my wife said that she didn't have that much on her, he settled on an initial down payment of $1,000.00 with $2,000 due at the end of the week, when my wife was coming back. Then he and my wife set a date for the surgery which was 2 weeks from the date that we went for the initial consult. We went home and talked it over. My wife then changed her mind about which type of surgery we were going to get, opting instead for the Sleeve Gastrectomy rather than the Lap Band that we were initially going to get.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

My Wife.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

My wife initially wanted me to have the Lap Band. I was looking at that until I heard about the Sleeve Gastrectomy. When I found out that the gland that triggers the hunger response was removed from the stomach during the Seeve Gastrectomy, I knew that that was the surgery that I wanted. Hunger has been the monkey on my back most of my life. If I could get THAT jockey off, half the battle was won!

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 did have fears about dying from surgery. I also have fears about dying from obesity and the related diseases that come with it. I am a walking TEXTBOOK for some of those diseases. About the only ones I don't suffer from is Heard diseas and High Cholesterol and that is because I am a Vegetarian.

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 wife is estatic! My friends are curious. My mother seems glad and says I should have done something a long time ago. Only one of my wife's co-worker's seems to have anything negative to say about it and that is because, as he says, "A REAL man EATS!"

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

I am a stay at home dad and a part time handyman. I am my own employer. my employer was not overjoyed when he first heard about the proceedure, but having undergone the proceedure, he is THRILLED! I just tole my employer (myself) to hang in there, that it will be over in a little while. Since I didn't have any work scheduled, I wasn't out of work at all. This works out well, when you employ yourself! I just told myself to take some time off, and I DID!

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

I was scheduled to have surgery on a Friday afternoon. On Thursday, my wife got a message in her email that the Surgeon needed to get a special tool for the operation and it had not yet arrived at the hospital. The tool was scheduled to arrive on Saturday Morning. The Surgeon rescheduled the operation for Saturday afternoon. We went to Matamoros on Friday anyway since my wife had already rented the Hotel Room for 3 days. We spent the night about 4 blocks from the Hospital and on Saturday we arrived at the scheduled time to be admitted. We were told that the operation would begin about 2:30 or 3:00. We had arrived about Noon to be prepped. I had not eaten since 6pm the day before and I was famished. I was immediately brought into a pre-op room and prepared for surgery. Then we waited. The time came when I was supposed to go into surgery came and went and I was moved into another room. I was told that most of the surgical team was on-site but that they were waiting on one person. They did not say who. We waited... and waited... and waited.... Finally, around 5:30 PM, someone came and wheeled me into the Operating Room. I don't remember much from there. I awoke at about 8:30 or 9:00 PM. My wife told me that everything went well, that I was still alive, and that she would see me in the morning. I spent that night tossing and turning trying to find a comfortable way to sleep. I normally sleep on my left side but that was where everything hurt. I tried sleeping on my back but I was not comfortable that way and sleeping on my RIGHT side didn't help much either as it seemed that the weight of my stomach fat pulled on the stitches and on the stomach itself. This wasn't comfortable either. I eventually slept but would wake every hour or 2 to ask the nurse for some water. Each time I asked, I was told, "NO, you are not ready yet." It seems that that was the only English that my night nurse knew. When morning came, along came a new nurse. My former nurse was a Female. This one was a Male. He seemed to speak English fairly well and when I asked him for water, he said, "Hold on, let me ask the Doctor." He came back with something better, a small Dixie cup 2/3 filled with APPLE JUICE! He said, "The doctor said you are ready for THIS now." By the end of Saturday Afternoon, the Doctor had decided that I had improved enough that I could be released to the tender ministrations of my wife's loving care. I don't know if this is standard procedure at this Hospital or not. The Doctor did have several other patients on Friday but when I was released on Saturday, I was the last one. I suffered none of the standard ill effects that I was warned about. There was no nausea or vomiting. I did not feel weak. I was simply tired from the surgery but able to walk and function at nearly normal levels provided I was not jostled and I moved carefully. My stay overall was about 28 hours more or less.

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

I have had no complications as yet.

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 trepidous but cautiously optimistic. I simply made myself realize that I was probably going to die an early death if I didnt do this. If I did this and died, at least I died trying.

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

You will be sore. You may have gas. It took about a week for that to go away for me. With the Sleeve Gastrectomy one of the nicest things was the great REDUCTION in hunger! For me, the hunger hasn't completely gone away, but it is GREATLY reduced. My hunger after a week of being on a LIQUID diet was such that if someone said, "I'm going to Taco Bell, Anyone want anything?" I would have replied, "Yea, bring me back a burrito!" I would have asked someone to get it for me instead of GOING and I would not have been the guy to SUGGEST it in the FIRST place! Normally, after being on a liquid diet for just a few DAYS, I am ready to eat MY OWN flesh! That HUNGER TRIGGER was KILLING me. Now, I eat smaller portions. It takes me an hour to eat a small bowl of cream of wheat. I would normally wolf down a LARGE bowl in 5 to 10 minutes. If I get busy with something, I can forget about eating altogether.

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

I traveled about 45 miles. This is practically next door in Texas, so aftercare is a breeze. I have had my first Post op visit a week after the operation and my second is scheduled for the second week after.

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 first week I couldn't eat ANYTHING. All I had was a Liquid diet. This for me was a protein shake mad of Soy Protein and Soy milk (I can't drink cow's milk because it triggers my migraines), Gatorade light, Popsicles, and water. For someone with less severe health issues, there will likely be MORE options (like ICE CREAM). My second week had my diet expand to include soups (with SMALL pieces of vegetables) and thin partridges (cream of wheat, rice cereal, oatmeal). Next should come "Soft" foods (anything that is not "Crispy." This would be something like GRILLED chicken but NOT fried. Mashed potatoes but NOT potato chips. Creamed Corn but NOT Doritos. I am also not allowed citrus which of all things includes TOMATOES! While I can have PASTA, I cannot have the SPAGHETTI SAUCE that should accompany it! While I can technically have Pizza, I cannot have the red sauce. I cannot eat the alfredo and I use Soy Cheese or NONE. Pizza without the sauce, just isn't worth it! In a month or so I suspect I will be allowed to consume the crispy foods. I also suspect my wife is going to do everything she can to discourage my doing so.

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

My activity level after the surgery was similar to that as before which is to say, sloth like. I actually had MORE energy AFTER the surgery than I had before! The Excess calories I was consuming were probably causing me to feel ill and causing me to have decreased levels of activity.

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

I have only been taking Chewable Vitamin C and Children's Flintstones' Multivitamins. My wife gives me the Flintstones' because they are chewable and won't damage my stomach.

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 had NO nausea or vomiting. My sleep has been erratic at best BEFORE the surgery, so any disturbances are difficult to pinpoint. they may or may not be the result of the surgery. They may ALSO be the result of my migraines or my sleep apnea. Dumping is another issue that the cause is difficult to discover. I have a spastic Colon. My Migraines ALSO seem to be a factor in dumping. I have had this problem LONG before the surgery. The dumping issue has actually IMPROVED since the surgery for me. I have also had no issues with hair loss.

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

The waiting. Once the decision was made, I wanted the surgery to be DONE. I could deal with the pain and inconvenience, I just wanted to get on with it and get it over with,

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

At the moment, I have none. I cannot say how important this is because I have not yet had the experience.

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

My scar still has a scab. The incisions are smaller than I expected. I have 5 of them. I can even tell which one they used the scope on because it has 4 little scabs surrounding it where it was anchored to my belly. The surgeon did a good job of stitching me back together and my wife thinks that there will be little scarring if any.

Please describe any plateau experiences you have had since surgery.

I am just 2 weeks out. I have not had a plateau experience yet.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Not yet. Except maybe my wife.