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

THROUGH A FRIEND OF MINE, I HADN'T SEEN HER AND WHEN I DID SHE LOOKED GREAT SO I ASKED HER HOW SHE HAD DONE IT AND THAT GOT THE BALL ROLLING, AT FIRST IT DID SOUND ALITTLE SCARY BUT SO DID DYING FROM A HEART ATTACK.

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

I HAD A BIG FIGHT ON MY HANDS WITH MY FIRST INSURANCE COMPANY, THEY HAD DEINED ME TWICE AND I WAS APPEALING AGAIN, BUT THEN MY JOB CHANGED INSURANCES AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY I HAVE NOW, THEY WERE GREAT MY DOCTOR SUBMITTED THE SURGERY AND A FEW DAYS LATER UI WAS APPROVED. BUT I WOULD STILL KEEPING FIGHTING THE OTHER INSURANCE COMPANY FOR MY RIGHT

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

MY SURGEON WAS EVER INFORMATIVE AND STRAIGHT UP WITH ME HE ASKED WHAT I THOUGHT WERE WEIRD QUESTIONS BUT LATER REALIZE THEY WERENT. HE DIDNT TRY TO PUSH ME INTO ANYTHING AND HE WAS VERY OPEN WHEN ID CALL HIM WITH QUESTIONS AND HE GAVE LOTS OF INFORMATION FOR ME TO READ. HE MEET WITH FAMILY MEMEBERS AND ANSWERED THERE QUESTINS AS WELL.

What made you finally decide to have the surgery?

I FELT IT WAS THE BEST CHOICE FOR ME AND I WANTED TO LIVE FOR MY FAMILY.

How did you decide which proceedure to have?

I TALKED TO MY DOCTOR AND SURGEON AND WITH THERE HELP DECIDED WHAT SURGERY WOULD BE BEST FRO ME TO GET THE RESULTS I WANTED. I ALSO DID SOME RESEACH ON MY OWN.

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?

FEARS ARE GOOD I THINK IT MAKES YOU REALLY TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THINGS . I STILL HAVE SOME FEARS MY WHOLE LIFE IS CHANGING NOW. SO I SAID BEFORE I THINK FEAR IS OK. COMPLICATIONS CAN COME AT ANY PART OF ANYONES LIFE SO, I GUESS YOUD PROBABLY ALWAYS HAVE THEM BUT ID ANSWER ANYONES QUESTIONS IF I COULD . I'VE HAD A LOT OF SUPPORT

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?

AT FIRST THEY WERE TOTALLY AGAINST IT, BUT WHEN THEY REALIZED THE REASONS I WAS DOING IT THEY BECAME MORE SUPPORTIVE, (MOST OF THEM). NO I WOULDNT HAVE COMMUNICATD ANYTHING DIFFERNET, THEY KNOW ME SO. AFTER SURGERY EVERYONE HAS BEEN SUPPORTIVE WITH MY CARE .

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

MY SUPERVISOR WAS OK WITH IT , I DONT REALLY THINK SHE REALIZED AT FIRST WHAT I WAS DOING BUT,SHE WAS STILL OK. I JUST TOKLD HER I WAS GOING TO HAVE STOMACH SURGERY AND THEY WOULD BE RMOVING SOME OF MY INTESTIN. I FEEL LIKE I'LL BE OUT OF WORK ABOUT 2-2 1/2 WEEKS

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

the hospital stay wasn't bad i was there for 3 days. the staff treated me ok i didnt have any problems except for one thing, the nurse on the nite shift was suppose to give me pain meds in a drain and put it in the wrong port, i never got it, she did this twice so i was complaining and she kept telling me i shouldnt be feeling anything. so the next moring when my doctor came in he raised alittle hel when i showed him where she had but it. and sure enough when he took out the drain there was the pain meds in the balloon part of the drain. so i never had got it. the important thing to bring was comfotable sleepwear and good slippers cause they make you walk first thing even if you dont want to, but it is good to get moving fast.

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

no complications thank God. the only thing was the pain med problem explained above.

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 going back and forth with myself about the surgery. even the day of surgery waiting on the bed right before surgery. but i knew it was the best thing for my future and my son. i talked about it alot and i have a very supportive family and group of friends. i think the more you talk about your fears the better you can dealwith them. even talking to someone who has had it done makes you feel more at ease

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

the first few weeks, even now im still tired (still not back to my old energy level yet) and getting used to eating again and figuring out just how much you can eat. after the first week the staples and drain coming out

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

i only traveled a few blocks, the hospital is 5 blocks from my house. i was happy about that. the doctors office is a few miles away but its not a problem, which made things alot easier for me.

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.

its been almost 4months since i had surgery and the only things i find im having a hard time with are eating bread i just cant i get nausea, even pasta gives me a hard time and soda even diet so i dont drink it to much at all. i seem to also have a problem with carrots for some reason. but everything else seems to be ok i still havent tried icecream but maybe in time

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

i would tire real easy but went back to work in 2-21/2 weeks. im starting to feel like my old self day by day today its been almost 4months and i seem to be back to my old self i know i have more enegry and have been back to the gym

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

i have been taking flinstone chewables with iron and calcium, they dont seem to leave an after taste in my mouth

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?

im 7 weeks post op and i have had nausia and vomiting and hair loss anand these things are still going on. the n/v isnt bad only when i dont think and keep eating until i cant eat no more then of course im to full and you guessed it. i guess you just cope at the support group meeting weve talked about these things and the hair loss does stop so, and n/v are a part of everyones life so. im not worried.

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

the getting used to eating smaller amount and getting used to eating and not drinking together. the different types of food and the telling myself im not hungry, my mind is not with my stomach yet. also as far as drinking i always used to drink fast so i have to get used to not doing that

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

the support group was started by the dr peters. hes great with his patienta, we all seem to enjoy the group and he has different speakers come to talk to us and we also do enough talking to keep the group interesting,i have learned alot from going and the people in the group are all down to earth and i feel easy to get along with

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

my scar is about 11 inches long and very straight(people ive shown it to say that all the time)i also have scars from the drains (3) not ever big, the scar looks like i expected, i really dont mind i will never be wearing a bikini. i also didnt have the surgery for a look thing it was for my health. so the scar was never a big thing to me. and besides my 7 year old has a scar from open heart so i couldnt make a big deal of it even if it was. he is sometimes embarrassed about his.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

i dont think people are treating me different, but i feel them watching everything i do eat and people i didnt really know that well are asking me questions all the time, i feel people looking at me when im not looking. also some people try to hide what they are eating when i come around.