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

My roommates mom had bypass surgery a number of years ago. My roommate was very negative about the surgery, and in turned imparted her negative mentality on me. Years later my husband and I had a friend who had the surgery, and then my son's grandma, and I can honestly say I was jealous! I wanted to be positive about a "diet". I wanted something that worked!

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

Honestly, I had no trouble getting insurance coverage. My surgeon contacted my insurance carrier, and I was approved immediately. I had a BMI of 52 when I was approved.

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

The first meeting with my surgeon was a group meeting. It was nice because if you wanted to be in the back, not talking, you could, but if you had a lot of questions you were free to ask them.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I decided I needed to say yes. I needed to say yes to bypass surgery to safe my life. To help me be more active, and involved physically in my son's lives.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I decided that I had a lot of weight to lose, and while the band would have provided results, I needed something stronger. A tool that would truly keep me on track, and truly retrain me.

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?

There are risks in every proceedure. There are risks in every day life. You have to decide if continuing to live life as an obese person outweighs (no pun intended), dying from having a proceedure which can help you lose weight, and take control of your life back.

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 husband was 100% for the idea. My parents were unsure, but respected my decision. I found out a bit later that my husband didn't have as much faith in my ability to follow through with the post surgery requirements, as he did in the proceedure itself. We worked through that, and he is very proud of how far I have come. My parents can also see I made the best decision in having bypass surgery, and are also very proud.

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

My work was very encouraging! Everyone was excited about my decision.

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

Yes, the informational seminar was very informational, and was where I obtained the information which lead me to bypass rather than band.